Aquakultre is a Canadian soul and R&B [1] musical project from Halifax, Nova Scotia, whose core member is singer and rapper Lance Sampson. [2] They are most noted for their album Legacy, which was a longlisted nominee for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize. [3]
Sampson's ancestors are from Africville, and he grew up in the Uniacke Square neighbourhood of Halifax. [4] [5] He was a troubled teenager, who spent some time trafficking drugs and received a five-year prison sentence as a teenager. After being exposed to the music of Common and Erykah Badu, he taught himself to play guitar, and was released from prison after just 19 months for good behaviour. [6] He began performing as a rapper and singer in 2015, and in 2018 he won CBC Music's annual Searchlight competition with "Sure", a song he had written in prison. [7]
He recorded Legacy in just seven days at the National Music Centre in Calgary, Alberta, with a band that included Nathan Doucet, Jeremy Costello and Nick Dourado. [8] Following the release of preview singles "Pay It Forward", "I Doubt It" and "Wife Tonight", [9] the album was released in May 2020 on Black Buffalo Records. [10]
In August 2020, he announced that his second album Bleeding Gums Murphy, a collaboration with DJ and producer Uncle Fester, would be released on October 9. [11]
His video for "Pay It Forward", directed by Sampson and Evan Elliot, won the Audience Award at the 2021 Prism Prize. [12]
Aquakultre performed on the 2021 FreeUp! The Emancipation Day Special . [13] He contributed vocals for "Summer Night Songs", the title song of the 2021 documentary The North Star: Finding Black Mecca . [14]
His third album, Don't Trip, was released in July 2022, [15] and was longlisted for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize. [16]
Karkwa is an indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, formed in 1998.
The Rural Alberta Advantage is a Canadian indie rock band that formed in 2005 in Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Nils Edenloff on lead vocals and guitar; Amy Cole on keyboards, bass, and backing vocals; and Paul Banwatt on drums. They have released five albums and are signed to Paper Bag Records in Canada and Saddle Creek Records internationally. In 2011, they were nominated for a Polaris Music Prize.
Dilly Dally were a Canadian alternative rock band from Toronto. The band consisted of Enda Monks, Liz Ball, Annie Jane Marie (bassist) and Benjamin Reinhartz (drummer). They announced their breakup on March 2, 2023.
Andy Shauf is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Regina, Saskatchewan. He plays several instruments, including guitar, drums, and clarinet.
iskwē is a Canadian singer-songwriter and activist.
Clairmont II Humphrey, known professionally as Clairmont The Second, is a Canadian rapper from Toronto, Ontario. His 2017 album Lil Mont from the Ave received a Juno Award nomination for Rap Recording of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2018. He also won the 2019 Prism Prize Hi-Fidelity Award and is a finalist for the 2020 Prism Prize.
Snotty Nose Rez Kids are a First Nations hip hop duo composed of Haisla rappers Darren "Young D" Metz and Quinton "Yung Trybez" Nyce. They are originally from Kitamaat Village, British Columbia. Their 2017 album The Average Savage was shortlisted for the 2018 Polaris Music Prize, and for the Juno Award for Indigenous Music Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2019. In 2018, the duo received nominations for Best Hip Hop Album at the Indigenous Music Awards, and for Indigenous Artist of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards. Their third album TRAPLINE was released on May 10, 2019 and was later shortlisted for the 2019 Polaris Music Prize. Their fourth album Life After (2021) was shortlisted for the 2022 Polaris Music Prize and was followed by their fifth album I’M GOOD, HBU? in 2022.
Ahkinoah Habah Izarh, better known by the stage name AHI is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He has been a two-time Juno Award nominee for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year, receiving nods at the Juno Awards of 2019 for his album In Our Time and at the Juno Awards of 2022 for his album Prospect.
Haviah Mighty is a Canadian rapper from Brampton, Ontario. She rose to prominence in 2016 as a member of the hip hop group the Sorority, before releasing several EPs on her own, most notably Flower City, in 2017. Her first album, 13th Floor, was released in 2019 and won the Polaris Music Prize. After her debut, XXL named her one of the "15 Toronto rappers you should know" and CBC Music called her one of the "New Faces of Canadian Hip Hop".
Yves Jarvis is the stage name of Jean-Sébastien Yves Audet, a Canadian experimental musician, singer and producer who also previously released music under the stage names Un Blonde and Faux Fur.
Oluwatobi Feyisara Ajibolade, known professionally as Tobi , is a Nigerian-born Canadian singer and rapper signed to RCA Records and Same Plate Entertainment. He released his debut studio album Still in May 2019, his second album Elements Vol. 1 in 2020, and his third album PANIC in 2023.
The following musical events and releases that happened in 2020 in Canada.
The 2020 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on October 19, 2020. The longlist was announced on June 15, 2020, with the shortlist following on July 15, 2020 and the winner announced on October 19, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional winner's gala did not take place this year, and instead a special cinematic tribute to the shortlist was streamed online by CBC Music and CBC Gem, following which the winner was announced.
Corridor is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, consisting of vocalist and bassist Dominic Berthiaume, guitarist Julian Perreault, guitarist and vocalist Jonathan Robert and drummer Julien Bakvis, with the addition of multi-instrumentalist Samuel Gougoux in live performances. The first francophone band ever signed to the influential indie label Sub Pop, they are most noted for their 2019 album Junior, which was a longlisted nominee for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize.
Begonia is the stage name of Alexa Dirks, a Canadian pop singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is most noted for her 2019 album Fear, which was longlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize and shortlisted for the Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2021.
Status/Non-Status, formerly known as WHOOP-Szo, is a Canadian alternative rock band from Guelph, Ontario, led by Anishinaabe-Canadian singer-songwriter Adam Sturgeon. The band is most noted for its 2019 album Warrior Down, which was longlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize.
Savannah Ré Simpson, simply known as Savannah Ré, is a Canadian R&B singer-songwriter from Scarborough, Ontario, whose debut EP Opia was released in 2020.
DijahSB is a rapper based in Toronto, Ontario. They released their debut album 2020 the Album in 2020, followed by their second album Head Above the Waters in 2021.
LOONY is the stage name of Kira Huszar, a Canadian rhythm and blues singer from Scarborough, Ontario. She is most noted for her 2021 EP soft thing, which was longlisted for the 2022 Polaris Music Prize.
Eliza Niemi is a Canadian indie pop singer-songwriter and cellist, whose debut solo album Staying Mellow Blows was longlisted for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize.