Five musicians recognized at inaugural SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Awards

Advertisement

Advertise with us

TORONTO - Five Black Canadian musicians have been selected by a jury of their peers as recipients of the inaugural SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Awards.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/01/2021 (2087 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – Five Black Canadian musicians have been selected by a jury of their peers as recipients of the inaugural SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Awards.

The new prize, launched in association with the SOCAN Foundation, recognizes artistic merit from Black songwriters and composers across the country.

This year’s winners were hip hop artist Tobi, rapper Naya Ali, and R&B singer-songwriters Raahiim, Hunnah and Dylan Sinclair.

Tobi, born Oluwatobi Ajibolade, shown in a handout photo, is among the five recipients of the inaugural SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Awards which recognize Black songwriters and composers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Sony Music Mandatory Credit
Tobi, born Oluwatobi Ajibolade, shown in a handout photo, is among the five recipients of the inaugural SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Awards which recognize Black songwriters and composers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Sony Music Mandatory Credit

Each of them will receive a $5,000 prize.

The winners were chosen by a jury of prominent Black Canadian artists and industry leaders, including Toronto-based DJ Agile, Quebec jazz singer Dominique Fils-Aime, Montreal Afro-pop performer Pierre Kwenders and music industry player Craig Mannix.

SOCAN said the SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Awards were created in recognition of systemic racism within society, and to “acknowledge and denounce history’s injustices by celebrating the talent of Black Canadian music creators.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 11, 2021.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Kinew adds cabinet portfolio to focus on first responders

Carol Sanders and Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Preview

Kinew adds cabinet portfolio to focus on first responders

Carol Sanders and Nicole Buffie 5 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:40 PM CDT

Premier Wab Kinew shuffled his cabinet Monday and created a new ministerial position that will oversee first responders in the province.

Kinew appointed David Pankratz, the MLA for Waverley, as minister responsible for first responder initiatives.

Tuxedo MLA Carla Compton was appointed minister responsible for accessibility, taking over the role from Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine.

The new ministers were sworn in at a ceremony at the legislature Monday afternoon.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 6:40 PM CDT

Jets defenceman spent whole summer working on getting to the next level

Ken Wiebe 8 minute read Preview

Jets defenceman spent whole summer working on getting to the next level

Ken Wiebe 8 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 1:57 PM CDT

Tyrel Bauer makes no apologies for the pugilistic piece of his path.

The Winnipeg Jets defenceman is ready to drop the gloves and throw down when the situation calls for it and he takes great pride in protecting his teammates.

It’s a big part of the reason Bauer will be among the 23 players submitted by the Jets on the opening-day roster on Monday.

“I’ve fought and clawed, both metaphorically and literally and now I just want to show that I can play as well,” Bauer said during a chat with the Free Press during training camp. “(Toughness) is always something that I have, it’s always something in my back pocket and something that I take a lot of pride in doing, for my teammates, for the city and the people who invest in this hockey club. That will never change.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 1:57 PM CDT

Canada resorting to its tried and true playbook

Niigaan Sinclair 5 minute read Preview

Canada resorting to its tried and true playbook

Niigaan Sinclair 5 minute read Yesterday at 6:00 AM CDT

In 1846, Britain faced an emergency influenced by the Irish famine, so leaders repealed the country’s “Corn Laws” and restrictions on imported food and grain, transitioning to a system of free trade.

This created a crisis in the then Province of Canada, which had relied on British “preferential” status to prop up its agricultural and resource industries.

As a result, Canada looked south for new markets and eventually negotiated a free trade agreement with the United States.

This required land to be acquired and converted for industrial use quickly, so Canada quickly dispatched Commissioner William Robinson to negotiate with Indigenous communities along Lake Huron and Lake Superior for land.

Read
Yesterday at 6:00 AM CDT

Perfumer battling city hall to keep his shop open

Gabrielle Piché 5 minute read Preview

Perfumer battling city hall to keep his shop open

Gabrielle Piché 5 minute read Yesterday at 5:45 PM CDT

Michael O’Malley has been here before — fighting the City of Winnipeg to keep his business open.

He usually spends his days concocting scents. He’s owned La Parfumerie, a Wolseley shop, since 1993.

Twenty-seven natural perfumes line shelves on 145 Evanson St.’s bottom floor. O’Malley lives above the space.

Now, he’s required to change the home’s zoning or shut out walk-in customers. Either would kill the company, O’Malley said.

Read
Yesterday at 5:45 PM CDT

Dealing now with increasing judicial dangers

Ben Wickstrom 5 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

For years, the Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys (“MACA”) has been engaged in a dispute with the Manitoba government over the workload of its lawyers. That dispute is expected to come to a head at the end of November, when two weeks of grievance hearings are scheduled.

We remain hopeful that we can reach an agreement with our employer. But if we cannot, our union’s lawyers are prepared to make our case. As those hearings approach, we want to explain how we got here, what is at stake, and why this dispute matters beyond the working conditions of our members.

These problems are longstanding and predate the election of Manitoba’s current government. Our concern with the current government is not that it created these problems, but that it is now responsible for addressing them.

Despite the evidence before it, the government has not meaningfully addressed the workload concerns we have raised throughout its time in office.

Restaurants ‘under pressure’

Gabrielle Piché 5 minute read Preview

Restaurants ‘under pressure’

Gabrielle Piché 5 minute read Friday, Sep. 25, 2026

Happy hour outings are on Jackie Piggott’s calendar — but even those are fewer.

She and her husband might visit a restaurant once a month. It’s a change over the past year: earlier, they might go twice, thrice or weekly.

“It’s something that we’ve talked about, my husband and myself, just because the pricing is so expensive,” Piggott said, stopping during a grocery run in St. Vital. “It’s also better for our health.”

She’s in the majority: a new Restaurants Canada report found 80 per cent of Canadians are eating out less frequently because of higher living costs, up from 75 per cent in 2025.

Read
Friday, Sep. 25, 2026