Spotlighting Black Musicians
This spotlight series highlights influential Black musicians whose artistry, innovation and leadership have shaped Canada’s musical landscape.
This spotlight series highlights influential Black musicians whose artistry, innovation and leadership have shaped Canada’s musical landscape.
Black Canadians have been an integral part of Canada’s history and culture for centuries, making lasting contributions to music. Black History Month each February provides an important opportunity to celebrate these achievements, reflect on Canada’s history, and recognize the ongoing pursuit of equity and inclusion.
We are proud to highlight both contemporary and historical Black artists whose talent, creativity and influence have shaped Canada’s musical landscape. We encourage you to explore and support the musicians featured below, while also discovering the many other Black artists in Canada and around the world who continue to inspire through their music.
Scroll down for links to organizations and educational resources where you can learn more about Black Canadian history.
CCAH promotes Afro-Caribbean history, culture, education and community engagement through programs, events and advocacy that foster diversity, inclusion and belonging across the Halton Region.
Halton Black Voices is a community-led organization that empowers Black communities in Halton through advocacy, education, youth leadership, wellness initiatives and programs that promote equity, inclusion and social justice.
The Ontario Black History Society is dedicated to preserving, promoting, and celebrating Black history and heritage in Ontario through education, research, exhibitions and community programs.
Black History in Canada is a collection of articles, biographies, timelines and educational resources that explores the history, achievements and lasting contributions of Black people and communities in Canada.
Meet some Black artists who have helped shape Canada’s musical landscape through their creativity and advocacy.
Portia White was a contralto and teacher who became the first Black Canadian concert singer to achieve international recognition. Born in Nova Scotia in 1911, her paternal grandparents had been enslaved in Virginia, while her maternal grandparents were from Nova Scotia. She began singing in her church choir and, by age eight, was performing operatic soprano parts. White studied education at Dalhousie University and worked as a teacher in Black Nova Scotian communities while continuing her musical training at the Halifax Conservatory of Music, where she competed and earned multiple awards. She left teaching to pursue a full-time concert career, despite racial barriers limiting performance opportunities. She became the first Canadian to perform at New York’s Town Hall and toured extensively across the Americas and Europe. Later in life, she taught voice in Toronto and performed selectively, including for Queen Elizabeth II. She was named a person of national historic significance, and her legacy continues through the Nova Scotia Talent Trust.
Kwamé Ryan is a Canadian-born conductor and music educator who grew up in Trinidad. After his early musical training, he studied musicology and conducting in the United Kingdom and Hungary. During a university exchange in Freiburg, he studied conducting with Peter Eötvös and later served as General Music Director of the Freiburg Opera and Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2004, he made his professional UK debut at the Edinburgh International Festival, returning in 2005 to conduct ballet performances with the Scottish Ballet. He later served as Music Director of the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine in France for five years. Ryan has worked extensively in music education and community development in Trinidad, including as Director of the Academy for the Performing Arts at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. He continues to work internationally as a freelance conductor and is recognized for his commitment to music education, earning multiple awards for his contributions to the field.
Haviah Mighty is a Canadian rapper from Brampton, Ontario, whose surname reflects her bold, uncompromising approach to music. She began studying music at age four across the Greater Toronto Area and developed skills in rap and production, independently releasing her first mixtape, No Studio, in 2010 at age seventeen. Over the following years, she released multiple projects, won So You Think You Can Rap Canada, and performed at CNE’s Rising Star Talent in 2016. That same year, she formed the hip hop group The Sorority with Lex Leosis, Keysha Freshh, and pHoenix Pagliacci, earning recognition as one of Toronto’s musicians to watch. Her solo EP Flower City (2017) received critical acclaim. After The Sorority disbanded in 2019, she released her debut album 13th Floor, which won the Polaris Music Prize. In 2022, her mixtape Stock Exchange won Rap Album of the Year at the Juno Awards, making her the first woman to receive the honour. Haviah blends rap, soul, and experimental production, challenging genre boundaries and expectations in hip hop while advocating for greater representation of women in the industry.
Cy McLean was a pioneering Canadian jazz pianist, bandleader and one of the most significant early figures in the development of Black Canadian orchestral and dance band music. Best known as the leader of Cy McLean and His Rhythm Rompers, he was among the first Black musicians in Canada to form and tour a nationally recognized dance orchestra. At a time when opportunities for Black performers were often limited by segregation and discrimination, McLean built a successful career by creating a high-calibre ensemble that earned respect on stages across Western and Central Canada. Beyond performance, McLean played an important role in opening doors for other Black Canadian musicians, demonstrating that Black-led orchestras could achieve national success and commercial viability. His leadership helped challenge racial barriers within the entertainment industry and expanded opportunities for future generations of artists. Though less widely documented than some of his contemporaries, Cy McLean’s contributions remain foundational in Canadian music history.
Larnell Lewis is a Grammy Award–winning Canadian drummer, composer, producer and educator known for his exceptional versatility across jazz, fusion, and contemporary music. Based in Toronto, he is widely regarded as one of Canada’s most accomplished drummers, recognized internationally for his work with the acclaimed ensemble Snarky Puppy. His global breakthrough came through Snarky Puppy’s Grammy-winning recordings, where his performances helped shape the group’s dynamic, genre-blending sound. Alongside this work, he has released solo projects as a composer and bandleader, drawing on jazz, gospel, Caribbean influences, and modern improvisation to create a distinctive artistic voice. In addition to performing and recording internationally, Lewis is deeply committed to music education and mentorship. He is a professor and clinician who works with students, school ensembles, and professional musicians through workshops, masterclasses, and outreach programs. His teaching emphasizes listening, adaptability, and storytelling, encouraging musicians to develop both technical skill and personal expression. Through his work as both performer and educator, Larnell Lewis continues to inspire musicians in Canada and around the world.
Brainerd Blyden-Taylor is a Canadian choral conductor, educator and artistic director, and the Founder and Artistic Director of The Nathaniel Dett Chorale, Canada’s first professional chamber choir dedicated to the creation, performance and preservation of Afrocentric music in all styles. Blyden-Taylor has conducted numerous university, youth, and concert choirs, most notably serving in a 25-year tenure with the Orpheus Choir of Toronto. He has appeared as a guest conductor with organizations including the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Hannaford Street Silver Band, and Toronto Chamber Choir. His leadership also includes artistic direction and advisory roles with ensembles and festivals such as the Algoma Festival Choir, Nova Scotia Mass Choir, and Chatham-Kent Roots Festival. In 2017, he launched The North Star Festival in collaboration with the Yale Alumni Chorus and the Harriet Tubman Institute at York University. He has taught at the University of Toronto and Queen’s University and is widely sought as a clinician, adjudicator and lecturer. HHe holds an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from York University and remains an active church musician and advocate for choral music education.