Growing up in Mississauga, just west of Toronto, Stephen Williams, sometimes referred to as “Luck” or simply “Steve” was a name I kept hearing through a mutual friend. Every once in a while we’d cross paths; at a party at Western University or at a friend’s birthday. It was no surprise when I later heard he was in the music industry. He always struck me as cool and charismatic, yet deep and soulful; a “boss” before it was cool to be a boss. Decades later we reconnected as he just made a major life and career decision- moving to Chicago.…
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.
On March 18th 2017, the world finally got what they wanted- More Life. This can be used in a double sense, meaning that they lived to tell another day or…that Drake’s long awaited playlist was released for the world to listen. This project was almost a year in the making, since Views dropped last April. Always a few steps ahead of everyone else, Drake refers to the project as a “playlist” as it reflects the way listeners consume music today- through streaming services like Apple Music and Spotify. Not only does this project reflect Drake’s commitment to innovate and blaze…
Last night, Executive Order 13680, better known as Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, was successfully blocked by a Hawaii federal judge. The state’s attorney general, Doug Chin, stated, “This new executive order is nothing more than Muslim Ban 2.0. Under the pretense of national security, it still targets immigrants and refugees. It leaves the door open for even further restrictions.” A Maryland judge also ruled against the ban. As a proud man of Libyan descent, I welcome this news. Executive Order 137680 would have meant two things for the United States. First, it would…
The “E” Project is a blog turned podcast by Toronto photographer, Jodianne Beckford. Combining intimate photos with in-depth interviews, Jodianne gets into the mind of up and coming creators and entrepreneurs, finding out what inspires them and why they do what they do. The “E” Project is reposted by SHIFTER under a partnership with Jodianne Beckford. For The “E” Project back content visit shiftermagazine.com/e-project. The first episode of The “E” Project featuring photographer and game developer Michael Rousseau can be found below. Enjoy! Photographer and founder of AUXGOD, Michael Rousseau, began the journey of developing a music battle card…
Last night was something else. The 89th Annual Academy Awards started off like many other awards shows with a nice hook to bring you in, with Justin Timberlake performing his nominated song “Can’t Stop the Feeling” from the movie Trolls. From there we had an excellent monologue from Jimmy Kimmel and the awards continued as is it has for years (albeit a lot more entertaining than usual, Kimmel was an incredible host, so sharp and on his toes). Everything seemed to be going well until the Best Picture was announced. In case you’ve somehow missed the video that’s now gone viral…
To close out Black History Month, we asked Toronto cinematographer, Tristan Barrocks, about his short film “Black Man In A World World”, a collaboration with Jodianne Beckford, Johneil Harris, and Cree Barrocks. Here’s what he had to say about his most recent project. Kevin Bourne: So what was the inspiration for the film? Tristan Barracks: Well, first it was the song itself. For some reason it just really spoke to me in a deep and profound way. I felt that it was almost akin to a negro spiritual with a modern twist. There were two questions I asked myself that…
It’s that time of year again folks! All film fan’s favourite time of the year, Oscar season! And with the nominations announced and the ceremony just days away, our team want to share who we believe is going home with those coveted golden statues! As you can see, even within our team we have some categories we believe are 100% locks to win, while others we’re not quite in agreement. What are your predictions? Drop a comment below with yours!
Over the past few years there’s been a content war both in Canada and the United States. The main players in this battle for premium content- big telecommunications companies. In Canada, Bell recently bought the Toronto Argonauts and Rogers has owned the Blue Jays for years to get a hold on sports content. The two came together to purchase Canada’s most important sports organization, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. In the United States, AT&T purchased DirectTV and Sprint recently bought a majority stake in music streaming service Tidal. The latest content war isn’t between big telcos, but their younger counterparts-…
“Your ancestors took the lash, the branding iron, humiliations and oppression because one day they believed you would come along to flesh out the dream” ~ Maya Angelou Black people, we have some work to do. I often see our generation and others after us not taking life seriously, saying things like, “It’s just music” or “It’s just entertainment” when talking about the messaging in our music. I see people circle jerking and giving out community service awards and accolades like oranges at a soccer practice, and to be honest I’m irritated. I’m irritated by the low standards that…
For many, Barack Obama’s election in 2008 was the fulfillment of a dream; the culmination of a century long struggle for civil rights. There was even talk, however wishful, of a post-racial America. His election, on the wings of one of the most memorable campaign slogans in U.S. history, “Yes We Can”, was underpinned by record levels of minority political participation, as well as significant support from white Americans. Eight years later, an appropriate response would be “How Did We Do?” For many black folks, the prospect of a black President was something they never thought they would see in…
There’s never been a better time for artists to go independent, whether in music, writing, fashion, or film and television. Being independent has always been a part of being a fashion designer or filmmaker, but more and more musicians, authors and content creators are finding mainstream success taking the independent route. Why? One word. The internet. In the past if you were looking for mainstream success as a musician you needed to get signed to a record label so they could distribute your work to the masses. If you were an author you needed a publishing company to do the…
Name: Hayden Cashion Home Base: Ottawa, Canada Industry/Creative Discipline: Write, record, mix, and master Hip-Hop music Biggest Accomplishment So Far: The growth in support over the last eight months, and the clarity of my vision for 2017. What Creativity Means to Me: Creativity allows me to look at the world and go, “Hey, you see your perspective, but take a second to check out mine.” For me it’s about shedding new light on a situation and showing people that you can look at the world from different angles, without either side being right or wrong. I could’ve done this in…
