Lewis Capaldi: Finding Identity in the Spotlight and Taking the Piss Along the Way
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Lewis Capaldi: Finding Identity in the Spotlight and Taking the Piss Along the Way
When Lewis Capaldi is at his lowest, he begins to unravel who he really is. Faced with the all too human dilemma of crafting an identity to present to the world—a tricky, fickle thing, by nature—, searching the corners of our lives for answers, Lewis tells me he has had a difficult back and forth […]
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Masego: the Man, the Myth, and the Young Miyazaki
As a kid, I related to the way anime protagonists behave. They just want to eat food, fight and test their strength,” Masego tells me, sinking deep into a luxurious black leather couch in the dressing room of the History venue in Toronto. In less than 2 hours, he is bound to meet a sold-out […]
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Reneé Rapp Is Stepping Into Her Authentic Self
I felt that self-awareness was a bad thing. I now know that it’s not. I just always thought it was an annoying quality,” Reneé Rapp tells me through Zoom, speaking to the pain many of us have experienced when fighting with who we are and who we want to be. The 23-year-old actor, musician, and […]
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Shania Twain Is The Queen of Rising Up
Transcending tragedies and transforming them into triumphs is something Shania Twain is no stranger to, embracing each feat like a familiar friend. With open arms she accepts the absurdity of life—a remarkable performance of good faith—knowing she can call upon her resilience and inner strength that we’ve seen her deploy time and time again. It […]
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Leila Dey Shares Big Sister Advice You Didn’t Know You Needed
Perfection is a like villain, rising R&B artist Leila Dey assures me, despite our picturesque setting. Sunlight beams through the windows of a studio in Toronto’s West End as she dons a body-hugging AVAVAV green midi dress with cheeky cut-outs and adjusts a fuzzy vintage Prada bucket hat on her head. “I’m still working on […]
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A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie on D.T.B. (Duality Teaching Balance)
Born Artist Julius Dubose it feels kismet that A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie would live up to his name and become a star from the Bronx, New York which, coincidentally, is credited as the birthplace of hip-hop—the exact genre he excels in with knockout hooks and earworm melodies. “You know how you got to listen […]
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Cochise, Mr. Professor of Trap Sounds
If you want something to be done, you have to do it yourself,” says Cochise (pronounced Ko-Cheese) confidently over the phone. The proverb-like statement is not a testament to his lone-wolf mentality but rather his studied musical expertise which extends to his production as much as his lyrics and vocal experimentation. “If you like your […]
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Kelsea Ballerini Is Embracing Change
My definition of success is are you happy? which is an ever-evolving answer because what makes you happy is always changing,” Kelsea Ballerini muses while perched on the sofa in her New York hotel room chatting to me through Zoom. It’s exactly two weeks before her new album is released, she’s in town for New […]
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Johnny Orlando Is Coming Into His Own
Standing with both arms outstretched, a fashion assistant adjusts the creases and folds of a white T-shirt underneath a textured Issey Miyake vest, Johnny Orlando remains still. He patiently waits for her to finish, in the middle of Universal Music’s Toronto offices, then pivots to look at an iPhone camera documenting the look for our […]
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Doechii’s Class Is in Session
When people look at the title, most people get uncomfortable with it and I kind of like that because I really want people to think about why they get uncomfortable with the title ‘black bitch’ and how much negativity and oppression is attached with that slur,” Doechii says over Zoom, explaining the concept for her […]
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