Courtney Johnson is a freelance hairstylist based in NYC. She shares her journey on what it has been like in the industry, her passion for directing, loyalty and so much more. Courtney has extensive knowledge of the beauty industry since she was eighteen years old and has been mentored by the greats. Courtney talks about her upcoming passion projects for epilepsy & anxiety. Courtney truly has a big heart and wants to make a difference. Listen to this amazing woman’s story, she will definitely leave you inspired. Ep. 24 – New York hairstylist Courtney Johnson Click on the links below to…
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.
BEACH HOUSE 3 Ty Dolla $ign As much as I try to keep up to date with the latest hip-hop/R&B news, from time to time a few projects manage to go right over my head. Most of those projects end up being straight garbage like Lil Uzi Vert’s Luv is Rage 2 (I didn’t review it and never will), but sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised. For example, Ty Dolla $ign’s Beach House 3 surprised me. I honestly totally forgot this album was coming out, but boy am I happy it did. Listening to this new generation of R&B, it’s clear that the genre has changed a…
Alexandra Newton, founder of FIT FOR THOUGHT podcast, is one to notice! After an accident, Alexandra needed to find her way back to herself. She put her all into fitness, meeting new people and opening herself to countless opportunities. Alexandra started a podcast that gave her an outlet to express her creative side even more. There she interviews fellow entrepreneurs, talks tech, fitness and so much more. We talked about trusting the process, not being afraid to ask for help, and so much more. Ep. 23 – Alexandra Newton of the Fit For Thought podcast Click on the links below to listen.…
WITHOUT WARNING Metro Boomin, Offset, 21 Savage Happy Halloween indeed. Hip-op fans woke up to a pleasant surprise this morning as Metro Boomin, Offset (Migos) and 21 Savage (No Heart) dropped an unannounced album out of nowhere appropriately titled “Without Warning”. The album consists of 10 songs entirely produced by Metro Boomin and also features Travis Scott and Quavo. It goes without saying that I went bananas in hearing this news as those three stand among the biggest names in hip-hop today. But does “Without Warning” deliver as one would expect from this dream worthy collaboration? Oh yes…yes it does. Let’s just get to the…
“I believe in the limitlessness of humans. We’re capable of incredible things. At times, that realization is frightening.” – Alicia Keys Alicia Keys is without question a supremely talented artist. Her voice is magical and captivating. Her musical ability is truly a gift from God that has impacted so many of us. We all have artists who we feel deeply connected with. Their songs have spoken into our experiences and we’ve sung them countless times over. Alicia has been that artist in my life. The days when I didn’t think it was possible to love any more, this glorified shower…
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.…
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…
