The SOCAN Foundation today announced the five recipients of the 2021 SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Awards, created to recognize and celebrate the artistic merit demonstrated by Black music creators: Falana, IDMAN, Jon Vinyl, Maurice Moore, and Shopé, each of whom will receive $5,000, made possible by SiriusXM Canada.
New this year, five Special Distinctions awards of $1,000 each were presented as well, to B.ROB, Haviah Mighty, Liza, Lu Kala, and Shad.
To learn more about all of the 2021 winners, click here.
“This award is an opportunity to highlight Black creators. I’m happy to have been a part of the Black Canadian Awards since its inception [in 2020], and am thrilled to continue to see such incredible talent come through the submissions,” said Keziah Myers, Executive Director at ADVANCE Music Canada and Award jury member. “This year’s winners are bringing fresh sounds to the industry, and we are ecstatic to see them honoured in this space [through SOCAN Foundation].” Myers was part of the SOCAN Foundation committee that created the Black Canadian Music Awards, and has also served as a jury member for the last two years.
Winners were selected, from hundreds of applications, by a jury and advisory council of prominent Black artists and industry leaders: Jordan Sowunmi (Lead, Music Editorial and Content Strategy at TikTok); Kentya Kurban (Community Engagement Co-ordinator at Music BC Industry Association); the aforementioned Keziah Myers; Michael Assante (Creative Executive, Rap and R&B, at SOCAN); Owen Lee (artist, singer-songwriter, musician, vocal director); Vivian Barclay (Managing Director at Warner Chappell Music Canada); and Widney Bonfils (Director, A&R at Universal Music Canada).
“We’d like to extend a sincere congratulations to all the incredibly talented and deserving winners of this year’s Awards,” said Kayla J. Schwartz, Senior Manager, Communications & Canadian Content Development at SiriusXM. “We’re so proud to continue partnering with the SOCAN Foundation on spotlighting Black creators in Canada and can’t wait to see what’s next for this year’s recipients”.
For more information about the SOCAN Foundation, please visit www.socanfoundation.ca.