Writing a New Song

Can you name 10 Black Canadian musicians who’ve made a significant contribution to music history? It’s a question Phil Vassell asks people who are interested in working with him on the Canada Black Music Archives (CBMA) in Toronto. “Most people struggle with getting to 10,” he says. “Now, what does that tell you? It tells you we’ve got a lot of work to do.” 

Vassell and his partner, Donna McCurvin, are the architects of CBMA, an initiative they spearheaded to highlight and honour the largely untold and overlooked achievements of Black Canadian musicians. “We’re talking about a contribution that dates back to the late 1800s all the way up to the current moment,” says Vassell. “Everybody knows Oscar Peterson. Everybody knows Drake and The Weeknd. Everybody knows Maestro Fresh Wes. But then it falls off the cliff after that.” 

The digital archive features an ever-growing searchable directory of detailed biographies of Black Canadian musicians. Curated playlists, long-form podcast interviews with important musical figures and other resources round out the offerings. (Full disclosure: I’m on CBMA’s Advisory Board.) 

Beyond the online space, CBMA hosts live events; past performances have included hip-hop artists Michie Mee and the Dream Warriors, and Canada’s Queen of Reggae Nana McLean. 

Additionally, the CBMA’s walking tour takes participants to overlooked and significant music history spaces along Eglinton Avenue West in Toronto in the area known as Little Jamaica. 

CBMA’s latest exhibit, B’Lack Then: Muted Melodies, features artifacts and memorabilia that detail the lives and legacies of 23 influential Black Canadian artists. On display until the end of February 2026, the exhibit is in partnership with the Archives of Ontario and includes recordings of the Ball Family Jubilee Singers — a St. Catharines, Ont.-based gospel music group that toured North America for approximately 40 years, from the late 1800s through the early 1900s. 

CBMA hopes to incorporate more information and archives from all over the country in its digital database. “Our goal,” says Vassell, “is to see that educational institutions have access to information we’re researching and documenting.”