Author: Kevin Bourne

With the success of acts like Night Lovell, City Fidelia, Maurice Moore, Kira Isabella and Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine in recent years, it was only a matter of time. This March, the first annual Capital Music Awards will be coming to Ottawa. The awards are being organized by the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition, also known as OMIC, the city’s music industry association created in 2015 to bring together music industry players, including “artists, music businesses, venues, festivals and local businesses, together to work towards common goals”. “I am inspired by the exceptional talent that is brewing within the national capital…

Ottawa’s hip-hop scene is continuously growing to make moves that matter. Community is in full effect and we see that more and more as we look around at the blooming artists ready to take initiative. This is especially true when local hip-hop artist, Mischa, decided to put together a hip-hop meets visual arts fundraiser for the endangered wildlife in Australia. The wildfires have been blazing since September 2019. This has killed as many as 1.25 billion animals, 26 people, destroyed over 2,000 homes and scorched 4.9 million hectares of land. This is where “Fighting Fire with Fire”, comes into play.…

At 25 years old Kobe made a grave mistake that nearly cost him his future. As a budding superstar in the NBA, the accusation of rape revibrated all over the world. He was faced with two decisions, confront and own his mistake or blame. At the outset, he refused to take ownership of his mistake but after seeking out the counsel of a priest, Kobe made the decision to take extreme ownership and owned up to his mistake by admitting his actions towards his accuser. Since that moment Kobe dedicated his life to becoming a better father, husband, player and…

Months after the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group announced the end of the Ottawa Fury FC, the beautiful game is set to return to the capital in 2020. The Canadian Premier League has announced that Ottawa has been awarded the league’s first expansion team. Storied La Liga franchise  Club Atlético de Madrid was the successful team behind the bid. Local businessman and Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group partner, Jeff Hunt, is on board as a strategic partner. “We are delighted to be part of such an exciting project in an amazing country. We would like to bring our expertise to…

Ottawa’s film community is about to get a little glitzier. From March 25 to 29, the capital will play host to the brand new International Film Festival of Ottawa (IFFO), bringing the best of Canadian and international cinema to the city. The festival will feature the Ottawa premiere of 20 films, including Guest of Honour by Atom Egoyan and Twentieth Century by Matthew Rankin. Both filmmakers will be in Ottawa for the festival. This isn’t CFI’s first foray into international festivals. The institute organizes the annual Ottawa International Animation Festival, North America’s largest animation festival, as well as the European Union…

The sports world is buzzing after news of Kobe Bryant’s passing in a helicopter crash on Sunday. TMZ was among the first to report on his passing. “Kobe Bryant died in a helicoper crash in Calabasas Sunday morning … TMZ Sports has confirmed.Kobe was traveling with at least 3 other people in his private helicopter when it went down. A fire broke out. Emergency personnel responded, but nobody on board survived. 5 people are confirmed dead. We’re told Vanessa Bryant was not among those on board.” It was later confirmed his 13-year old daughter Gianna Maria Onore was also on…

The 8th annual Toronto Black Film Festival (TBFF), presented by TD Bank in collaboration with Global News, announces the official program and events lineup running February 12 – 17, 2020. The Toronto Black Film Festival is honoured to present SPIKE LEE, Cannes Film Festival’s first Black Jury President, with the Toronto Black Film Festival’s 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award during an intimate evening where festivalgoers can watch a restored version of his film Bamboozled and hear the Academy Award winning director discuss his journey as a filmmaker as well as his views on today’s socio-economic environment. #TBFF20 will present 9 World Premieres, 5 International Premieres, 1 North-American premiere, 20 Canadian Premieres and 34…

As the world keeps a close eye on the growing conflict between the United States and Iran, there’s one important question to ask. Should Donald Trump be considered a war criminal? The President has provided a plethora of reasons and rationales for the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, many of them direct contradictions, and others unsubstantiated by evidence. Trump believes that Iran hadn’t been properly “boxed in” as they continue to project force in countries such as Syria and Iraq. His strategy in Iran was that he wanted to cut down on their nuclear program and force Iran to…

I am always inspired and excited when it come to Taste of the 6ix, however, as the first edition of 2020, this is a special one. Before we take look at what’s in store for this weekend’s showcase, let’s take a look back at some of the best moments of 2019. 2019, the year that was Last March, Taste of the 6ix introduced the first six gems in its story – Gaby Harvey, Colin Petierre, NDAI, Casino Barnes, Billi D’kid (AKA Black sage) and NINETX, initiated this wonderful journey. Then in April, we saw BebeBoy, NYA, Chantelle C.W, HEVVE, Naquita Russell and…

This past Friday, Eminem surprised fans and the world by dropping his 11th studio album Music To Be Murdered By. The cover art features Em in an Alfred Hitchcock like pose, with a suit and shovel setting the tone for the project. As the intro on “Little Engine” says, “This was meant for your listening pleasure while you’re being done in.” One of the knocks on previous Eminem albums was their features. While he redeemed himself on Kamikaze, working with the likes of Joyner Lucas and Jessie Reyez, some fans questioned how one of the most dark and twisted rappers…

December was another busy month in the capital! This month’s Ottawa Music Video Roundup includes four music videos. Artists include Airborn, Dynamic aka Ya Favourite Lightskin, Arty Warhol and Bobby Brugal (formerly known as Cashtro Crosby). We’re continuing to ask you, the fans, to vote for the capital’s Video of the Month. Check out the videos below in order of release date, then help us crown the top video in the city for December. Special shout out to our sponsor Greg Campbell – Blue Panda Realty. Last month you voted for “No Games” by Aspects featuring 613TINO as your video of…

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, also known as CES, has come and gone. Hundreds of tech companies descended on Sin City to show off some of their latest gadgets and technologies. Although, Canada’s capital isn’t known as a hotbed for consumer electronics, Ottawa has seen some growth in recent years with the popularity of the world famous Instant Pot and the increasing importance of autonomous vehicles. This year, there were a number of Ottawa companies making their presence felt at CES 2020, including Kanata-based Blackberry QNX. In a recent Invest Ottawa blog post, Sean Hazaray of Karma Automotive noted:…