Author: Kevin Bourne

“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…

According to radio host, Nicky Jean, R&B isn’t dead. Here’s her list of the 12 alternative R&B artists breathing life into R&B. It’s a new year and it’s time to talk about R&B and what the genre will look like in the years to come. I love R&B; always have. From old to new school, I’m fascinated by the genre. In the past couple of years R&B reinvented itself. It was in dire straits and even the best of the best couldn’t save it. Beyonce released “4” (a predominantly R&B focused album) and in terms of Beyonce albums, it flopped.…

Storyteller, comedian, film director, and all around dope creative entrepreneur, Adrian Wallace is the guy to know. Adrian shares his story on creating one of Toronto’s most talked about web series (Courtside Series) on Youtube. He started this series to share a story about community, youth, the reality of what teens face when having to choose between the hustle and education, and so much more. Adrian’s love for storytelling stemmed from a young age, and it was a way for him to express what he experienced, sometimes in a comedic way, which is where he can easily express himself. Adrian’s story…

The world is still talking about H&M’s controversial advertisement featuring a little black boy in a “Coolest monkey in the jungle” long sleeve shirt. Responses have varied. One of the first celebrities to respond was Toronto R&B artist, The Weeknd, who came out saying that he’s ending his partnership with H&M. Fellow artists Pusha T, P Diddy and The Weeknd’s XO label mate, Belly, also spoke out against the ad. More recently H&M stores were trashed in South Africa in protest. Meanwhile, the boy’s mother has been vocal against the accusations of racism. “I am the mum and this is one…