REFLECTION & REASON

I feel it was a big weekend for Toronto dancehall. A couple of days have passed, and I realize it felt significant enough for me to keep processing what just happened. Two things in particular: 1) Spice performed for the Pride festivities during Pride weekend in Toronto. 2) King Turbo 's founding members reunited on stage at the Canada History Clash. It's possible that either event just passed you by this weekend. With the amount of outdoor functions, gatherings, pool parties, fetes, boat rides, and dancehall events, you truly could have been out celebrating the first week of summer with all of the energy and vibrancy you've been holding on to for months. Years. Last summer we were free, but this summer...we're FREE free. You could feel the vibration it in the air...folks in Toronto are ready to have a good time for the next two months, by any means necessary. I saw the footage of Spice performing live at Dundas Square, and it made me smile. It made me feel proud. I was...

CARNIVAL SPOTLIGHT (2014) by SM Robinson Paperback | Ebook I wrote this book as a follow up to " Video Light " and the lives of the main characters Delia and Ryan Wright. An admirer of Sister Souljah's writing , I truly appreciated how she would take various characters from her books, and develop them independently at another space in time. I loved the way that readers had the opportunity to follow up with characters later in life, and continue the fictional journey with them in another book. In writing "Carnival Spotlight" I wanted to explore Delia and Ryan's relationship and whether or not it was capable of evolving. In 2014, I was also headpiece-deep in the production and administration of Toronto's Caribbean Carnival with one of the city's larger masquerade bands, the Toronto Revellers , and I would often observe the social aspects of mas making and marvel at how unique and niche the experience really was. Participating in Toronto Carnival as a...

I really like this brother. Not just because he's from my hometown of Toronto, but because he has that vibe. Star quality. Charm. And his vocals are also ridiculously great. He can rap. He can sing. He can DJ. And this is the element of Tory Lanez that solidified his talent in my eyes. I've heard him flow on so many different styles and across genres, but when I started to hear just how beautiful his vocals could compliment the dancehall genre...it was over. Here are the collaborations and/or remixes that made me understand how deep Tory's talent really went. I enjoy his contributions, always: CROCODILE TEETH FREESTYLE SENSELESS (WITH STEFFLON DON) CALL ME IF (WITH DEXTA DAPS) GIRLFRIEND (WITH BUSTA RHYMES) WE CAN (WITH KRANIUM) This moment was also incredible, and I enjoyed the acoutic vibe and vulnerability of it all. So musical, and really showcased his vocals. PLA...

For a good 20 years, I've wondered where my collection of flyers was. Thanks to some deep quarantine cleaning...I found my flyer book. Here are the highlights from 1992 - 1996, also known as my teenage years. Shout out to Pickering High...I'll start with that one:

Disclaimer: I write stories for fun. As a composer of fiction, I study, interpret, and predict behaviour purely for my own entertainment. I am not a licensed therapist, researcher, psychologist, or relationship expert, buuuut I am someone who observes patterns and personalities very closely, and I'd like to share these words of support with my brothers and sisters in The Six (or beyond) who are currently looking for love. Particularly my peers, approaching middle-age and getting worried... This is written with the most genuine, and well-intended sentiments...with a sprinkle of tough love (that may or may not have stopped my single friends from asking for my advice)...and hope and prayers for your dream come true. My novel "Bonafide" is centered on the dating process, and will be released later this year...this book inspired these thoughts. 1) ELIMINATE THAT LIST OF EXPECTATIONS YOU'VE BEEN HOLDING ON TO SINCE YOUR TWENTIES Go into this process with a clear and open m...

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...