Welcome with Karim Kanji

Darby Wheeler is an award-winning television director, producer, and writer, with over 20 years of experience. Some highlights include: developing Canada’s only late-night talk show for the CBC, George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight; and producing for on MuchMusic’s The NewMusic, and Canada’s only urban music TV shows MuchVibe and RapCity. Recently, Darby directed the award-winning, Dead Set on Life, f...

Like the Queen Street strip that has been its home for seven decades, the Horseshoe Tavern continues to evolve. It remains as relevant today as it did when Jack Starr founded the country music club on the site of a former blacksmith shop. From country and rockabilly to rock ‘n’ roll, punk, alt/country, and back to roots music, the venerable live music venue has evolved with the times and trends —...

Keda is the founder of True II Soul Network, a collective of professional members and community members that are devoted to recovery, healing and transformation challenging the status quo around trauma. True II Soul is an inclusive online community and sanctuary for individuals seeking support. As an adult survivor of childhood physical and sexual trauma and a Certified Life and Business Coach, Ke...

A few weeks ago, Gregg Tilston and Karim Kanji welcomed the Afro-Cuban Jazz duo OKAN (led by Elizabeth Rodriguez and Magdelys Savigne) to the show! Combining history, heritage, storytelling and spirituality, they share these elements on their new album – Espiral (Spanish for ‘spiral’). Born in Havana, Cuba, Elizabeth Rodriguez is a classically trained violinist who served as concertmaster for Hava...

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 m...

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...

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...

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...

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 bo...

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...

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. Hos...

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...

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 bo...

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 in...

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 -...

On July 10 2020, Karim Kanji sat down with Jesse Thistle . Thistle is Métis-Cree, an author, assistant professor in the Department of Equity Studies at York University in Toronto. He is also the author of the best-selling memoir, From the Ashes. Thistle is an advocate for the homeless.