If you were a platinum-selling, Grammy winning rapper, you’d think your troubles were over. But for OutKast MC Big Boi, whose much-delayed solo album will finally be coming out on Def Jam this fall, staying on top is almost as hard as getting there. ...more
From ROM to the King and Queen Show, here's where to wine yuh waist in anticipation of the year's biggest street party ...more
“A lot of [plus-sized] women — at least the ones that I’ve talked to —
are worried that they will meet with reluctance or even hatred when
they’re out there on the road,” says Stephanie Conover as to why
slenderness continues to dominate Caribana. The still-reigning
Miss Canada Plus says that in the past eight years, she’s only run into
“two other curvy girls” along the 1.5km parade route. But counter to
popular belief, they didn’t encounter resistance. ...more
Anthony Joseph, leader of Borokeete Nex Generation (www.bcmas.com), has been making costumes for 50 years. He’s a visionary in the Caribana game whose 1982 band, themed “The African Man of Fertility,” featured sequined sperm. (He came in second place in the costume competition.) This year, he’s created a glistening gold tribute to the 2010 Olympics, with 240 costumes made by six separate designers. Trey Anthony (creator of ’Da Kink In My Hair) modelled the white “wings of peace” costume for us while Joseph gave us the inside scoop.
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What does the ROM’s new exhibit say about the Canadian-Caribbean experience — and what does it leave out? ...more
Is Caribana a jump-up tourist trap? With all the media coverage and big
corporate sponsorship, you bet (though, after 40 years of uncertain
funding, it’s about time). Yet while the party still drowns out most of
the politics and culture, there’s a growing amount of art to see. Here,
a cross-disciplinary run-down of non-parade fun. ...more