2022 Prism Prize Eligible Video: Shopé - Pepper Dem
The 2021 Prism Prize for Best Canadian Music Video was awarded to Theo Kapodistrias, for his clip for Haviah Mighty’s Thirteen. We will continue to profile noteworthy Canadian videos that are eligible for the 2022 prize, including this one from a Toronto-based Nigerian-Canadian rapper.
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The 2021 Prism Prize for Best Canadian Music Video was awarded to Theo Kapodistrias, for his clip for Haviah Mighty’s Thirteen. We will continue to profile noteworthy Canadian videos that are eligible for the 2022 prize, including this one from a Toronto-based Nigerian-Canadian rapper.
Shopé - Pepper Dem
Nigerian-Canadian rapper Shopé grew up in Lagos, Nigeria and moved to Toronto with his family when he was 11 years old. He has said that he has a strong love of music which hits the core of his heart. Throughout his life he has spent many hours honing his musical craft; this has helped him build his musical career to what it is today. Shopé has toured the world - from the USA and Africa to Europe. He also won CBC’s Searchlight contest in 2019 and was recently selected as one of this year’s winners for the 2021 Black Canadian music awards presented by SiriusXM Canada and the SOCAN Foundation. At the moment, Shopé has over 7 million streams and has released 3 albums, 1 commentary album, and a handful of singles.
The video for Pepper Dem starts like an interview when Shopé then goes into the music video for the song. We see a young boy watch Shopé’s interview on the TV right as the song starts. One fun aspect of this video is the interview-styles scenes with Shopé, especially the one where he explains the meaning of the song's title Pepper Dem. The video also has some great dancing scenes interjected between the ‘interview’ styles footage. Overall, it’s a fun music video that will make you want to dance along to this catchy song.
Additional vocals by Angelo Anosike
Production Company: Trak Fve
Executive Producer: Trak Sousa
Directed by Justin Campbell x Mosope Adeyemi
PM: Tasha Kapunovich
Director of Photography: Aaron Alter
1st AC: Alice Do
Female Lead Actor: Tehya Tucker
Male Lead Actor: Peyton
Choreographer: Cheyanne Chante
Dancer 1: Cheyanne Chante
Dancer 2: Janice Ellis
Dancer 3: Angelica Manuela
Studio: Propaganda Art House
Special thanks to Corex Creative
Shania Twain at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto on July 17, 2026.Fred Thiebaud