REFLECTION & REASON

To fall this deeply into Afrobeats and Amapiano as of late is so refreshing and special to me, because discovering a new genre is something that can only truly happen a handful of times in life. I'm a bonafide music lover. And I most definitely live and breathe Caribbean music. On a level. But this. THIS! This music has touched my soul. A few of these songs actually brought me to tears...and they're not even the "tears" types of songs. Pure joy. This music has recently spoken to me in a way that I have to embrace wholeheartedly. Not only because of how it sounds, but mainly because of how it feels. I have to give credit to two DJs in particular who played the significant songs that sparked an entire musical movement for me. DJ Private Ryan , who dropped Akanamali on one of his mixes and sent me into a frenzy of discovery and downloading. Also Sir DJ Corey , who played Gcina Impilo Yam  on a mix that moved my spirit to the heavens. And yes, I'll give additional cr...

The following lists feature Canadian news articles and reports based on the themes and concepts found in the four novels of Toronto author Kamilah Haywood  (aka Kwoodz): Diamond in the Rough   Concrete Jungle Diamond in the Rough: Part Two The Hidden Track Kwoodz—a queer, Black, Canadian fiction author of Jamaican heritage—writes books depicting the unfiltered, authentic, and occasionally dark side of Toronto life. Through raw details and intimate narratives, they have captured issues from female incarceration to sex trafficking, relationships, coming of age, and spirituality through their intensely gripping novels. 02/02/2022 // NOW TORONTO //  Op-ed: The pandemic sentences prisoners to endless COVID lockdown 03/20/2021 // GLOBAL NEWS // ‘Folks are dying’: Community rallies for depopulation of Ontario jails after COVID-19 outbreaks 02/22/2022 // GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO //  Ontario Marks Human Trafficking Awareness Day 02/16/2022 // QUINTE NEWS // Human trafficking awa...