The entertainment world is full of actors, directors, and musicians who have had personal shortcomings. Every year there are celebrities going to rehab or being exposed for some kind of lack of good judgment. But not all lapses in judgment are created equal. It’s almost commonplace for Hollywood stars to have problems with alcohol and drugs, and sex tapes come out every few years. But there’s a difference between doing harm to yourself and doing harm to others. The general public can forgive people like Robert Downey Jr., who battled with drugs and eventually rebounded. The public has little grace…
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.
Photography is one of those things that has always been a part of my life. In elementary school I got a camera as a gift one Christmas and fell in love. I’d just take random photos, especially of cars for some reason. Fast forward a few years, I took photography as an elective in high school. Back then it was film, and yes I must be making myself sound real old but honestly it wasn’t that long ago. My teacher really encouraged me and that just made me want to learn and keep pushing. As the years went by my…
For Winnipeg rapper, Scribe, the road to recording artist has been a long journey that crosses international borders. Born in Jamaica, Scribe immigrated to Canada at three years old, settling in Regina, Saskatchewan, adopted into a loving family. For Scribe his first love was soccer. His love and talent for the beautiful game would take him across Canada playing at provincial levels and eventually to a Real Madrid soccer academy in Mexico and college in California. It wouldn’t be until 2009 that he discovered his ability to rap. First known as “Young Scribe”, it wouldn’t be until 2012 that he…
At SHIFTER we’re big dreamers. Being big dreamers has served us well. You basically believe you can do anything, you can change the world, and nobody or nothing can stand in your way. It’s true that there’s a thin line between our strengths and weaknesses. If you look closely at some of your greatest strengths you’ll realize they’re also weaknesses and if you look at some of your weaknesses you’ll find they’re actually strengths. We recently realized that not only is being big thinkers one of our greatest strengths, it’s also one of our biggest weaknesses. Why? In believing you…
One of the benefits of being an active Instagram user is that you get a front row seat into the creativity happening around you. I’m especially impressed with the creativity of young people today. With the power of DSLR cameras, social media, smartphone cameras, and photo editing apps, this generation has access to tools that only the pros could afford 10 years ago. I recently came across a young Instagrammer, @Oladimeg aka Odunsi Oladimeji, from Ottawa, Canada who impressed me with his street and urban photography; my cup of tea. Odunsi says of his art, “My works are just a…
Last week I had the chance to cover Fashion Art Toronto for SHIFTER Magazine. Needless to say, you all saw how excited I was taking over SHIFTER’s Snapchat; I would do it again in a heartbeat. This years 11th annual Fashion Art Toronto aka FAT, formerly known as |FAT| Arts & Fashion Week, was held at Daniel Spectrum from April 12-16. Every year there’s a theme that is chosen and this year was called DRESS CODES, which explores the connection/disconnection between fashion and identity. I was able to attend three out of the five days. The first day I attended…
Powerful truth from the legend, Prince.
Artists of the caliber of Prince only come a few times in a life time. He’s a part of that cohort of 80’s stars, like Michael Jackson and Madonna, who have had a significant impact on modern American culture and have become global brands. But Prince was different. Prince was a true musician. Over the past few decades we’ve seen a number of recording artists whose musical talents have been lost behind gimmicks, antics and personal shortcomings. We often forget Lady Gaga is a talented pianist and has an excellent, almost operatic, voice. We often forget Justin Beiber is a…
Another year has come and gone for Canada’s biggest night in fashion, the Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards, also known as the CAFA. Sex and the City’s Kim Cattral hosted while supermodel Elle Macpherson received the Vanguard Award recognizing her contributions to the fashion industry over her stellar career. Also in attendance were former America’s Next Top Model creative director, Jay Manuel, Coco Rocha, Winnie Harlow, and Spouse to the Prime Minister, Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau. Among the winners were Womenswear Designer of the Year, Greta Constantine, Menswear Designer of the Year, Wings + Horns, Fashion Innovation Award winners Frank & Oak,…
In a World Creativity & Innovation Week exclusive, our editor, Kevin Bourne, sat down with musician turned tech CEO, Matt Blakely, to talk about his transition from music to business, his successes and what he’s learned along the way. Kevin Bourne: We’re here with Matt Blakley. He’s the founder and CEO of MB3 Technologies, a tech company based in Ottawa, Canada. We’re sitting down having a chat about business and his journey as an entrepreneur. Thank you for sitting down with us. Matt Blakley: Thank you for doing this. KB: No problem. So tell us a bit about your journey.…
Hip-hop artist Lecrae recently published a post on Medium.com called Red Carpet Treatment, a excerpt from his upcoming book Unashamed. Lecrae says of his experience at the 2015 Grammys: When I reached the end of the carpet — you know, the place where artists stand in front of the Grammys backdrop and a crowd of photographers takes their picture — a security guard lowered his hand and asked me to wait. He waved Iggy Azalea around me. She smiled, and the cameras went crazy. When she finished, I started to proceed and the security guard stopped me again. He waved Rick Ross through. This…
What happens when a die-hard fan decides to make a film? TDOSLWH happens. If you’re a Jon Schnepp fan you’ve heard about his 2015 film, The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened?, a documentary film that explores the circumstances behind the failed Nicholas Cage/Tim Burton Superman project. Superman is easily the world’s most recognizable superhero, and yet in the 80’s and 90’s it was his non-super powered ally, Batman, that enjoyed critical and financial success with Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). So it was natural that legendary director and producer Tim Burton wanted to explore the DC universe further…
