Shoba

Winners of Toronto Independent Music Awards receive a series of industry-connected prizes ranging from graphic design services, to artist management. This year's winner for the Best Urban category.

Her name is Shobha, and her cool blend of husky vocals, pop melodies, and urban back tracks, makes her a fun and contemporary example of music fusion. Here’s what the friendly and humble Halifax native had to say about her career and how she got to it.

I've been dabbling in music since I was little. I guess my involvement with the industry began as more and more opportunities would present themselves. I never really thought I would be doing this professionally until all of a sudden I was doing it professionally! For example, I would get invited to play different events, and one day the opportunity to record my original material came up. I kind of just went with the flow and learned what I had to learn as I went.

I remember Googling venues in Toronto, trying to book shows and reaching out to other artists to share bills. I definitely put my time in! It didn't take long though. After about a year I managed to meet the right people and become pretty well connected in the Toronto music scene.

I want my music to make people dance, cry, think and relate. I really want people to get what I'm saying. My favorite artists, they've all influenced me in the same way. For example John Mayer is just a phenomenal songwriter.

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Kardinal Offishall

In the last two years the music industry has seen the dramatic growth of MCA recording artist Kardinal Offishall. His 2001 release "Firestarter Vol.1: Quest for Fire" showcased Kardinal’s unique writing and production skills.

Quest for Fire introduced the world to the T dot (Toronto) sound, which included a collaboration with Epic recording artist, and fellow Toronto native, Glenn Lewis. The strategy of the project was for MCA to license and then release some older Kardinal material to use as a tool to familiarize consumers with the name Kardinal Offishall.

What MCA received was an overwhelming response from radio and club DJs wanting to know more about this artist and his music. There was also immediate evidence of the establishment of a significant fan base. There was so much interest in Kardinal in fact, MCA decided to release two videos in support of the two hit singles. The first single, "Bakardi Slang" depicted life in T dot and was an instant hit in Toronto. Bakardi Slang also became an international hit, as Kardinal witnessed while touring the U.S. and Europe. The impact of "Bakardi Slang" became fully evident when superstar reggae artist Bounty Killer (No Doubt, Swizz Beats ) approached Kardinal

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