The height of the mixtape era was one of the most exciting times in hip-hop history, especially as a fan. It was like the Wild West as the internet was flooded with new music. It allowed artists to bypass the industry crap for a second and get back to the love of hip-hop. This era blessed us with Drake’s So Far Gone and Lil’ Wayne’s Dedication 2 and Da Drought 3. People still debate mixtape Wayne vs. album Wayne almost like #8 Kobe vs. #24 Kobe. Last month, Pittsburgh-raised, Ottawa-based rapper Cashtro Crosby took us back and reminded us why mixtapes were such…
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.
Self-described as an adhesive/aerosol artist — also known as a sticker artist — Tyler Proulx is using his platform of teaching at D’Arcy McGee High School to change the way students think of academics. Street art — namely, spray-painted graffiti on building walls, train cars, and traffic signs — has been a popular, often rebellious, DIY tradition in urban centers since the 1960s. The sticker scene, in particular, founded by Obey creator Sheperd Fairey, was mostly ignored by law enforcement and has been nourished by other local taggers, wheat-pasters and sticker bombers. That includes Proulx, known as Trp613, one of…
Welcome to our first ever Toronto Music Video Roundup! Every month we’ll be featuring some of the top music videos coming out of Toronto. This month’s list features legends like Maestro Fresh Wes, today’s top artists like NAV and Tory Lanez, and up and comers like Dboybennett and Keynes Woods. We’re asking you, the fans, to vote for Toronto’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 March. If there are any videos we forgot make sure to comment below. Maestro Fresh Wes (feat.…
March’s Ottawa music video roundup was a lean with one video from City Fidelia, Eva Shaw and Db Bantino. As usual, if there are any videos we forgot make sure to comment below. City Fidelia and Eva Shaw (feat. DB Bantino) Snakes Release date: March 29, 2019 Directed by: Eva Shaw & Henry Lipatov Produced by: MVA studios, Mad Fatti & EVAlution Inc. Edited by: Bogdan Yansen Right out the gate, the shot of Eva Shaw, City Fidelia and DB Bantino gives you a Matrix vibe. It’s highly cinematic with very high production value. The lighting is absolutely on point and the…
In a world where there are so many different options for playing games (like your phone, PC, Xbox, PS4, and now Google is getting their own streaming service) there is certainly many (many) games that this article doesn’t touch upon. However, we’ve compiled a list of the most exciting games buzzing around. This list is in order of release date, but many have yet to announce an “official” release date other than being released in 2019. Here are 15 video game releases coming in 2019. Yoshi’s Crafted World March 29 | Good-Feel | Switch This upcoming Yoshi’s Crafted World game…
It’s finally here. After Woodstock 50 was officially announced earlier this year, the full lineup of the highly anticipated three-day festival was released on Tuesday. Having had the time to look through the multitude of acts that will be performing this August, I noticed a major change from all previous iterations of the festival. What used to be a mainly rock-oriented event is now morphing into a mishmash of different genres, which I have to say, feels kind of odd. Now, I’m well aware that the music scene is completely different now than it was 50 years ago, but this…
New Balance has opened its newest location in Ottawa’s very own CF Rideau Centre — marking their sixteenth store opening in Canada. Located on the second floor right across from La Senza, the store has charming brick wall accents with leather cushions to try on shoes. The interior decor creates a sense of subtlety, which captures the true essence of a classic New Balance store. The decision to bring the much loved exercise apparel brand to the capital was long overdue, and we can expect to see another exclusive Ottawa shoe in the near future to be sold only at…
You can expect only the hottest and best on wheels rolling into the Shaw Centre this weekend for the Ottawa Gatineau International Auto Show. As a celebration of car culture, the show features supercars, electric cars, hydrogen cars, and movie cars — as well as all our favouite models of trucks and SUVS. With a total of 29 dealers and more than 300 cars on display during the four day auto show, you can expect to see some high-end names like Jaguar, Mazarati, and Lamborghini, including other dealers like Ford, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota. All have an impressive collection of…
Back in 2017, Jordan Peele caught everyone by surprised when he introduced us to his new horror formula. Even more surprising was the fact his formula turned out to be rather successful among fans and critics alike. After winning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay with Get Out, the audience’s expectations went through the roof when Peele confirmed his next directorial effort would also be a psychological horror. Two years later, and here we are, impatiently anticipating a horror film helmed by a renowned comedian. But was “Us” worthy of the excitement? Well, the answer to that is as complex as the…
Last Friday, over 400 urban music lovers descended on Orchid Nightclub in downtown Toronto for the launch of the city’s newest artist showcase “Taste of the 6ix”. According to co-organizer Charles Lewis, the monthly event, produced by XOXO and Night Night Entertainment, fills a vital need for emerging artist. “Our mission is to give local artists a platform to showcase their talents, network with other artists, industry professionals, blogs, social media representatives, producers and labels,” Lewis noted. “We recognize that up-and-coming artists have many obstacles to getting their music heard.” True to its name and the city’s popular moniker, every…
At today’s Game Developers Conference the big news was surrounding Stadia, Google’s new platform designed to stream video games that may ultimately change the way we play games altogether. Stadia isn’t a game console, it’s a cloud-based streaming service that’s exclusively for video games that will work on any smart TV (or any TV with a Chromecast), computers running a Chrome browser, and Google’s Pixel devices. This means that you won’t have to wait a few hours to download games to your devices, just play them over any Wi-Fi connection instantly. The Netflix-like product is expected to launch later this…
Every morning I grab my phone and look at the weather and go on Twitter to catch up on the latest stories. Friday morning, most of us learned that two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand were attacked leaving 49 people dead and many more injured. Here at home in Quebec, just a few weeks ago Alexandre Bissonnette was sentenced to life in prison for attacking a mosque leaving five men dead. Today there is an ever-growing fear of attending mosques in the Muslim community. I have friends who practice Islam and they have expressed that these acts of terror in…
