NYSSA is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Toronto, Ontario, whose debut album Girls Like Me was released in 2020. [1]
Her second album, Shake Me Where I'm Foolish, followed in 2024. [2]
She has been a two-time longlisted Polaris Music Prize nominee, receiving nods at the 2021 Polaris Music Prize for Girls Like Me [3] and at the 2024 Polaris Music Prize for Shake Me Where I'm Foolish. [4]
The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize; the prize was increased to $30,000 for the 2011 award. In May 2015, the Polaris Music Prize was increased to $50,000, an additional $20,000, sponsored by Slaight Music. Additionally, second place prizes for the nine other acts on the Short List increased from $2,000 to $3,000. Polaris officials also announced The Slaight Family Polaris Heritage Prize, an award that "will annually honour five albums from the five decades before Polaris launched in 2006." Details about the selection process for this prize are still to be revealed.
Shadrach Kabango, better known as Shad or Shad K, is a Canadian recording artist and broadcaster. He has released 7 full-length albums and 3 EP's since his debut in 2005. He won a Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year in 2011 and 5 of his albums have been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, the most short-list nominations of any artist in the prize's history. In 2013, CBC Music named Shad the second-greatest Canadian rapper of all time. Shad hosted Q on CBC Radio One from 2015 to 2016 and hosts the International Emmy and Peabody Award-winning documentary series Hip-Hop Evolution on HBO Canada and Netflix.
METZ is a Canadian punk rock band formed in 2007 in Ottawa, and currently based in Toronto. The band consists of guitarist and vocalist Alex Edkins, bassist Chris Slorach and drummer Hayden Menzies. In an interview with Austin, Texas zine The Cosmic Clash, Edkins has labeled METZ's style as punk rock, "at the core."
Jahmarie Wishart Adams, known professionally as Jazz Cartier, is a Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his mixtapes: Marauding in Paradise and Hotel Paranoia.
Lido Pimienta is a Colombian Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence after her 2016 album, La Papessa, won the 2017 Polaris Music Prize. Her music incorporates a variety of styles and influences, including traditional indigenous and Afro-Colombian musical styles such as Cumbia and Bullerengue, as well as contemporary synthpop and electronic music.
Charlotte Day Wilson is a Canadian contemporary R&B singer-songwriter. She came to prominence in the mid-2010s with her single "Work" and collaborations with other Toronto-based artists like BadBadNotGood and Daniel Caesar. Wilson released her debut album Alpha in July 2021.
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.
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".
Alexandra Stréliski is a Canadian neo-classical composer and pianist based in Quebec. She has released three albums: Pianoscope (2010), Inscape (2018) and Néo-Romance (2023).
The following musical events and releases that happened in 2020 in Canada.
Joseph Shabason is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist and composer. He is best known for playing the saxophone. As a band member and session musician, Shabason has contributed to bands such as DIANA, Destroyer and The War on Drugs. Under his own name, Shabason has released experimental ambient jazz albums as a solo project as well as numerous albums with collaborators.
Etmet Musa, also known by her alias Ayo Leilani and her stage name Witch Prophet, is an Ethiopian/Eritrean musician based in Toronto, Ontario. As Witch Prophet, she has released 3 albums: The Golden Octave (2018), DNA Activation (2020), and Gateway Experience (2023). She co-founded and is the co-director of 88 Days of Fortune, a collective based in Toronto since 2009 that rebranded as Heart Lake Records in 2018. She also is a member of Above Top Secret, an electro-hip hop group. Above Top Secret has released three studio albums since 2010. DNA Activation was shortlisted for the 2020 Polaris Music Prize. In 2021, she released a new song "Leilani", which appeared on the deluxe edition of DNA Activation. The deluxe edition was released July 23, 2021. Her third album as Witch Prophet, entitled Gateway Experience, was released May 1st, 2023. The first single from the album, "Energy Vampire", was released on February 23, 2023 and featured DillanPonders. Gateway Experience was longlisted for the 2023 Polaris Music Prize.
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.
The 2021 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 27, 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the award was presented in a livestreamed virtual event hosted by Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe of CBC Music.
Dorothea Paas is a Canadian singer-songwriter from Toronto, Ontario. Her debut album Anything Can't Happen was a longlisted nominee for the 2021 Polaris Music Prize.
Myst Milano is a Canadian rapper and DJ. Their debut album Shapeshyfter was released in 2021, and was longlisted for the 2022 Polaris Music Prize.
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.
The following musical events and releases are expected to happen in 2024 in Canada.
The 2024 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize will be presented on September 17, 2024.
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.