REFLECTION & REASON

Are we as a Black Toronto/Canadian population giving The Weeknd proper accolades, respect, and credit for how fucking amazing he is? Do we realize that [yet another] one of our homegrown musicians is one of the greatest entertainers in the world right now? Not Drake. Not Bieber. We have The Weeknd: this legend, as well. I am still on my high from Saturday night's concert at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, where I travelled from Toronto to join approximately 60,000 other music lovers for what would be a spectacular musical experience. The After Hours Til Dawn Tour was supposed to kick off in Toronto on July 8, but thanks to the Rogers outage, had to be postponed until September 22 (the last date of the 19-date North American tour).  He tried to pay homage to his beloved Toronto early, but circumstances wouldn't allow that moment to happen.  But it happened for me in Florida, this past weekend. I couldn't have possibly been any further from the stages, but I

Maybe I'm just in my feelings because Caribana is back. And because I heard Joeboy's "Alcohol" on the road/Lakeshore before 3pm (big up DJ Snoopy). Maybe because it's Emancipation Day today, and I looked at my television and saw beautiful African Canadian children dancing in celebration at Fort York. I am overwhelmed with cultural pride, and an unexpected sense of relief because I have [physically] felt the shift, and evolution of our Toronto culture this weekend. A significant one. It's been a strange end to the long weekend. They just announced the cancellation of Drake's grand finale for the OVO Fest, a celebrity-studded star on the top of our Toronto Caribbean Carnival Christmas tree. The [wedding] icing on our Black Cake. OVO started our Toronto fantasy weekend with a cypher-like gathering of Toronto hip hop and R&B legends, and then the parade returned...and the parties were back, in their original locations. Caribana was deeply missed; you could