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FYI

Prism Prize Eligible Video: Haviah Mighty Ft. Clairmont the Second - Smoke

The 2020 Prism Prize for Best Canadian Music Video was awarded to Peter Huang, for his clip for Jessie Reyez's Far Away. We will continue to profile noteworthy Canadian videos, including this one featuring two acclaimed stars of the Toronto hip-hop scene.

Prism Prize Eligible Video: Haviah Mighty Ft. Clairmont the Second - Smoke

By External Source

The 2020 Prism Prize for Best Canadian Music Video was awarded to Peter Huang, for his clip for Jessie Reyez's Far Away. We will continue to profile noteworthy Canadian videos, including this one featuring two acclaimed stars of the Toronto hip-hop scene.


Haviah Mighty Ft. Clairmont the Second - Smoke

The Polaris Prize-winning Haviah Mighty is no stranger to singing about her upbringing and what makes her, her. The same goes for Clairmont the Second, and when you put the two together you get a track full of lyrics you can feel deep in your heart and soul. Both acclaimed artists are from Toronto, and they use their experiences in life to craft something touching and meaningful for an audience to take in and appreciate. 

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Haviah’s song and video for Smoke talk deeply about her experiences being a black hip-hop artist in Canada. “Smoke manifested from the underdog experience," Mighty explains. "As a female in Hip-Hop, and as a black female in Canada, it often feels like I’m fighting the stereotypes and history that precedes me – fighting the ignorance – fighting the negativity – to be recognized as regular, as equal, and be given a fair chance in all facets.

"None of these preconceived ideas match what I feel within me, but I still remind myself of not only societal stigmas, but other people’s stigmas, and how that shapes their perception of me. How the hardships that blacks sometimes face, shape others’ perceptions of us. And how, despite all the noise and ignorance, there is no one who can truly identify the ‘shape’ of you, but you. This song is to empower those in their self-affirming thoughts, and in the moments of necessarily reminding ourselves of our greatness. In this day in age, where we talk about ‘drama’ as smoke, I approach it from the opposing angle – let’s avoid that. Let’s just live, and be.”

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Director: Jon Riera

Executive Producers:  Combo Bravo, Breathe Entertainment

Producers: Scott McCuaig, Connor Illsley

Director Of Photography: Liam Higgins

Hair/Makeup Artist & Choreography: Omega Mighty

Assistant Makeup - Kizzy Courtney

Dancers - Renee Dennis, Chanel Anderson, Omega Mighty

Lighting Director: Gideon Ayesu

Lighting Tech: Victoria Fernandez-Gabica

Editor: Noah Kendal

Colourist: Kassi Bellamy For Darling

1 St Assistant Director: Aidan Shipley

2nd Assistant Director: Pari

Production Assistant: Gavin Quinn

Production Assistant: Andrew Kulidjian

1st AC: Cameron Gonzales

Key Grip: Sam Holling

Production Designer: Eva Kozlova

Art Assistant: Brad Capstick

Studio: Astrolab

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Olivia Rodrigo at the GQ Men of the Year Party 2023 at Bar Marmont on November 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, California
Gilbert Flores for Variety

Olivia Rodrigo at the GQ Men of the Year Party 2023 at Bar Marmont on November 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, California

Pop

Olivia Rodrigo Says Writing ‘GUTS’ Album ‘Tested My Confidence and Patience’

The process of working on her sophomore album taught the singer that she can't try to write something "that everyone will like."

Olivia Rodrigo says she learned a very important lesson when writing the songs for her sophomore album GUTS: you can’t try to please all the people all the time. “The experience tested my confidence and patience. It taught me some important lessons about songwriting in terms of focusing on your craft rather than just waiting for inspiration to strike,” she told Variety magazine.

Most importantly, though, Rodrigo, 20, said the sessions for the LP taught her how to zero in on the mindset that is most important to writing good songs. “You can never sit down at the piano and try to write something that everyone will like; that always results in a really bad song. It taught me that I write songs that I want to hear,” she said.

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