Marisa Walcott, the founder and creator of KYSO (knock your socks off) socks, is the girl boss you need to know! Marisa launched her line in early 2017 and has really begun to make a name for herself. Having TV personalites such as Lincoln Blades, a CBC news contributor and Teen Vogue columnist, wearing and promoting her socks, KYSO is definitely making some noise. With Marisa’s extensive background in marketing and fashion buying, she was already several steps ahead of the game. Marisa’s confidence, drive, and determination has brought her to where she is today. Listen to hear her full story! Ep.…
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.
SHIFTER had the opportunity to profile dancer Artin Avaznia following the release of his film The Velvet Rope: A Dance Short Film celebrating 20 year anniversary of Janet Jackson’s Velvet Rope album. For more profiles visit www.shiftermagazine.com/creators. Biggest accomplishment so far: My biggest accomplishment to date, would most definitely have to be my dance short film, The Velvet Rope: A Dance Short Film. This year marks the 20-year anniversary of Janet Jackson’s Velvet Rope album and with its universal impact, as well as its impact on me personally, this film was created in homage. The film, which was released on October 7th 2017 -…
“Eminem dropped some harsh lines on Donald Trump…but it won’t change anything. Change requires major sacrifices and it’s obvious America is split on making sacrifices so the right change can come about.” I posted that on Facebook the day after Eminem’s freestyle. A couple of weeks have past and nothing has changed. I’ve noticed many reactions to the Eminem freestyle but next to no action. So I’m standing by what I said. After being called out by Eminem, Donald Trump ran off somewhere and buried his head in the sand. His Twitter fingers didn’t shoot out any 140 character tweets. He…
He’s a sought after event host/emcee and YouTuber and she’s a reality TV junkie and the daughter of a long-time radio show host. Together they’re the co-hosts of entertainment podcast Power Circle. Kevin Bourne had the opportunity to ask Reggie Cash and Cassie B. about how they met, how they started Power Circle, who inspired them and where they see their podcast going. Kevin Bourne: So how did you guys meet? Cassie B: Reggie Cash and I know each other from way back. I remember meeting him for the first time at my father’s workplace, CHIN Radio. I think we were either in…
“The thing I will say is that making movies is a laboratory. It’s an artistic process. You cannot plan things.” One of the highest anticipated sequels in film history was directed by a Canadian. You read that correctly. “Blade Runner 2049”, the critically lauded sequel to the 1982 film “Blade Runner” was directed by a man from Quebec. Ridley Scott, the original movie’s director, personally chose French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve for the film. For Villeneuve, this was a true honor since he has referred to Scott as a “master” in the past. Wouldn’t we all feel that way if one of our…
One name I’d always hear around Toronto in the early to mid-2000’s was “Andrew James”. During that time he was making a name for himself in the Toronto entertainment industry. Through S4 Entertainment, his artist development, artist management and event production company, he developed and managed some of the top urban Christian talent in the city, including rapper Promise and R&B princess Roshana. He also published a nationally distributed music magazine called Inspired and after watching the film “Drumline” founded The Drum Off billed as Toronto’s #1 Drum Competition. Today, there are a number of black Christian entrepreneurs in Toronto doing their…
On the heals of her New York Fashion Week debut, this past weekend fashion designer and Kania Couture founder, Stacey Bafi-Yeboa, held an encore of her NYFW show at Mark Motors’ Audi Ottawa in front of a hometown crowd. The who’s who of Ottawa fashion and fashion lovers alike waited patiently outside Audi Ottawa to witness the city’s biggest fashion success story since Herieth Paul started gracing runways and magazine covers all over the world. As the garage door opened, the crowd was ushered onto the Audi Ottawa showroom floor to take their seats. Everything about the night said “luxury”, from the cars to…
Nneka Elliott, formerly known as Toronto’s news anchor on CP24, decided to launch her own lifestyle brand. Since launching, Nneka has developed quite a name for herself in the entertainment business, from acting appearances, starting her own Caribbean lifestyle show online, blog, speaking engagements, and the list goes on. Nneka isn’t stopping anytime soon and has proved that it’s never too late to pursue and follow your dreams! Listen to this amazing woman’s story and be mesmerized. Ep. 21 – Nneka Elliott, lifestyle and media entrepreneur Photos by Jodianne Beckford For more photos of Nneka Elliott visit jodiannebeckford.com …
For fans of the film industry, this past week has been tough. Allegations of sexual abuse, terminations due to said accusations and reports of cover-ups have run rampant across the various entertainment news outlets, with seemingly no sign of slowing down. The initial allegations against Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein made in an expose by New York Times writers Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey on October 5th, 2017, opened the floodgates and gave other women the strength to share their stories. And it’s not just the studios themselves. With multiple victims coming forward (with clear cut evidence), Screen Junkies founder, Andy Signore, was…
In a year already rife with good science fiction, French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve seeks to make his mark with the highly anticipated sequel to everyone’s favourite 1982 cyberpunk classic. Blade Runner 2049, set thirty years after the events of the original film, is the story of K (Ryan Gosling), an LAPD blade runner who discovers a long-buried secret that could cause a war between species. His discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), who has been missing for three decades. The story here doesn’t seem as complex as in the original, which is a blessing in disguise:…
The Weeknd is one of those guys that can’t seem to stop winning. Late last year he performed at the Victoria’s Secret runway show in front of a global television audience. This past August he collaborated with Puma on the XO Parallel high top sneaker. He also had spring and fall lines with H&M. And now The Weeknd and Marvel are collaborating on a Starboy comic book. Yes, you heard that right. I respect all of The Weeknd’s business moves; he’s obviously smart. Looking back at his career, he’s been a master at branding himself, starting with his former signature hairstyle…
“I am who I am. Your approval isn’t needed.” -Jack Nicholson
