Author: Kevin Bourne

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…

Five months after Manyok Akol, also known as rapper “FTG Metro”, was killed in downtown Ottawa, Ottawa police have made an arrest. Five months after 18 year-old Manyok Akol, also known as rapper “FTG Metro”, was killed at a Gilmour Street Airbnb in downtown Ottawa, Ottawa police have made an arrest. A 15-year old was charged with first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder. The youth, who allegedly helped plan and carry out a quadruple homicide, appeared in court Friday morning. This isn’t the accused’s first brush with the law. According to the Ottawa Citizen, he was also charged…

Over the past six weeks life as we knew it all over the world has changed. The word “unprecedented” has become commonplace on various news and media platforms as we grapple to fully describe the extent of unparalleled upheaval the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the world over. Most facets of our lives have been drastically impacted in an attempt to “flatten the curve” and adhere to recommendations around social distancing. We are compelled to protect the most vulnerable among us, namely those with pre-existing  respiratory illnesses, the immunosuppressed, seniors, as well as racialized people and those in poverty. Most of…

Toronto artist VibeByMelo, who SHIFTER once crowned one of the best live performer we had ever seen, is back with a new album The Caves Have Wifi (T.C.H.W.). The seven song collaboration with Ottawa-based producer Travis Thickle is also one of the most cohesive and quality projects to come out of Canada this year. With all the anxiety surrounding Covid-19, the pair notes the album is their way of “breathing life and colour back into the world during this lackadaisical quarantine”. A long time in the making, work on the project began in 2018. The lead single “Busy” was their way…

The NHL season is still on hold due to COVID-19, but Ottawa Senators DJ, DJ Prosper, is keeping busy dropping his latest single “Mental Motivation”. Produced by Quest and featuring his go-to vocalist Doressa, the Summer anthem brings the sound of Haiti, DJ Prosper’s ancestral homeland, to the mainstream with a sample from the Creole hit “Zouk La Sé Sèl Médikaman Nou Ni”. When asked about how the song came together, the former rapper and Ashanti hypeman noted, “‘Mental Motivation’ came together after sending an idea to Quest to produce a flip of the Kassav song. He sent me the…

Today, there’s a lot of tension between the younger generation and the “old heads” who grew up in hip-hop in the 80’s and 90’s. The younger generation are into “vibes” while we were into lyricism. As a result, a lot of older people in hip-hop blame the younger generation for ruining hip-hop. Meanwhile, the younger generation have had enough of our criticism and complaining. Up until a few years ago, I was one of those OG’s lamenting the state of hip-hop. I used terms like “mumble rap” and scoffed at the lack of depth and substance in hip-hop today. But…

Ottawa hip-hop artist Nathan Miles has been busy teasing a brand new single for the Summer called “Crash”, a collaboration with Dreamland artist Hevve and frequent collaborator, and ffa head, Kyazze. The Treuanto designed artwork has a dark, grimey, Hollywood movie poster aesthetic. Miles says of the direction for the cover art, “For this artwork, I hit up my go-to graphic designer Treuanto from Carolina who I’ve been working with since my first single “Hunnit.” I simply told him I needed a dark, grimey, trap-style cover for this new record ‘Crash’ and to somehow incorporate a scrapyard. He came up with…

SHIFTER’s Artist of the Month for May is Cole James, an emerging west coast artist based out of Vancouver, British Columbia with melodic and spacey vocals. He is influenced by R&B, hip-hop and dancehall music, creating a energetic but easy listening vibe. Cole has accumulated 500,000 plus streams across all platforms and has performed at various venues and nightclubs in Vancouver. Before doing music, Cole James was a child actor seen in many TV shows and movies, including “Diary of a Whimpy Kid”. He also appears in vlogs from YouTuber FaZe Mito. Artist Name: Cole James City/Country: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Social…