Author: Kevin Bourne

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…

I met drake today at the supermarket , thanks drake for the groceries #drake A post shared by Rocio (@chiofdc) on Feb 6, 2018 at 2:34pm PST Toronto’s very own, Drake, aka Aubrey Graham, is on a spree of doing good deeds and he might just show up at a supermarket or homeless shelter near you. This past Monday, he donated $25,000 to Miami Senior High School and gave out OVO designed uniforms to students, according to E! News. He also surprised a student named Destiny Paris James with $50,000 for her university tuition. Then on Tuesday, he went to…

A lot of artists talk about wanting to carve out their own lane in the industry, but few have exemplified that more these past few months than Melvin Elray with his latest project “5th Lane”. This funky, soulful, downright raw album is easily digestible at just over 20 minutes in length. But don’t let the elegance of its brevity fool you into thinking this album is light, either sonically or in its subject matter. Produced by Jeff Sanon, who is a ridiculously talented artist in his own right, this album’s sonic backdrop is a perfect fit to accompany Melvin’s falsetto grooves. “5th…

In celebration of Black History Month we’ve put together our list of 20 of the most influential black Shifters of all time. We define a Shifter as “someone who uses their creativity or creates something to impact culture or fill a void in the world around them”. While there are many people who could have easily made our list, these are the people who stood out to us in 2016. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.  Used his gift with words to lead the Black civil rights movement in the United States. OPRAH WINFREY   Created one of the most influential media empires…

SHIFTER editor, Kevin Bourne, had the chance to ask Canadian R&B artist 12AM a few questions about his big year, life in the big city, and his hit song “Devin Booker” ahead of his Midnight Tour kicking off January 25th in Montreal. This is what he had to say. Kevin : First of all, where does the name 12AM come from? 12AM : I got it from mixing my own music. I used a reverb called the midnight plate on logic and it made my voice sound real vibey. Then I put it together with the music, especially since you should be…

As a crime movie buff, I’ve had almost all the different “meals” available in the wonderful cuisine of crime (just roll with it). I know all the ingredients intimately, I’ve seen them all used before. From the daring plan, to the assembly of the rogue’s gallery to the saucy double-cross. The mark of a real good crime film, and a good film in general, is its use of the same ingredients to produce an original and unexpected result. And in that respect this film exceeded all my expectations. Written and directed by Christian Gudegast, Den of Thieves is a modern…