Today Google revealed their most interactive doodle yet in celebration of the 44th anniversary of hip-hop. If you’re a serious fan of hip-hop you’ll want to check it out. It was 44 years ago today that hip-hop started at a back to school party in the Bronx. Kool Herc, recognized as the father of hip-hop, isolated the instrumental part of a track, or the “break”, and a genre and culture was born. Former DefJam CEO turn YouTube Global Head of Music, Lyor Cohen says of the occasion, “Today we acknowledge and celebrate a cultural revolution that’s spanned 44 years and…
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.
I don’t know about you, but one of the faces I’ve been missing in Hollywood is Jim Carrey. If you grew up in the 80’s and 90’s you got used to seeing him regularly on In Living Color and in his many hit movies, from Ace Ventura to The Truman Show. Really, he’s the Eminem of the big screen. He came up in a time when black comedians were dominating and he emerged as one of the GOATS. If you think Kevin Hart is a box office success, he can’t even compare to the run that Carrey had. And really,…
Angela Brasington is the founder and designer of Anjé clothing. Having acquired a business degree and having been in the fashion industry for nearly 10 years, Angela realized that it was time to pursue her own line. This allowed her to be one step ahead of the game. Since launching in 2014, Anjé has grown into an amazing brand and continues to provide chic designs for all women that want to look sexy while still being comfortable and stylish. Their motto is being minimalist and chic at the same time and bringing you from day to night transitionally. This fashion ninja’s story…
The Toronto International Film Festival is just around the corner. Koliah Bourne of SHIFTER Magazine and SHIFTER On Films had the opportunity to chat with TIFF’s artistic director, Cameron Bailey, about diversity in film and television. Koliah Bourne: First off, thank you again for taking the time to talk to me. I really appreciate it. Cameron Bailey: No problem. Koliah: So there’s been a lot of talk in the past little while for the need for diversity, and I’m not talking gender diversity, I’m talking cultural diversity, race, ethnic diversity. And so I’m asking, why is this so important in this industry?…
After launching David’s Tea at 27 years old with his cousin and Le Château founder, Hershel Segal, David Segal is back with his latest venture, Mad Radish. Along with his business partner, Stephanie Howarth, Segal is embracing the challenge of making salad fun to eat. They are opening with two Ottawa locations; one in the downtown core and the other in The Glebe. The grand opening included a party and media preview with the who’s who of the city, from restauranteur, Stephen Beckta, to Shopify CEO, Tobi Lütke. Prior to the event our editor, Kevin Bourne, had the opportunity to talk…
Zahra Siddiqui is one of Toronto’s multi-talented visual artist’s and photographer. One of the amazing things about Zahra’s art is that she is self-taught. With the encouragement of close friends, Zahra began her journey and soon found her voice in her art. Zahra also shares how her first solo exhibition came about and the impact it has left. Ep. 14 – Visual artist and photographer, Zahra Siddiqui Photos by Jodianne Beckford For more photos of visit jodiannebeckford.com ZAHRA SIDDIQUI SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: ZahraSiddiqui The Invisible Majority: ZahraSiddiqui Website: ZahraSiddiqui Twitter: ZahraSiddiqui VIDEO FILMED & EDITED BY: O’SHANE HOWARD Vimeo: O’shaneHoward Instagram: O’shaneHoward Website: O’shaneHoward Facebook: O’shaneHoward PODCAST INTRO/OUTRO…
Today the Ottawa Citizen published an opinion piece by our editor, Kevin Bourne, on the violence at Bluesfest. In this piece he stated that artists and parents bear some responsibility for the behaviour: “…artists need to take responsibility. You can’t have artists talking about molly and Percocets, then act like they have no responsibility when young people are intoxicated at their shows. Young people are impressionable. Case in point: when I was a teenager I went through a brief gin and juice phase. Third, parents need to take responsibility. There are some concerts you shouldn’t be bringing your kids to.…
I woke up the morning that 4:44 was released to find my timelines flooded. Everything, and I mean everything, was 4:44. That is the kind of clout that Jay-Z, aka Shawn Carter, possesses. Now, we’re not talking about the Lil Uzis and Lil Yachtys of the world. When Mr. Carter speaks, the world listens. My friend was messaging me frantically all morning asking if I had heard the album. He knew I was a fan of true lyricists and Jay-Z certainly was one of them. I told him I was trying to sign up for Tidal as we spoke. Success. I made the…
Facebook never ceases to generate buzz and every once in a while its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, generates buzz of his own. This week the business media was buzzing as Facebook closed last week at an at time high of $159.97 per share. This meant a big jump in net worth for the Facebook founder. John Bonazzo of observer.com reported on this story: Facebook’s stock has risen nearly 40 percent since the start of 2017—it closed at a record high of $159.97 on Friday. The social network is also expected to announce strong second-quarter earnings at the end of July. All of this…
So the 2017 edition of RBC Bluesfest is in the books and it was a great show. The mix of artists was on point- 50 Cent, Toby Keith, Anderson. Paak, Muse, Migos- and as usual, there was something for everyone. As we said in our preview, the local talent at this year’s festival was deep and showed how far Ottawa’s music scene has come along. One thing was clear after attending multiple shows over the 10-day festival- not all performers are created equal. The top performers were Toby Keith, Anderson. Paak, Muse, P!nk and Tegan and Sara, and The Souljazz Orchestra.…
Full disclaimer. I am a huge fan of Jazz, Reggae, Soul and Afro Beats. So in a way, the following review might be somewhat biased. Now, if there’s a show I am glad I attended, it’s definitely this one. The Souljazz Orchestra was by far my favorite performance of the entire festival. If only for their styles and the message they choose to share, I would even say that the Souljazz Orchestra is my favorite Ottawa music group period. Music as a whole is a universal art. There are so many genres and sub-genres out there that it makes it…
Last night, watching Muse gave me a little bit of a taste of what it must have been like to see Queen when Freddie Mercury was alive. Some might say that’s too bold of a comparison but I think Muse has a lot of similarities. Queen combined musical theatre performance and songwriting with modern rock. Muse combined classical music with rock and blues. Both are famous for their stage performances and production, if not most important though, both fronted by incredible vocalists. Matthew Bellamy has the best live singing voice I may have ever heard. The band’s total execution in…
