The SOCAN Foundation is excited to unveil the recipients of the fourth SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Awards, honouring the artistic achievements of Bukola, Haleluya Hailu, Kalisway, Nia Nadurata, and Obediya Jones-Darrell.
The Black Canadian Music Awards were established to recognize the creativity, talent, and contributions of Black music creators in Canada. Thanks to the generous support of SiriusXM Canada, each of the five award recipients will be granted $10,000 to advance their careers.
An additional five “Ones to Watch” Awards, each valued at $1,000, are being made to AfrotroniX, Kwazii, Seago, Laurie Torres, and iaamSaam.
“I’ve had the honour of being part of this great jury over the past few years. To see the development of Black artists across Canada is exciting and inspiring. I think I speak for the entire jury when I say that the unfolding of the amazing talent shown in the submissions is going to be quite exciting,” said SOCAN Foundation Jury Chair Dena Williams. “The applicants this year were challenging to shortlist – but this is a good problem to have! I can truly say that I’m seeing a new level of quality, creativity, and genre diversity emerging within our community from coast to coast. These selected winners are just a snapshot of what’s to come from Black artists across the country! To the artists out there, keep applying and keep creating, you never know whose ears your work will land on, and whose creativity you’ll inspire!”
“The SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Awards by SOCAN Foundation are vital to the growth of Black excellence in Canada, and we’re thrilled to celebrate a fresh group of talented recipients each year,” said SiriusXM Canada Senior Vice President, Programming & Operations, Michelle Mearns. “We extend our congratulations to this year’s winners for their remarkable achievements.”