Welcome With Karim Kanji

Eric Hicks is an actor. He sounds like Matthew McConaughey. He's a volunteer at a hospice. Ad he's one of the funniest people I've interviewed this year. Eric Hicks is most widely known for his role as Constable D. Fox in the multi-award-winning detective series Cardinal (CTV). He has also played opposite Kim Coates, Lisa Berry and Brandon Oakes as Detective Ken Tucker for season two of Bad Blood.

The creators of Next Stop are Jabbari Weekes, Tichaona Tapambwa, and Phil Witmer. Next Stop is an comedy series that chronicles the lives of Black Torontonians struggling to stay afloat and sane in the sprawling city.

Darryl Hurs has a 25+ year history in the music business including launching and running one of Canada’s largest indie music festivals and conference, Indie Week. Recently, Darryl was hired as the director of market development for CD Baby in Canada. Past positions include design and branding/marketing for Live Nation as a freelancer, retail buyer at HMV, and booker for one of Toronto’s top live music venues.

Canadian-born, South Asian Toronto artist, Romana, expands global conversation through sound. This past summer Romana released a stunning self-directed video for her single, Melanin. The song tells the story of a person of colour as they shed Eurocentric ideals of beauty, accepting the richness of who they really are. Romana is an artist at heart who is currently using her musical talents to both grow as a person and share her journey and discovery of self with others.

Kris and Nigel are two of the nicest and funniest people I've had the pleasure of speaking with on this podcast. Bit Playas is a comedy series on CBC Gem/Amazon Prime created by Kris Siddiqi and Nigel Downer - two friends/actors that met while working at The Second City Toronto. Season One deals with Race, Nerd Culture, Dating, Marijuana and navigating the Canadian Entertainment scene as actors of color. The show originally came out December 2019 and was just released this past summer on Amazon Prime in the US and the UK.

STORRY is a singer-songwriter who writes and produces her own music, and is intrinsically involved in all aspects of her career from designing album covers to directing award-winning music videos. Her debut concept album, CH III: The Come Up, was released on\\this past February 20, 2020 to critical acclaim. Since then, she was nominated for a 2020 JUNO Award in the category of Reggae Recording of the Year for her song, Another Man, which was produced by reggae royalty, Sly and Robbie. Now, with the world in retrospection, STORRY decided to write and assemble virtual collaborations in order to create a new EP called INTERLUDE-19 in isolation. Another conceptual piece with an array of emotions and genres that take her listeners on a journey, marking a monumental transition between chapters. STORRY’s art is raw and honest to the max.

Aixa Kay is an actor originally from Saudi Arabia who now calls Vancouver home. She is the star of the new Canadian movie, Jasmine Road.

Harnarayan Singh is the author of the brand new book, ONE GAME AT A TIME. Bonino Bonino Bonino! Video clips of the Hockey Night in Punjabi broadcast of Nick Bonino's goal for the Pittsburgh Penguins immediately went viral, amplifying the profile of Harnarayan Singh, the voice behind the call. In this conversation with Harnarayan we talk about his love of hockey and Canada while also challenging both to be better. We talked about his relationship with Ron MacLean and his sister Gurdeep. Of course we talked about his journey from calling games with a toy microphone as a kid to calling Hockey Night in Canada games across the country and everything in between. We also discover the one thing most people don't know about Harnarayan Singh. You will be surprised!

Toronto-born and bred, Indigenous multidisciplinary artist, producer, engineer and DJ, David Strickland – known for his work on some of the most iconic Grammy and JUNO-award winning records by Toronto artists and North American Hip-Hop progenitors alike – released his long awaited album, Spirit Of Hip-Hop, on June 29 via Entertainment One. David’s perspective, “The DJ is the Drummer; the MC is the Storyteller, the B-boy is the Dancer and the Graffiti Artist is the Sand Painter” is rooted in Spirit Of Hip-Hop, as he emerges from behind the boards to share an embodiment of the teachings, art, traditions, and music of the community, aligned with his Indigenous heritage. Amongst an extensive collaboration roster, the album includes Indigenous rappers such as Supaman, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Artson, Que Rock, Drezus, Leonard Sumner, Joey Styles, and more, while North American hip-hop legends EPMD, Saukrates, Def Squad (Redman, Erick Sermon, Keith Murray), Maestro Fresh Wes, and a posthumous verse from King Reign, a

