Toronto’s Ekelle rhymes about what she knows best: her real-life experience! Money, sex, drama, and identity stir together to create a style she calls Hood Pop – popular music with a street edge. Currently, Ekelle is an artist in the RBC Launchpad Music Entrepreneurship Program, guided by her instincts and a passion for music, pop culture and fashion.

She’s back with a new ‘bad bitch anthem’ titled “Flo” which she remarks is her preferred song style. “We’re finally in a place where the music scene, especially in Canada where we are embracing Female rappers, allows us to exist independently without putting us all in a box.” It’s a sexy track perfect for a night out.

We caught up with Ekelle below!

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically? 

The story of ‘Flo’ is one of bold self-confidence and embracing your sensual energy. The track has parts that are sexier and softer and others that are aggressive and in your face. I wanted the visual to have a sassy, playful theme with a little dangerous, vibe. This is also my first release of 2023 so I wanted this visual to be different, to really capture an aesthetic.

2. What was the inspiration behind this video(visuals, storyline, etc.)? 

I was actually trying to find creative ways to have my more modest friends be involved. They want to support me, but may not be as comfortable as I am with certain levels of explicity. I love the imagery of a ski mask baddie, and the factor of anonymity can be very sexy so I built the concept around that. I definitely got some inspiration from Destiny’s Child, 90’s hip hop, and just rap culture in general. I also wanted to go with a less is more philosophy, it’s a simple video but I think it allowed us to get more creative.

3. What was the process of making this video?

The process of making the video was fun. I usually start with a mood board so I can show the videographer my ideas, themes, and inspiration. I like to collaborate with different videographers and I was wanting to work with Prince Beatz Media for a while so I was excited to have a concept to bring to him. I showed him the mood board and he really got it down to a T. He even added the effects and shots I was looking for without even having to tell him. It was a great experience. I shot the video at That Toronto Studio.

Making a name as the biggest breakthrough artists on the international Americana scene in 2021 with their debut album, Go By Feel, Canadian country/roots collective The Hello Darlins are some of Canada’s most in-demand session musicians who came together to forge a distinct hybrid of country, gospel and blues. Led by Romani-Canadian musician Candace Lacina and world-renowned keyboardist Mike Little, the group released In the Sunset this past March and are now sharing an official music video for the EP’s “What Is a Broken Heart For?“

A playful and upbeat song reminiscent of Linda Ronstadt, with classic harmonies of the Eagles, “What Is a Broken Heart For?” poses a lighthearted question that we may have all asked at some point during a time of heartache – what’s the point of love if only to experience a broken heart? The visuals were filmed on a chilly spring day in the Alberta Foothills and directed by The Hello Darlins‘ friends James and Libertee May with Lacina‘s 1971 VW van as the storyline’s main set.

We caught up with The Hello Darlins below!

1. Tell us the story of this song, why did you choose to visualize this song specifically? 

It was meant to be a playful, upbeat song reminiscent of Linda Ronstadt, with classic harmonies of the Eagles. It’s a lighthearted question that we may have all asked at some point during a time of heartache – what’s the point of love – only to experience a broken heart? We love to write songs that are emotional, melancholy and heartfelt but sometimes it feels good to just have a fun song that is just lighthearted and has a playful groove and melody!  

2. What was the inspiration behind this video(visuals, storyline, etc.)? 

We brainstormed a few different ideas for locations, but the van is really meaningful to Mike. It also captures such a classic visual from the era – and we thought the red van against the white snow looked cool. We also thought it would be a funny storyline to add characters who, in their own way, represent the meaning of the song. At some point, most people have had the experience of meeting someone new,  thinking it was going to work out perfectly, or happily ever after…only to be disappointed – or – even, left in the dust! 

3. What was the process of making this video?

We filmed it on a chilly spring day in Alberta Foothills! We had a framework of the basic storyline, and our friends James and Libertee May filmed and directed the shoot. We used our 1971 VW van as a main ‘set’ for the storyline – and the members of the band played a role. My favourite characters are Brett – as a vacuum salesman, and Kyle as a bad Elvis. As a band, we have a lot of fun and laugh a lot. We don’t take ourselves too seriously, so we decided to release a video that captured some of that.

Best known as drummer and co-founder of JUNO Award-winning rock bruisers The Sheepdogs, Sam Corbett conceived of his solo project NUTANA in 2018 while undergoing treatment for testicular cancer. At age 34. While his wife Ashley was pregnant for the first time. Talk about harrowing.

And yet his towering debut album, named for the neighbourhood in Saskatoon where Corbett grew up, isn’t doom and gloom. Far from it. Rather, the 10 dazzling original songs and two captivating covers (Buffy Sainte-Marie, Tame Impala) on NUTANA hit all the retro, loose-limbed, and melodic notes one expects from a Sheepdog, albeit with lyrics that frequently deliver a wallop. 

Self-produced, it features a marquee roster of guests including Jim Bowskill (Blue Rodeo) and Chris Mason (The Deep Dark Woods) on “Ave H Blue”—alongside Clayton Linthicum (Kacy and Clayton), Shamus Currie (The Sheepdogs, BROS), and former Sheepdogs guitarist Leot Hanson, among others.

“Ave H Blue is the street I live on. When I was diagnosed in summer 2018, we had to cancel a couple of shows so I could have surgery,” Corbett says candidly. “I had some follow-up tests, and the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes. I had to back out of a couple of Sheepdogs tours to get the treatment. That was a very hard decision because I’ve been in the band from the beginning in 2004. I’d never not played a Sheepdogs show. The radiation treatments made me very sick and weak; I couldn’t even play the drums. But I could play the piano, and I started writing a bunch of melodies and songs that later became this album. It’s what I worked on when the guys were on tour, and I was recovering at home.”

Since earning his Bachelor’s degree in jazz performance from the University of Montreal in 2017, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer Marcus Lowry has worked with a wide array of Canadian and international jazz, folk and pop artists. His debut solo album, Time, Time, Time, produced by Juno-nominated musician Joe Grass, is set to be released this coming fall. 

Like the morning haze that recedes to reveal a calm and clear day, Lowry’s intimate folk musings on “Leaving the Shore” drift and buoy through waves of delicate chamber music, subtle electronics and nautical field recordings. “Leaving the Shore” offers calm and serenity to the inevitability of change and the challenges that often come with it. 

To really enhance this feeling of a sea voyage, the song incorporated actual nautical field recordings from the personal collection of his producer, the great Joe Grass. In the song’s climax you can hear seaport bells and the sounds of rolling tides, which were recorded by Grass near his hometown in New Brunswick. 

“I struggle with anxiety and Hurry Sickness, so the feeling of time always slipping away is a recurring fear of mine,” says Lowry. “The whole album, really, speaks to this feeling. Each song depicts a type of journey that grapples with similar anxieties and choices, and each one has become a personal reminder that my own fear of change can threaten my ability to explore all of life’s richness and beauty.”

Watch the live-off-the-floor acoustic performance video here:

Tired Kid, the moniker of Toronto musician Thomas Kelly, creates music inspired by 90s alt rock bands that meet classic bands of the 60s and 70s. His lush and sentimental song, “Scotch,” was produced by Aaron Goldstein. 

The song was inspired by Kelly’s walks to coffee shops, his friends, and guitar tones by the band TOPS.