The Canada Black Music Archives  Takes Over The Airwaves At CKUT In Montreal

The Canada Black Music Archives (CBMA) is spreading its wings to Montreal.

Based in Toronto, the important music history initiative has just announced a new partnership with CKUT 90.3 FM, a non-profit, campus-community radio station out of Montreal's McGill University, and the University of Toronto’s Afrosonic Innovation Lab.

The Takeover: Blk Music / Blk Montreal will spotlight significant artists, DJs, promoters and influencers who played leading roles in shaping Montreal’s Black and Caribbean Canadian cultural identity. The event will feature nearly 15 hours of original programming, broadcasting live from both the historic McGill Ballroom and CKUT studios, all dedicated to exploring Montreal’s rich Black musical history.

That heritage ranges from jazz rooted in African diasporic traditions, through waves of Caribbean migration, to the innovations of Reggae, Dancehall, Hip-Hop, Kompa, Soca, Afrobeat and beyond.

“The stories of Black musicians in Montreal tell us about survival, innovation, and the relentless fight to be heard in our country which often forgets our own Canadian cultural architects,” says CBMA's executive director Phil Vassell.

Through live interviews, music and oral storytelling, CKUT Radio listeners will hear firsthand accounts from the DJs, broadcasters, promoters, sound systems, historians and artists who have helped define Montreal’s Black music history. Cultural architects including David Torné, Jah Cutta, Wavy Wanda, Johnny Black, Raymond Laurent, Howard “Stretch” Carr, Sampaloo, Dr. Dorothy Williams, and DJ Andy Williams will be interviewed for the series.

The celebration launches with a free public event at the McGill Ballroom on August 21, from 5 - 8 pm, with performers including Jah Cutta, Juliet “Smurfette” Nelson and Deniston “Sampaloo” Mullings.

This is just the beginning — not just for Montreal, but for cities throughout Canada.

“This is the first of several initiatives CBMA will undertake in Montreal and other Canadian cities,” explains Vassell. “We aim to collect and preserve the oral histories of Black musicians who have been written out of Canada’s cultural memory. These contributions reflect a rich tapestry of sound, and it’s our duty to ensure they are shared with the public and our educational institutions.”