‘Black, beautiful energy’: Legacy Awards salute Bailey, Offishall, future Black stars

By Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press on September 29, 2024.

Shamier Anderson, left to right, Adrian Holmes and Stephan James pose in this undated handout photo. "Bel Air" actor Adrian Holmes will host the third edition of The Legacy Awards. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, O'shane Howard *MANDATORY CREDIT*

TORONTO – Rapper and record exec Kardinal Offishall spoke about the importance of building a foundation for future generations during a heartfelt speech at the Legacy Awards on Sunday, as the fate of future telecasts hung in the balance.

The Juno Award-winning Offishall accepted the Icon Award for his decades of service as Canada’s hip-hop ambassador to the world.

“Anybody who’s ever spent time with me knows that my legacy is about one thing: the decision to build or destroy. Do you have a legacy of tearing others down or building them up, building up their self-esteem, their knowledge of self, their understanding of what it means to be part of a community?” Offishall asked a rapt crowd at Toronto’s History, where the third edition of the event was held.

“So, I say to everybody that sees this and hears this, are you on the side that will continue to build legacies or work to destroy them?”

Offishall was among several honourees at the awards bash hosted by “Bel-Air” star Adrian Holmes celebrating the accomplishments of Black Canadians in film, television, music, sports and culture.

Sunday’s bash concluded a three-year agreement between The Black Academy and CBC to broadcast the awards.

Before the show, Legacy Awards founders Shamier Anderson and Stephan James said they don’t yet know what the future of the show will be.

“We’re hoping that CBC continues to do this because in our community, virtue signaling is a real thing,” Anderson said on the “black carpet.”

“People come in when it’s topical and I think the community is hoping and making sure that the powers that be really keep this going and really put the gas behind it.”

Toronto International Film Festival CEO Cameron Bailey was presented with the Visionary Award for amplifying Black filmmakers and leading a major international arts institution.

Bailey told the crowd he was proud of how much Canada’s Black creative community has grown over the years, shouting out everyone from Drake to filmmaker R.T. Thorne.

“How can we put all this Black, beautiful energy into growing more together? Something bigger than each one of us, together. What we have to do is grow that rollcall. That is the assignment,” Bailey said.

Other honourees included Soulpepper Theatre’s artistic director Weyni Mengesha, who pocketed the Trailblazer Award, and rapper PartyNextDoor, born Jahron Anthony Braithwaite, who was named Artist of the Year.

Meanwhile, Ottillia Giralico, known as OT the OG, was named winner of the Fan Choice Digital Content Creator Award.

The gala also paid tribute to several Olympic gold medallists, including hammer throw champion Camryn Rogers and the men’s 4×100 metre relay team of Aaron Brown, Andre De Grasse, Brendon Rodney and Jerome Blake.

Among the event’s performers were Toronto rappers SadBoi and Smiley, Jamaican-Canadian poet d’bi.young, Alberta soprano Neema Bickersteth and Ontario singer-songwriter Morgan-Paige Melbourne.

Anderson and James founded the event in 2021 to shine a spotlight on exceptional Black Canadians.

Before the weekend, Holmes said he hoped the Legacy Awards will continue for “a very long time.”

“There’s a lot of underrepresented voices in this country and they’re doing great, great things, but they’re there in the shadows. Nobody is giving them their flowers,” he said.

“We need a platform. We need a space like this to celebrate everyone, including Black people and those who are underrepresented. We need a voice. We need a space.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2024.