Author: Kevin Bourne

During interview prep for my discussion on CBC Radio I was asked, “What’s the way forward?” after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a police officer. That’s a hard question because the problem is deeper than we think. One of the responses you hear from white Canadians, whether well-meaning or grounded in racism and denial is, “Isn’t Canada better than the U.S.?” The answer is, “No”. In fact, if Canada’s treatment of black people and other people of colour was a song it would be Joyner Lucas’ “I’m not racist”. While stories of the police…

Almost six months after budding rapper FTG Metro was killed in a shooting in downtown Ottawa, another promising young Canadian rapper was killed earlier this evening. 21-year-old Toronto rapper Houdini was murdered when shots were fired around 4pm in downtown Toronto in the King Street and Blue Jays Way area in the Entertainment District. He passed away in the hospital around 6:30 pm. The two other victims, 15 years old and 28 years old, were critically injured but are expected to make a full recovery. According to police six to 10 shots fired and suspects were in waiting for 40 minutes prior to…

Now that the dust has settled on the Last Dance docu-series, it’s time to settle the Jordan vs Lebron debate. Here are five reasons why Lebron is a better basketball player than Michael Jordan says data scientist and economist Don Aholu. With the sporting world brought to a standstill by a global pandemic, the definitive Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance has became must watch television for sports fans, myself included. It kept us glued to our screens and invoked nostalgic memories of a simpler time, when we could marvel at the athletic accomplishments of our favorite players, and get into…

This week, Ottawa got a rare dose of star power. Wu-Tang Clan and 36 Chambers ALC announced an initiative to raise funds for the Ottawa Food Bank, Ottawa Mission and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. The city woke up to see a soon-to-be iconic photo of Ottawa’s mayor Jim Watson at the office wearing a Wu-Tang Ottawa shirt, one of the items being sold to raise funds for people in need in Ottawa. The hosts of CTV Morning Live even got in on the festivities wearing the same shirts emblazoned with the Wu-Tang logo. Not bad for a city…

Just in time for summer, a couple of Ottawa’s hardest working hip-hop artists have joined forces to drop a brand new banger for their city. “Crash” is the latest single from hip-hop and trap artist Nathan Miles, featuring Dreamland artist Hevve and ffa’s Kyazze. Produced by Toronto’s Casket Jones and engineered by Ottawa area producer and engineer Quest, “Crash” is the ultimate “I wanna drive fast song”, featuring crazy (and almost reckless) flows over a dark yet uptempo trap beat. Luckily for fans, this unplanned 4REIGN, Dreamland, and ffa collaboration came together by chance. “My manager Jay came in from…

Despite the global shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the hardest working man in show business is back with a new project, enlisting the help of world’s largest producer and provider of spoken-word entertainment and audiobooks. Today, actor, comedian and entrepreneur, Kevin Hart, released his brand new Audible Original audio book The Decision: Overcoming Today’s BS for Tomorrow’s Success. For the superstar comedian there was no better fit than the audio format with Audible. “The reason this had to be done as an Audible Original is because you needed to hear the honesty. Reading a book like this doesn’t do it…

The Notorious BIG retro jersey photo. The Snoop Dogg Bluesfest modern jersey photo. The Rhianna heritage jersey photo. These are among the pantheon of iconic Ottawa hip-hop photos where pop culture and Canada’s often maligned capital city intersected but for a moment, and today they got a new member. Residents of Ottawa, Canada woke up on Wednesday morning to find a photo of mayor Jim Watson wearing a Wu-tang t-shirt at the office. It was worn in support of the “A Better Tomorrow”, a collaboration between the Wu-tang Clan, 36 Chambers ALC, the Ottawa Mission, the Ottawa Food Bank, and…

By now you may have seen pictures of Ottawa mayor Jim Watson donning a Wutang Clan t-shirt at his desk at City Hall. While some have speculated it is nothing more than a good Photoshop edit, the mayor did in fact wear a t-shirt from hip-hop’s most legendary group in support of the “A Better Tomorrow” initiative, a collaboration between Wutang, 36 Chambers ALC, the Ottawa Food Bank, Ottawa Mission, and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Other community partners include Shopify, Clever Print, Pure Kitchen, Jusu and Mieux Digital. Under the partnership, select products will be sold with the proceeds…

While Drake and Tory Lanez have the world doing the Toosie Slide and listening to Quarantine Radio, there is another Canadian artist who is quietly (and quickly) on the rise. He is the triple threat artist, producer and dancer Tiagz, and with appearances on BBC Radio One and Genius, and placement on playlists like Northern Bars and Hip-Hop Central, he is having one of the most impressive runs for a brand new artist that we have seen in a long time. Tiagz is a part of the new wave of artists who have one thing to thank (along with hard…

It’s that time again! SHIFTER’s Canadian Music Video Roundup for April includes videos from Drake, The Weeknd, Dip Black, Tory Lanez, Kardinal Offishall, Eva Shaw, Kaytranada, TwoTiime, Zach Zoya, and more! Once again, we ask you (the fans) to vote for our Video of the Month. Check out the videos below in order of release date, then help us crown the top video in the country for April. Special shout out to our sponsor Greg Campbell – Blue Panda Realty. Last month you voted for “Hopscotch” by JaiOfTheRise feat. Lil Berete as your video of the month. Video of the Month…

SVLM, one of the leading hip-hop and R&B artists out of Canada’s capital, recently signed to record label REIGN Music, a division of the Montreal and Toronto based Higher Reign Music Group. Established in 2017 and distributed by Sony Music Canada / Orchard, HRMG helped many indie Canadian artists reach more than 70 million streams worldwide, Top 40 radio charts, and also earned 2 Gold Records in Canada. Meanwhile, SVLM has been making noise since the release of his EP Haven Nights in 2018 which included his hit song “Day Dreaming”. The project earned him placement on leading Spotify playlists including Hip Hop Central and…

Becoming is a beautiful whirlwind of emotions. The elements of seeing Michelle Obama’s life after the White House mixed with the real life stories of some of the students she spoke to, and seeing how members of her staff and family have been impacted by her life in the White House, are presented beautifully and intimately for all to see. After the fact, it is easy to forget the history that was made during their time in the White House, but in revisiting and reflecting on their achievements, especially in today’s political climate, it is awe inspiring to think about the reality…