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Maryanne Oketch First Black Canadian to win ‘Survivor’

admin — Sun, 12 Jun 2022 22:52:44 +0000

The winner of the reality competition series “Survivor 42” is a Canadian for the second year in a row. Maryanne Oketch, a 24-year-old seminary student from Ajax, Ont., was the last one standing in Wednesday night’s Season 42 finale. Maryanne Oketch won a $1 million prize and became the first Black Canadian woman to win “Survivor,”.

The episode began with Maryanne Oketch, Jonathan Young, Mike Turner, Romeo Escobar, and Lindsay Dolashewich remaining after 23 days in the wilderness. It all came down to Oketch and Turner, a firefighter from New Jersey, after a series of games and obstacles. Oketch won with seven jury votes to one, to rousing applause from her fellow competitors.

Oketch was born in the German state of Baden-Württemberg in Karlsruhe, Germany. Her parents, who are Kenyans, brought her to Canada when she was a child. She attended McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and graduated with a degree in Integrated Science in 2020. She also has a Master’s degree from a seminary.

Oketch received critical acclaim for her performance on Survivor 42 after the season’s finale aired. During the season, Hartley Jafine, a professor at Oketch’s alma mater McMaster, praised her kindness, positivity, leadership, and authenticity. One of Oketch’s McMaster professors, Chad Harvey, praised her authenticity, saying, “The persona she exhibited on the show is very much who she is and how I remember her.”

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Actors Shamier Anderson and Stephan James sign deal with Boat Rocker

admin — Sun, 30 Jan 2022 05:02:26 +0000

Shamier Anderson and Stephan James, Canadian actor-brothers, are set to develop and produce original television projects for Toronto-based global entertainment company Boat Rocker.

Under their Bay Mills Studios banner, the Toronto stars have signed a first-look deal with Boat Rocker. Both are already associated with Boat Rocker, with Anderson starring in its upcoming Apple TV Plus series “Invasion” and James in its upcoming AMC Networks show “Beacon 23.”

With a slew of high-profile projects and the establishment of The Black Academy, the deal cements Anderson and James as major forces in the film industry.

Anderson’s other credits include the Amazon Prime Video sci-fi film “Stowaway” and Halle Berry’s directorial debut in the boxing drama “Bruised.”

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A Course on Drake and The Weeknd is Being Offered at Toronto University

admin — Sun, 30 Jan 2022 04:01:17 +0000

You can now take a course to learn everything there is to know about Drake and The Weeknd, two of the most popular singers from Toronto, Canada.

Dalton Higgins, a music professor in residence at Ryerson University in Toronto, announced the course he will teach in early 2022.

Students at Ryerson University can now take a course that delves into two of Toronto’s most influential musicians: Drake and The Weeknd. The course, titled Deconstructing Drake & The Weeknd, will look at the artists’ careers as well as their lyrics.

“Drake and the Weeknd are two of the biggest artists in the world and it’s overdue for them to be canonized academically”

“When you have two Black artists born and bred in Toronto who perform rap, R&B; and pop, and who are arguably well on their way to becoming billionaires at some point in time, there is apparently a lot to learn”

“Remember, they both blew up despite being products of a local Canadian music scene that does very little to foster the growth of its Black music practitioners” said Higgins

Drake is one of the world’s best-selling music artists, with over 170 million records sold, and is the RIAA’s highest-certified digital singles artist in the United States. He has four Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, a record 29 Billboard Music Awards, two Brit Awards, and three Juno Awards, in addition to several Billboard Hot 100 chart records.

Drake has the most top 10 singles (54), the most charted songs (258), the most concurrently charted songs in one week (27), the most Hot 100 debuts in one week (22), and the most time spent on the Hot 100. (431 weeks). He also holds the record for the most number-one singles on the R&B;/Hip-Hop Airplay, Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs, Hot Rap Songs, and Rhythmic Airplay charts.

Among the world’s best selling music artists with over 75 million records sold, The Weeknd has won three Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, fifteen Juno Awards, one Brit Award, has been nominated for an Academy Award, and holds several Billboard chart records.In 2020, The Weeknd was listed by Time as one of the world’s most influential people.

The Weeknd released his fourth studio album, After Hours, in 2020, which included the worldwide chart-topping single “Blinding Lights,” as well as the number-one singles “Heartless” and “Save Your Tears.”

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