The SOCAN Foundation has announced Zach Zoya, Adria Kain, AHI, Nonso Amadi and Desarae Dee as the winners of the third annual SiriusXM Black Canadian Music Awards.
Created to recognize the artistic merit of Black musicians in any genre, this year's awards saw SiriusXM Canada double their support — each of the five winners will receive a prize of $10,000 to support their career development.
"We're so proud to help bring this program to life for a third year and to double the prize money for these incredibly talented and deserving recipients," SiriusXM Canada VP of Programming & Operations Michelle Mearns said in a press release. "SiriusXM is committed to supporting Black Canadian artists and I can't wait to see what these artists create in the future.
Quebec's Zoya and Ontario's Kain, Dee, AHI and Amadi were selected from a record number of applicants by a jury and advisory council of Black industry leaders and artists.
"What an honour to participate in amplifying Black creatives. So many of the submissions were incredible, making this the hardest jury process to date," said Keziah Myers, Executive Director at ADVANCE Music Canada, and chair of the jury. "I learned of writers and composers that I didn't know about, automatically looked up their projects, and it inspired me to think of ways to amplify them within the industry and provide more vehicles for opportunity. Congratulations to the winners!"
Special distinctions and awards of $1,000 are also being awarded to City Fidelia, Haley Smalls, Leila Dey, Promise and Shreez.
Created to recognize the artistic merit of Black musicians in any genre, this year's awards saw SiriusXM Canada double their support — each of the five winners will receive a prize of $10,000 to support their career development.
"We're so proud to help bring this program to life for a third year and to double the prize money for these incredibly talented and deserving recipients," SiriusXM Canada VP of Programming & Operations Michelle Mearns said in a press release. "SiriusXM is committed to supporting Black Canadian artists and I can't wait to see what these artists create in the future.
Quebec's Zoya and Ontario's Kain, Dee, AHI and Amadi were selected from a record number of applicants by a jury and advisory council of Black industry leaders and artists.
"What an honour to participate in amplifying Black creatives. So many of the submissions were incredible, making this the hardest jury process to date," said Keziah Myers, Executive Director at ADVANCE Music Canada, and chair of the jury. "I learned of writers and composers that I didn't know about, automatically looked up their projects, and it inspired me to think of ways to amplify them within the industry and provide more vehicles for opportunity. Congratulations to the winners!"
Special distinctions and awards of $1,000 are also being awarded to City Fidelia, Haley Smalls, Leila Dey, Promise and Shreez.
