Black Music Mentorship Program

February 7, 2025

Alberta Music is now accepting applications for their Black Music Mentorship Program.

Eight participants will be selected by a jury based on applications and partnered with three mentors in the music industry. Virtual calls will be set up by Alberta Music throughout the month with each mentor for a 45 minute one on one call to help answer questions, provide advice, and to foster meaningful connections. 
Successful applicants can expect to be partnered with influential industry members.
To be considered for this opportunity, you must:
– Be actively working in Black Music as an artist or industry professional
– Be ready to be working with national contacts
– Have access to reliable internet for calls

APPLY HERE

 
Thanks to FACTOR, Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta for their support in this initiative. 

 

MENTORS

Cadence Weapon is Edmonton-born, Hamilton-based rapper, producer, writer and poet Rollie Pemberton. His 2021 album Parallel World won Canada’s Polaris Music Prize.

The son of a pioneering hip-hop radio DJ, Pemberton grew up around a diverse library of music. Splitting his time between Edmonton’s experimental electronic and underground rap scenes as a teenager, Pemberton eventually developed a hybrid of both styles. Cadence Weapon has released six albums, five of which have been nominated for the Polaris Music Prize, with Breaking Kayfabe (2006) and Hope In Dirt City (2012) and Parallel World (2021) being shortlist nominees. Pemberton has toured extensively following the success of these albums, playing festivals like Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, Pitchfork Music Festival, Roskilde and Primavera Sound and performing shows with artists such as Public Enemy, Diplo, Questlove, De La Soul and many more.

Pemberton’s music is known for pairing groundbreaking production with incisive, socially conscious lyricism. Pemberton served as Poet Laureate of Edmonton from 2009 to 2011, making him the literary ambassador of his hometown. His poem “The Garden” was incorporated into a bronze sculpture at the Alberta Legislature Grounds in Edmonton in 2018. Pemberton was the narrator and a writer for the VICELAND television series PAYDAY and Mister Tachyon and he has hosted lectures and conducted live interviews for CBC q and Red Bull Music Academy. Pemberton’s memoir called Bedroom Rapper was published by McClelland & Stewart in May 2022 and his newest album ROLLERCOASTER was released on April 19, 2024.

 

Dalton Higgins is a publicist and PR strategist, author of seven books, a National Magazine Award-winning print journalist, and a TV, radio and podcast personality.
Higgins is a leading Toronto-based publicist whose active roster includes clients that have won a wide range of Awards including: Grammy Awards (USA), BET Awards (USA), Emmy Awards (USA), The Mercury Prize (UK), Victoires de la Musique/French Grammy’s (France), Juno Awards (Canada), Polaris Music Prize (Canada) in addition to Grammis/Swedish Grammy’s (Sweden) nominees.

His critically-acclaimed book Far From Over: The Music and Life of Drake – carried in the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame & Museum collection in Cleveland – sheds light on the cultural conditions in Toronto and the United States that helped create the Drake phenomenon. Likewise, Higgins’ Hip Hop World book which is carried in Harvard University’s hip hop archive, led to a Hip Hop Scholar of the Year award nomination courtesy of Washington DC’s WBLINC.
Higgins teaches the popular university course “Deconstructing Drake and The Weeknd” and continues to contribute chapters and essays to a wide range of anthologies and textbooks used in high schools and universities, focused on music and popular culture, including iSkills: From Txt To Talk, Rhymes to Re-Education, and the anthology In This Together about indigeneity and blackness in hip hop culture.

Higgins co-hosted the Black Tea podcast (Rogers Media), is a former TV host for BPM TV (Urban Groove Show), was a regular pundit for MuchMusic, and CTV’s “Talk TV”, and was a reporter for leading US music and urban culture magazines The Source and Vibe Magazine. Higgins has also worked as a producer on a vast number of broadcast and podcast initiatives including CBC’s award-winning five part This Is Not A Drake podcast series (Toronto) and enjoyed mentoring youth at Toronto’s creative incubator HXOUSE (The Weeknd).

 

Ian Andre Espinet is a Toronto-born, serial entrepreneur, creative, and community advocate with over 25 years of expertise in marketing, graphic design, social media, and entertainment. He is the founder of Black Star Graphic Design & Communications, Iconic Arts & Entertainment, and Emancipation Consciouswear, as well as the co-founder of Breaking Down Racial Barriers (BDRB).

Ian is a respected leader in the Canadian music industry and is known for transforming the live music and culture scene through Iconic Arts & Entertainment, one of the top Black music event companies in the country. In 2020, he co-created the BDRB initiative, which is regarded as a catalyst in the national conversation on anti-Black racism and systemic inequity within the Canadian music and creative industries. BDRB’s 2020 roundtables garnered widespread attention, with over 22,000 viewers; the BDRB Declaration to End Anti-Black Racism has over 500 signatories, including corporations and government institutions, and the BDRB Report on Anti-Black Racism (Vol 1) has been pivotal in impacting policy and institutional change in the industry. BDRB has been awarded for its groundbreaking work in equity research, data innovation, and programming.

Ian has been a passionate advocate for youth, entrepreneurship, and community service. He is a member of the Ontario Creates Industry Advisory Committee, a former chair of the ADVANCE Advocacy Committee, and has contributed to various initiatives such as the 2021 CARAS Juno Awards and FACTOR’s juror panel. Ian is the recipient of multiple honors, including the University of Toronto’s “150 Neighbours” CityBuilder Award and Shifter Magazine’s Outstanding Black Men in Canada award.

 

Katrina Lopes is the president of KL Management. Together with her clients she has garnered numerous accolades including MMVA Video of the Year, SOCAN #1 Award, SOCAN Pop Song of the Year, numerous platinum and gold certified singles and chart topping singles.

