Ottawa rapper FTG Metro was killed Wednesday morning in the city’s first homicide of 2020, making both local and international news. Ottawa’s first homicide of the year has claimed the life of rising hip-hop artist and rapper FTG Metro. Early Wednesday morning the local news reported on the incident in Ottawa’s Centrertown neighbourhood. Authorities encouraged the public to stay away from the area as they pursued the shooter and continued the investigation. The shooting later made international news with BBC reporting on the incident. The Ottawa Sun said of the shooting: Ottawa police homicide detectives are probing the city’s first…
Author: Kevin Bourne
Kevin Bourne
Kevin Bourne, also known as "KB The Boss" or simply "KB", is a Toronto-based host/on-air personality, arts & entertainment journalist, TV/film producer, and communications and content strategist. As a commentator and freelancer, he has appeared nationally as a correspondent on CBC News Network and host on CBC Music. He has also appeared locally on CTV, CBC Radio, CityNews, Newstalk 1010, and ByBlacks.com, and in the United States on Fox’s Black digital TV network, Fox Soul. He has covered some of Canada’s top red-carpet events, from the Toronto International Film Festival to the Canadian Screen Awards, and has interviewed everyone from Kevin Hart and "Fast and the Furious" star Tyrese Gibson to Ziggy Marley, Ava DuVernay, Dascha Polanco, Lilly Singh, and Howie Mandel. His years of work as an entertainment journalist led to him being named a Golden Globe® Awards voter and Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-Approved critic and being quoted as a critic in national ad campaigns for Black films and TV shows, both in Canada and the United States. Pivoting into the world of film and television, Kevin co-founded the film, TV, digital content, and live experiences company, SHIFTER Entertainment, alongside his wife and business partner, Koliah. Through SHIFTER he has produced a number of projects, including the Bell Fibe TV1 unscripted reality series A Date In The Life, serving as showrunner, executive producer, writer and co-director. Now, with a number of pilot and feature film scripts written and projects in development, KB is poised to continue to be a champion for Black entertainment and culture alongside his wife and business partner, Koliah.
After coming together as a trio in November 2019, bloom has spent the past year fervently writing and recording. Initially planning to release an EP, the group’s chemistry allowed them to amass a large number of demos in a short amount of time. They soon linked up with esteemed Toronto engineer Dominic “Dot” Okune and collectively decided to release these tracks as an album. The moving and enigmatic “no good thoughts” is bloom’s first offering from this upcoming project, scheduled for release in January 2020. Taking inspiration from a wide variety of artists including Juice WRLD, Post Malone and The Weeknd, the…
June 2019 will forever be entrenched in the hearts and minds of the members of the hip-hop group H.S.G. (HalfSizeGiants). On the night of Friday, June 7th, one third of the hip-hop/dancehall trio was gunned down senselessly. Markland Campbell, aka Jahiant, had rushed to the Byward Market in downtown Ottawa after receiving a call from his daughter saying she had been assaulted by two young men. When he arrived to defend and protect his daughter, he was subsequently shot multiple times in the chest and neck. He was rushed to hospital and died while in surgery. The entire city was…
The 2019 edition of the Camping World Bowl saw the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-2) take on the Iowa State Cyclones (7-5) at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. Led by senior QB Ian Book, the Fighting Irish showed Orlando why they’re a perennial powerhouse, topping the Cyclones 33-9. Notre Dame surrendered no touchdowns in the win. The star of the Notre Dame receiving core was Abbotsford, BC native Chase Claypool, who finished with 146 yards, one receiving TD and one fumble recovery, his second of the season. The MVP performance put Claypool past the 1000 yard mark on the…
This year we’re back with our end-of-year feature, Top 10 Shifters in the Capital celebrating the accomplishments of cultural, business, non-profit and political influencers in the capital. “Shifter” is a term we coined for people who use their creativity and influence to impact culture, business and beyond. Without further adieu, here’s our list of the top influencers who impacted the capital in 2019. 1. JOHN MANCONI | General Manager, OC Transpo Although Ottawa’s long-awaited Confederation LRT line, the largest infrastructure project in the capital’s history, faced numerous delays and had many glitches, there’s no disputing the fact OC Transpo head, John Manconi, had…
November was another busy month in the capital! This month’s Ottawa Music Video Roundup includes nine music videos. Artists include A Tribe Called Red, Lia Kloud, Hueso, Gutta King Chris, and more! Chrissy Spratt and JustJamaal the Poet also both made appearances for the second month in a row. 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 November. Special shout out to our sponsor Greg Campbell – Blue Panda Realty. Last month you voted for “Mille Feux”…
Reposted from Facebook with permission from the author I was a fan of Juice Wrld, Lil Peep and XXXTentatacion and never once did listening to their music ever encourage me to do drugs or any of the other things they talked about. I just recently turned 27 years old, making me years older than all three of them at the time of their deaths, but I still respected and idolized these three artists; not because of their fame, money or success. I respected and idolized them for their ability to be vulnerable and to be real in their music, especially…
The internet is buzzing about Hair Love, the latest film from BlacKkKlansman executive producer and former NFL player, Matthew A. Cherry. Although the film was just released late last week, it was actually years in the making. It was back in 2017, that Cherry first launched a Kickstarter campaign to finance the film. The campaign ended up raising $300,000, exceeding Cherry’s goal of $75,000, en route to breaking the record for the most funds raised for a short film on the crowdfunding platform. Then earlier this year, Sony Pictures Animation announced they had picked up the film and it would be released by…
Today, Jay-Z, considered by many to be the greatest rapper of all time, celebrated his 50th birthday. The rapper, who got his start as sidekick to fellow Brooklyn rappers Jaz-O and Big Daddy Kane, joins fellow hip-hop mogul P Diddy in the 50 Club. Diddy turned 50 years old on November 4th, exactly one month ago. Jay-Z celebrated the milestone by re-releasing his complete music catalogue on Spotify after a two-year absence. Hov is, of course, the owner of rival streaming service Tidal. Spotify shared their excitement for the re-release earlier today tweeting: Happy birthday, Hov ? Welcome back to Spotify.https://t.co/exr5QGgwCK…
A few weeks ago, Ottawa played host to the first ever Cranium Festival, an urban music festival that featured local, Canadian and American artists, as well as a number of panel discussions and networking opportunities. In a city where I’m used to seeing events flop after a lot of hype, Cranium was a welcomed surprise. The shows were good, the actual setup was well done, and using multiple venues across downtown made the festival feel “big”. SHIFTER played a small role hosting the industry tips panel at the Origin Arts & Community Centre moderated by yours truly. Featuring two artists,…
My beloved Torontonians (and beyond), here we are again. It is time for another edition of the Taste of the 6ix Global Music Showcase. Back from a short break, the team at Taste of the 6ix has carefully curated another brilliant line up. As the King of Pop would say, it’s about to rock your world. Taste of the 6ix is a platform founded on love, community and creativity. It’s a welcoming environment for artists and other pillars of the industry to come together to have fun, network and find genuine support. You will have the pleasure of witnessing emerging gems of…
October was a busy month in the capital! This month’s Ottawa Music Video Roundup includes 14 music videos. Artists include Timal Garnier, Chrissy Spratt, JustJamaal the Poet, Craig Cardiff, Dynamic and more! 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 September. Special shout out to our sponsor Greg Campbell – Blue Panda Realty. Last month you voted for “Liu Kang” by Dip Black featuring Hevve as your video of the month. Video of…
