I’ve been widely known as an international DJ as well as the Official DJ of the Toronto Raptors for well over a decade, but 2022 was a MASSIVE year for me as I made the transition from DJ to Recording Artist / Producer complete. With the support of FACTOR’s Juried Sound Recording program, I was able to successfully write, produce, record, release and roll out my debut full length album, “4KORNERS Of The World” solidifying my place in this new career path.
The album is a musical journey around the world. It’s both a portrait of Toronto as the most multicultural city on the planet, and a collection of sounds and feelings that live within me as a result of touring globally as a DJ for the past decade. It’s Hip Hop, Electronic, Afrobeats, Dancehall, Soca, J-Pop, Baile Funk and so much more, all wrapped into one seamless audio escape. This is what music means to me, and thanks to FACTOR I was able to craft this project in a way that is true to my vision without sacrificing quality, and release it 100% independently though my own company JN SHPPRD.
I worked with emerging Canadian artists of diverse ethnic backgrounds residing all over the country, recorded the music in studios across 3 provinces and shot music videos in both Toronto and Vancouver. It is of great importance to me that I not only explore sound but provide a platform for up and coming Canadian talent, which was done to the max on this album with features from future superstars like EverythingOShauN, Odreii, Ashton Adams and Temia to name a few. And aesthetically, I was able to bring my ideas to life from photo and content shoots to marketing and promotional initiatives. Support from FACTOR helped make all of that possible.
This project received critical acclaim and media coverage from tons of major outlets including SOCAN Magazine, CP24, CTV, TSN and Blog TO plus radio spins and interviews across Canada and around the world on Virgin / iHeart Radio, CBC Radio, 3 Sirius XM channels, Flex 101.4 (UK), Naija 102 (Nigeria), MOUV (France) and more. It got major support from Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music amounting to two Yonge-Dundas Billboards and over 30 Editorial playlists, and has been extremely well received on my recent tours across Canada and Europe. Thank you FACTOR for supporting my artistry and helping me put myself in position to level up my career, export my music internationally, and take more and more young talented Canadians with me!