Keshia Chanté Hosts 2nd Annual Legacy Awards Honoring Black Canadian Talent
A year after hosting Canada’s first ever awards show dedicated to black talent, the brothers and co-founders announced the return of the Legacy Awards for a second time.
Toronto-born actors Shamier Anderson and Stephan James, who founded the organizing body the Black Academy in 2020, shared that the ceremony honoring Black achievements in film, television, music, sports and culture will take place on Sunday, September 24.
While last year’s event was hosted by Anderson and James themselves, this year’s ceremonies will be led by Canadian musician and TV presenter Keshia Chanté.
Ottawa-born, Toronto-raised Chanté began her music career at the age of 13, before winning a Juno Award in 2005. 106 & Parking alongside rapper Bow Wow in 2013, as well as host to ET Canada.
“We often think of her, insofar as it’s one of our influences, as someone we saw a lot growing up. And now we feel like we almost grew up with her,” James said in an interview with CBC News .
The inaugural Legacy Awards took place in Toronto, a unique event in Canada to showcase and honor black talent in music, film and sports. The event included performances by Jully Black and Deborah Cox.
“We just figured what better way to carry on the legacy of the Legacy Awards than, you know, have someone who literally embodies what this whole show is about.”
Chanté said the opportunity to showcase black talent in Canada, a resource often overlooked or only recognized in the company of international superstars, is why she came on board.
“Building community and having community support is huge. I now have a 20 year career in this industry thanks to Canadians who have supported Canadians,” she said.
“We deserve to be celebrated… and this is celebrating black excellence at the highest level. The Legacy Awards really do that.”
The awards come in the second year of a three-year contract with CBC. Last year’s ceremony featured performances by Kardinal Offishall, Deborah Cox and an ensemble performance of Andra Day’s Stand up by Melanie Fiona, Sate, Jully Black, Fefe Dobson and Alicia Mightj.
Sports reporter Kayla Gray, Haitian-Canadian filmmaker Fabienne Colas, reality TV star Ika Wong and Olympic medalist Andre de Grasse received awards.
Growing ceremony
Anderson and James said this year will be a slight anomaly. While the 2022 ceremony honored the pre-announced winners overnight, this year will be more in line with traditional award ceremonies. The nominees will be announced in the coming weeks, the final winners will be announced on the evening of, along with artists yet to be announced.
“We have some incredible acts, confirmed recipients, honorees, presenters,” Anderson said. “It’s a beautiful work in progress and it’s great to see it evolve.”
While it will follow a similar structure to the first event, the brothers said handing over the reins to Chanté means even they are in the dark about exactly how it will be shaped.
“You can only imagine that with Keshia Chanté hosting this show, there will be some surprises and she will have some tricks up her sleeves,” James said.
Chanté said she was excited about the opportunity to “cheer on other women and add some glitz, glamour, some humor – maybe harass the guys.”
“We’ll see,” she said laughing. “But I’m excited to kick it up a notch as much as I can.”
The 90-minute special airs on CBC and CBC Gem on September 24 at 8 p.m. ET, once again taking place at the History music venue in Toronto’s east side.
