There’s an f-word that that’s rarely heard in cultural circles- faith. But in 2015 that appears to be changing. With artists like Lecrae, who is open about his Christian faith, hitting #1 on Billboard, making an appearance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, and packing out venues all over the world, mainstream culture appears to be ready for artists who blend their faith and artistic expression to deliver a message of hope. Quina Aragon is that kind of artist and she’s a much-needed breath of fresh air. On her album The Eternal Saga of the Saints the talented spoken word…
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.
Book stores are closing. Recording artists aren’t making as much as they used to. Old business models are being challenged. This is the digital age. Almost every industry is being changed because of the web, from media and music to retail. Many years ago if you loved a particular song by your favourite recording artist you had to either buy their whole album or the single on CD. Today you can buy the song you want on iTunes and bypass the rest of the album. That’s if you even want to buy it. Online streaming services like Spotify and YouTube…
When it comes to hip-hop I’m old school. The first album I ever owned was Bigger and Deafer (BAD) by LL Cool J. Then I added the Lords of the Underground’s Here Come the Lords. My early love for hip-hop was fuelled by two people. First, my older sister Karen who introduced to me East Coast rap from Salt and Peppa, De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest, to Nas and Mobb Deep. My second influence was my piano teacher’s son who had two turntables, a record collection, and posters of MCs like Brand Nubian, Big Daddy Kane, Mony…
This past Sunday night the who’s who of the music industry gathered in Las Vegas for the Billboard Music Awards which reached a 14-year high with 11.1 million viewers. Of course, I was one of them. I love an award show like the next person so I’m always looking to see who the winners are and what people are wearing. Since people weren’t wearing much, I’ll comment on the music. Here’s my take on the night: Depth isn’t always popular. I believe the people winning and performing are talented. If they weren’t, they wouldn’t be there. I do believe the…
At first glance I wasn’t a big fan. It was a bit too busy. Too much happening in such a short period of time. I’m a part of the Thriller, BAD and Do You Remember The Time generation that were spoiled with epic Michael Jackson videos that pushed the envelope, but never overshadowed Michael’s talent. To this day, the star of Michael Jackson’s videos weren’t the stories or the acting; it was Michael’s dancing (and the costumes). Watching modern music videos is enough to make you break out into a Bernie Mac-like rant about how much better things used to…
The National Arts Centre’s Ontario Scene festival has now come to a close in Canada’s capital. One of the more highly anticipated shows was London, Ontario native Shad. Among the opening acts, Zoo Legacy stood out as having a polished sound worthy of a much larger audience. With their signature rap-rock fusion sound, Zoo performed fan favourites L.K.U.T. and Echo. In their few years on the scene they’ve already learned how to properly interact with a crowd to create an engaging and personal show. If there was an Ottawa music yearbook this band would get our vote for “mostly likely…
Today Twiplomacy came out with their annual report on the most influential world leaders in the Twitterverse. President Obama is the most followed world leader with over 56 million followers. Pope Francis was second with 19.5 million followers. But the tables turned when it came to influence. Pope Francis was crowned most influential with each of his tweets being retweeted an average of 9,929 times; eight times more than second place finisher King Salman of Saudi Arabia. President Obama placed in fourth. According to the study: For many diplomats Twitter has become a powerful channel for digital diplomacy and 21st…
Celebrities, from actors and musicians to athletes, as well as the community are coming out in response to the Baltimore riots over social media. Reactions are divided. For the latest on the Baltimore riots visit CNN.com. Here is what the media isn’t showing you. Volunteers cleaning up the streets of #Baltimore this morning. #Community pic.twitter.com/muvJlhBI5t — Sons & Brothers (@sonsandbros) April 28, 2015 Don’t fall for the media trap of demonizing protestors. Power concedes nothing without demand & riot is the language of the oppressed. — Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) April 25, 2015 Brutality BEEN a problem. We been screaming…
I still remember the day when my wife received a chain email saying that Facebook was making a policy change that would invade users’ privacy. My wife, in a rage, shared the email with as many people as possible. Then a friend sent back a response that literally changed our lives. “Are you sure it’s true? Did you check?” Well, she hadn’t and she already forwarded it to her whole email list. When we did the research we found out it was a hoax; a well-known email chain letter that was circulating. This was a life changing moment. This is…
In a year when he revealed his latest collection at New York Fashion Week under a new contract with Adidas, shared his controversial views on the music industry at the Grammys and partnered with legendary Beattles frontman Paul Macartney on a new project, Kanye West has been recognized as a “Titan” on Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People list. He was selected to grace one of the five covers along with Misty Copeland, Bradley Cooper, Jorge Ramos and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, each representing Titans, Pioneers, Artists, Leaders and Icons. Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, says of West: “Kanye…
Furious 7 has taken the box office hostage this weekend as it made $143.6 million dollars on its opening weekend. Shifters, you can trust me when I tell you that it totally deserved it. Following Fast & Furious 6, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) has to gather up his crew one more time (Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris and Michelle Rodriguez) to take down Deckard Shaw (played by Jason Statham); a man looking for revenge against the crew that took down his brother in the previous film. Fans might complain that the plot gets a bit convoluted here and there as…
Creativity is a powerful thing. If we look around us we’ll see that our world is basically made up of created things that once started as ideas. A lot of these things are so a part of our daily lives that we often take them for granted. Something as simple as the clock was once an idea in someone’s mind that was sparked by a problem or gap they saw that few others identified. The bathtub and plumbing was once a great innovation. We’re all surrounded by things that were once just an idea in someone’s mind. We tend to…