Her artists have toured with internationally renowned acts Backstreet Boys, Selena Gomez, opened for acts such as NAO, John Legend, Nas, SWV, Van Hunt, Anderson Paak, Drake, performed alongside Sir Elton John, and have been short listed in NPR’s acclaimed Tiny Desk contest. Her roster has also graced notable stages including A3C, SXSW, Manifesto, Pride, Luminato, CMW, NXNE, M Pour Montréal, POP Montréal just to name a few. Her clients also boast sync placements on Hulu (Utopia Falls), Netflix (The Order), Amazon (The Lake, Barbelle), CityTV (Hudson & Rex) and CBC (Diggstown, Kim’s Convenience).

KL also executive produced the film “ALIVE” in partnership with MUCH which starred Shawn Desman, Kaitlyn Leeb (Heartland), Melinda Shankar (Degrassi), and K.C. Collins (Lost Girl). The film was the cornerstone of an innovative campaign to promote Desman’s album of the same name. The premiere grew its time slot by 145%, won “Outstanding Short Film” at ReelWorld Film Awards, garnered nominations including: “Best Youth Program/Series” and “Best Direction in Youth Program/Series” at the Canadian Screen Awards, “Best TV Drama Cinematography” at the Canadian Society of Cinematographers Awards, “Best R&B/Soul Recording” at the Juno Awards, and Best Pop Music Video at MMVA’s. She also produced the short film “Good Love” w/ Gary Beals which won the Emerging Lens Best Short Documentary Award.

KL also serves on the board for: Manifesto, a youth arts organization that creates space (physical and digital) that inspires, develops, and amplifies diverse communities through arts, culture and media; Music Nova Scotia; is a mentor with Femme it Forward, a female-led music and entertainment company and joint venture with Live Nation that celebrates, educates and empowers the industry’s most creative and accomplished female visionaries; Shesaid.so a global community of women and gender minorities in music; VenusFest Mentorship Program; Diverse Voices (Music PEI); Black Artists Mentorship Program (Music PEI); and runs her own KL Management Black Mentorship Program(s). KL also teaches Music Industry classes through F- You: The Forgiveness Project to young men in custody. She was an innovator w/ Keychange, a global network working towards a total restructure of the music industry in reaching full gender equality. She was also named an honouree on the global “Alternative Power 100 Music List 2020”, received the ANSMA Industry Development Award 2023, and Women in Music Honours Award in Career Achievement 2023.

 

Raised in a musically rich family in Toronto, LordQuest has been immersed in the world of music from a young age. His early exploration and passion for songwriting led him to collaborate with local artists, honing his craft and developing a unique sound.

As a Grammy-nominated record producer and songwriter, Quest has established himself as a versatile and sought-after talent in the industry. His impressive discography includes collaborations with a diverse range of artists, including 2Chainz, Kelly Rowland, Jordin Sparks, Juice Wrld, Schoolboy Q, SiR, Arin Ray, Isaiah Rashad, Bosco, G-Unit, Alex Aiono, Jozzy, Joyner Lucas, Dom Kennedy, and many others.

With a keen ear for melody and a knack for crafting memorable hooks, he has contributed to numerous hit songs across genres as a creative and highly respected industry executive. His ability to adapt to different artists’ styles and bring out their best qualities has solidified his reputation as a top producer and songwriter.

Formerly part of the Warner Music Canada A&R team, where he oversaw hip-hop and R&B talent, Quest currently serves as Creative Executive of Black Music at SOCAN.As he continues to push the boundaries of his creativity, his influence on the music industry is undeniable. His dedication to his craft, coupled with his talent and versatility as creative and executive, make him a valuable asset to any artist looking to elevate their career.

Jamal Vickers started in the music industry in 2003, as a DJ with some high school friends. It then bloomed into a career that spanned a decade and opened him up to event production and promotions. In 2013 he transitioned into Artist Management, taking this new trajectory seriously he applied and graduated from The Remix Project in 2014. While living in Alberta, working in the oilfield to help fund a project for his artist, he started his company JVG which encompasses many artist services like management, grant writing, and consulting but has a heavy focus on Sync.
 
2018 was a defining year for him, with the release of his passion project “The Black Gang EP”, he also landed his first sync placements in the first season of Showtimes hit TV show “The Chi” and started as an Intern at Public Records. He’s assumed more roles as the years progressed for the indie label, starting as a Marketing Manager then sharing the A&R role with founder Gavin Sheppard and heading up the distribution arm for Public Records. He then moved to Warner Music Canada to hold the title of Marketing Manager for Hip-Hop and R&B.
 
Other notable experiences are his spearheading of the Public Funds grant – a funding initiative supplying grants to black and Indigenous people within the business side of music and producing several music videos and events for various artists and brands like Aurora, NXNE, and Jameson. On his own, he operates JVG – a boutique sync agency with a focus and specialization in Black Music.
Repping 20+ artists from Toronto and across Canada he’s garnered placements in tv shows and movies like “Kim’s Convenience”, “Survival Box”, “The Rest Of Us” and multiple seasons of the hit Showtime show – “The Chi”. Similarly, he’s been practicing mindfulness for over 10 years, primarily focusing on meditation. This has been a focal point in his life often relying on the tools of reflection and gratitude to support him through the difficult times and the easy. In Q4 2024 he launched an initiative called BALM, focusing on teaching mindfulness to the music industry – starting with Asana, Breathwork, Meditation, and community conversations. To close out the year he’s completed his 200 Hr Yoga Teacher Training and will be opening up private classes to artists and business people in the music industry, along with a focus on black men in general.

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