Melissa Lamm is a singer-songwriter based in Toronto, Canada. She combines her love of pop music with thoughtful lyrics that resonate with listeners. Her music takes influence from her favourite artists, including John Mayer, Lights, Zedd, and The Weeknd. Biggest accomplishment so far: For as long as I can remember, I have been a creative person battling with the conventional little voice inside my head. I have always wanted to be a songwriter. I wanted to create music that complete strangers listened to. I wanted to turn complicated ideas into beautiful phrases that resonated with others. I wanted to be…
Author: Kevin Bourne
Kevin Bourne
Kevin Bourne is the co-founder and editor of SHIFTER magazine. Born and raised in Toronto, Kevin currently resides in Ottawa with his wife Koliah and their three children. He's a big fan of hip-hop, pop culture, and urbanism and spends most of his time keeping up with the Kardashians.
Tristan Barrocks also known as the Digital Storyteller is the CEO and founder of Felicity Moments, an international luxury wedding cinematography company. His passion for telling stories is something he has had for as long as he could remember. Tristan has been in the arts for over 12 years and with his experience, he has created a successful business that caters to elevating brands, and weddings to the next level. Tristan has a gift when it comes to capturing special moments, hence the Digital Storyteller being so fitting. Tristan shares his story of how he began into this industry, creating…
Wendy’s has beef. I know what you’re thinking; not that kind. A few days ago the fast food restaurant released a five track mixtape called We Beefin’ ?. It’s genius content marketing. Some people may see it as cheesy or a gimmick, calling out their competitors like McDonald’s with tracks like Rest In Grease and 4 for $4. It is a gimmick, but the truth is it’s actually good, so let’s give this a review, seriously. Here’s a track by track look at Wendy’s first body of work (I can’t believe we’re actually doing this). Twitter Fingers – “You’re Twitter beefin’ for some clout.…
Louise Mangalino, also known as “The Head Barbie In Charge” is the founder and creator of Burger Pawty, a catering company for special events and pop-ups. Her love for burgers evolved when she started her own burger blog, BURGERS AND BARBIE$, back in 2010. Through that blog, Louise was able to channel her love for food, fashion, music and photography all in one place. After some time of doing burger reviews, she had yet to see a pink style burger and she was ready to be the one to bring it to life. The opportunity was hers for the taking…
Markus Marshall of SHIFTER Sports recently sat down with Ottawa Fury FC GM, Julian de Guzman, for our first feature piece ahead of the new USL season. De Guzman took the time to share some of his story, talk about soccer in Canada and opened up on expectations for the new season. Fury FC’s season last year ended with disappointment after missing out on the play-offs for the second season in a row. There has been a revamp in the off season, with many changes to the first team squad. A new head coach and with de Guzman himself transitioning…
Canadian hip-hop recording artist Morris Ogbowu recently released an EP titled This That Mo. Seeing that I was already familiar with his previous work, as well as him as an artist, I was excited to delve into his latest release and see what this offering would bring. It seems that now, more than ever, Mo wants to introduce himself to the world as a fully formed artist. This project seeks to let people know once and for all that he’s a worthy contender and ready to compete in this game called Hip-Hop. The album’s flow is impeccable, both sonically and thematically. I was impressed…
Move over Diddy, Jay-Z, and Dr. Dre. There’s a new player vying for the final spot on the Mount Rushmore of almost-billionaire hip-hop moguls and it’s none other than Queensbridge’s finest, Nas. Over the past few years, Nas has been somewhat flying under the radar as a tech investor. While Diddy, Jay-Z and Dr. Dre have been making their millions through more sexy and mainstream industries like music and consumer products, Nas is carving out his own niche as a Silicon Valley tech investor through his Los Angeles-based company Queensbridge Venture Partners. A quick glance at Nas’ angel.co profile shows Dropbox,…
“Representation matters. When communities see themselves reflected onscreen, it means they’ve moved from the margins into the forefront; it gives them a voice.” -Paul Sun-Hyung Lee The 6th edition of the Canadian Screen Awards has come and gone, and having attended for the first time, it exceeded expectations. Canada sometimes has a reputation as dry, boring and understated compared to our neighbours to the south, but the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards showed that the Canadian film and television industries are alive and well. Among the big winners this week were the detective drama Cardinal which took home six awards including Supporting…
“Deep down we all hoped that people would come to see a film about a fictional country on the continent of Africa, made up of a cast of people of African descent. Never in a million years did we imagine that you all would come out this strong.” This is an excerpt from an open letter Ryan Coogler posted on the Marvel Studios Instagram page. At 31 years of age, this proud African-American man is the director of one of the most successful superhero films of all time, Black Panther. But as a fairly unknown Hollywood director prior to his work on Creed,…
One of the shows we had the privilege of taking in at the 2017 edition of Bluesfest was Ottawa rap group Flight Distance as they opened for hip-hop legend 50 Cent. It was our first time seeing them perform live since House of Paint in 2015. We were shocked to learn that group member, former King of the Dot battle rap champion, and painter, Bender, died this past weekend in Montreal at only 37 years old. The Ottawa Sun reported: Alexander “Bender” Buchanan died suddenly in Montreal on Thursday night from an unknown cause, possibly sleep apnea. He was 37. “He was the type…
I’m honestly still basking in the glow of #WakandaForever and the enormous success that was Black Panther’s opening weekend, which, at the time of writing, is estimated at $404 million. It goes without saying that I’m extremely proud of what the director, cast, producers and everyone else involved in the production of this film have accomplished. And let me be frank, I was initially both excited and worried that this movie might not be the smash hit it needed to be to justify the investment in such a predominantly black film to the higher ups at Disney and Marvel. Especially…
Our editor, Kevin Bourne, asked pianist, John Dapaah, a few questions ahead of the release of his debut album Reflections. They talked about his musical influences, being a black classical pianist, and his upcoming album. Kevin Bourne: How long have you been playing music and what inspired you to get started? John Dapaah: I’ve been playing piano for 22 years. I started playing at the age of seven while I was living in Japan. The pastor’s wife at my church was a pianist and a piano teacher. I remember the first time I walked into the church and heard the…