Sami Jo Small is a three-time Canadian Olympic ice hockey goalie (two golds and one silver) and a five-time World Champion. A graduate of Stanford University in mechanical engineering, she now works as a Certified Speaking Professional, delivering messages on how to build successful teams as well as successful teammates. From Winnipeg, Manitoba, she now lives in Mississauga, Ontario.

Conquer COVID-19 was a grassroots, volunteer-driven organization that helped facilitate access to priority products that were in short supply but essential for the healthcare community during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.This episode features an unedited conversation between Conquer COVID-19 volunteers Gregg Tilston, Laurie Dillon-Schalk, Aqeel Wahab, and Sulemaan Ahmed. Hosted by Karim Kanji.

Ebonnie Rowe has been instrumental in supporting the launch of notable Canadian artists including Nelly Furtado, Jully Black, Melanie Fiona, SATE, Melanie Durrant, Michie Mee and many more. Honey Jam is a program that offers mentoring, education, performance and networking opportunities for female-identifying artists, culminating with a stellar Honey Jam showcase to highlight their growth. Annual programming includes Honey Jam artists and alumni engaging in activities including workshops, artist talks, songwriting camps, performance and development opportunities as well as collaborations and travel experiences for the artists to expand their network and fan base outside of Canada.

Jamaican-Canadian musical artist, Lexxicon is the definition of passion and persistence. It is almost impossible for an audience to not become consumed by the intense energy that radiates through his music and the long-lasting impression of his dynamic live performances. With music that sounds like a crossbreed between PartyNextDoor and Swae Lee merged with a strong artistic vision, to push the boundaries of the industry, Lexxicon is quickly rising through the ranks to become a household name.

In this special podcast episode I attempt to answer the question, "Why I started podcasting?"

Latif Nasser is a producer and director of research with Radio Lab, the host of the amazing podcast, The Other Latif and now the host and executive producer of the hit Netflix documentary series Connected.

COUNT KLASSY is an incredible, new age hip hop artist about to burst onto the scene in a big way - with compelling, original music that grabs the listener and gets them grooving before they even realize they are experiencing history. Yes, this talented artist, a proud member of Canada's LGBTQ community is breaking barriers, helping to smash homophobia in hip hop with his genre busting album (to include guest vocals from Canadian rap star Choclair and the legendary California rapper Tone Loc), coming soon.

Steve Kaszas is the lead actor in the movie Speak Your Mind which as the winner of Best Feature at the 2019 Toronto Independent Film Festival.

Kim Mitchell is a Canadian rock icon. This year he was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame. He was the lead singer with the influential rock band Max Webster and has had an outstanding solo career which has seen him earn numerous awards and accolades. His newest single, Wishes, is the first release on his latest album The Big Fantasize.

Guitarist/bassist Kevin Comeau is one half of the dynamic rock duo, Crown Lands. In this episode we talk about the genesis of their unique yet meaningful name, opening for Jack White, playing in an historic studio north of Toronto, their musical inspirations, the future of music venues and touring, and so much more.

Adrian Sutherland comes from Attawapiskat on the remote coast of the James Bay in Northern Ontario. He’s a singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and the founder of roots-rockers Midnight Shine. Adrian and host Karim Kanji talked about: - Cree culture in Attawapiskat - rendition of Neil Young's Heart Of Gold - impact of COVID19 on both his work as a musician and the town of Attawapiskat - the re-mastered album, James Bay - the protest song, Politician Man - performance in June of Lonely Boy - playing with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings - the issues facing Attawapiskat: clean water, housing, drug crisis and youth suicide