Author: Kevin Bourne

Toronto has Kiana ‘rookz’ Eastmond’s Sandbox Studios and Canadian R&B superstar The Weeknd’s HXOUSE. Well, almost two years later, the nation’s capital now has a creative space of its own. On the heals of a Wu-tang Clan COVID-19 fundraiser in partnership with the Ottawa Mission, Ottawa Food Bank, and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, and a recent meeting between local hip-hop leaders and mayor Jim Watson, hip-hop artist City Fidelia has opened the Real House of Ensemble, a membership-based studio and creative space for recording artists and creatives. The opening of the Byward Market-based office and studio is the…

Sitting here watching a documentary on The Underground Railroad, it’s interesting to see how many white people, including Christians and preachers, literally risked their lives so Black people could be free. Some of them picking up their families and moving to the hotbeds of slavery to be right on the front lines. It’s also interesting to see how proud their descendants are that their ancestors were on the right side of history. Great great grandchildren, eyes of full of pride, telling stories about how their forefathers and mothers were “conductors” for Black people wanting to make it to the free…

Despite the global pandemic and quarantine, hip-hop and R&B artist Kalix Breezy is busy dropping new music. After relocating from Montreal to Ottawa after ending his two-year relationship with Production Dr. Bass and a long period of preparation, he is ready to show the world his evolution. Produced by his hometown producer K Cooke, his new single “Domino Effect” reflects his soul, pride and engagement on making his life and the life of those around him, if not better, the best it can be by providing his own sources and assets he gained over time. “‘Domino Effect’ is about me or…

Hollywood’s exploitation of Black Culture is sinister and dangerous. Ground zero for this exploitation is none other than hip-hop. They (meaning the Hollywood entertainment industry) see no value in supporting masters and deep practitioners of the various expressions and disciplines of hip-hop because in a capitalistic world, whose sole language is consumerism and greed, dollars and market control in the form of “numbers” is the name of the game. So the vast majority of what they provide listeners and consumers is watered down “Dollarama” versions of the art form that are unrepresentative of the culture, often coming from young emerging…

In recent years, there’s been a push to support Black businesses. Here are 12 black businesses in Ottawa and Toronto you can support today. Over the past few days, members of the black community have been taking to social media to share their lists of black businesses you can support in order to support racial equality, so we decided to come up with our own list. Here are 12 black businesses in Ottawa and Toronto you can support today. OTTAWA View this post on Instagram A post shared by minimalist. afrocentric. art. (@anaya.arts) on Nov 19, 2019 at…

Yesterday, thousands of music industry players, from record labels to music media, took to social media to express their support for Black Out Tuesday, an initiative set to take place on June 2nd in support the black community in their fight against racial inequality and injustice. Capitol Records, Columbia Records, Def Jam, Interscope, as well as the “Big Three” record labels of Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and Warner Music Group, have confirmed their participation. Companies as far as Canada, Brazil, Africa and Australia are also set to participate. UMG, the largest music company in the world, stated on Instagram, “As…

Inspired by the unfortunate murder of George Floyd, the many Canadian black men who took to social media to express their sadness, anger and despair, and the resulting sense of brotherhood and solidarity, SHIFTER magazine is launching its first annual Outstanding Black Men in Canada list. The list will honour and celebrate the black sons, fathers, leaders, and entrepreneurs who are having an impact at home, at work, in the community, and in the country. SHIFTER editor-in-chief, Kevin Bourne, says of the new initiative, “Seeing so many black men across Canada take to TV, radio and social media to express the same…

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…