That Eric Alper

The Canada Black Music Archives (CBMA) proudly announces an unprecedented partnership with CKUT 90.3 FM and the University of Toronto’s Afrosonic Innovation Lab to launch a powerful, week-long takeover of CKUT’s airwaves.

More than a broadcast, The Takeover: Black Music / Black Montreal is an act of cultural preservation, research, and documentation. It is a rallying call to reclaim the narratives of Black musical contributions that have been too often left out of Canada’s official stories and music archives.

From August 21–24, The Takeover 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. This multi-day celebration traces the long gaze of Montreal’s Black musical history, from jazz rooted in African diasporic traditions, through waves of Caribbean migration, to the explosive innovations of Reggae, Dancehall, Hip-Hop, Kompa, Soca, Afrobeat, and beyond.

“This takeover is not just about playing music—it’s about advocacy, memory, and truth,” says Phil Vassell, Executive Director of CBMA. “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.”

“The most urgent work we can do now is document the polyphonic stories of Montreal’s legendary Black music scenes—beyond jazz, beyond stereotypes—capturing the layered histories of genres and the cultural dialogues that shaped them,” says Professor Mark V. Campbell, founder of the Afrosonic Innovation Lab.

“CKUT Radio has long served as a repository for Black music and the varied ways it intersects with communities, individuals, and grassroots initiatives,” says the CKUT Collective. “This project extends that legacy, reflecting how and why we curate our shows—ultimately producing radio that matters.”

Montreal—once dubbed the “Harlem of the North”—has long been a cultural crossroads, where musical traditions collided and transformed. Immigrant sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, and Latin America merged with the deep-rooted resistance traditions of Black North American jazz pioneers. Yet, much of this history has been ignored, minimized, or cherry-picked by mainstream archives. The Takeover is an act of resistance—a reclamation of space—where the airwaves become a living archive. Through live interviews, music, and oral storytelling, listeners will hear firsthand accounts from the DJs, broadcasters, promoters, sound systems, historians and artists who have helped define Montreal’s Black music history.

Over seven shows, The Takeover will be broadcast on some of CKUT’s most iconic Black music programs, including:

• Positive Vibes – Thursday August 21, 3–5 PM – Playlist
• Butcher T’s Noontime Cuts – Friday August 22, 12–2 PM – Playlist
• Funky Revolutions – Saturday August 23, 2–4 PM – Playlist
• West Indian Rhythms – Saturday August 23, 3–7 PM – Playlist
• The Magic Roundabout – Sunday August 24, 2–4 PM – Playlist
• Bhum Bhum Tyme – Sundays August 24, 4–6 PM – Playlist
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Each program will merge music with archival storytelling, featuring exclusive interviews with cultural architects, including David Torné, Jah Cutta, Wavy Wanda, Johnny Black, Raymond Laurent, Howard “Stretch” Carr, Sampaloo, Dr. Dorothy Williams, and DJ Andy Williams.

The celebration launches with a free public event at the McGill Ballroom on Thursday, August 21, from 5 PM to 8 PM.

Live performances from Jah Cutta, Juliet “Smurfette” Nelson, Deniston “Sampaloo” Mullings, and a special guest DJ will transform the ballroom into a sonic time machine, bringing to life the music and movement of Black Montreal’s soundscape.

“This is just the beginning of a deeper dive into Montreal’s impressive Black music history,” says Phil Vassell. “Montreal has been a trailblazer in many genres: Jazz, Blues, Hip Hop, Gospel, and Haitian musical forms such as Kompa, Twoubadou, and Bolero. African genres like Afrobeat, Congolese Rumba, Makossa, and Mbalax also thrive here—alongside Latin styles like Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia, Bachata, and Reggaeton.”

“This is the first of several initiatives CBMA will undertake in Montreal and other Canadian cities,” adds 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.”

“Montreal’s rich, multilayered Black musical histories—far beyond jazz—remain underappreciated in the national music narrative,” says Professor Campbell.

“The most vital work we can do now is to document and celebrate these genres, scenes, and voices that continue to shape our country’s cultural fabric.”