Making music and breaking barriers from St. Kitts to Winnipeg
'Winnipeg, I found was very accepting to me,' says Bobby J, who celebrates diversity with Caribbean beat
CBC community reporter Ayo Odeyemi set out to find and share the untold stories of "Africanadians" — Odeyemi's phrase for Black Canadians who have "distinguished themselves and excelled, while breaking boundaries and protocols in the history of friendly Manitoba."
Robert J. Hobson, a.k.a. "Bobby J," has done just that, with a song in his heart and in the studio.
The music icon got his start learning the drums as a teen in the Caribbean island of St. Kitts. Decades later, he's still making music in his Winnipeg home — music that's making the charts in the U.K.
Odeyemi sat down with Hobson to learn the secrets of his success and the joy he exudes.
WATCH | Ayo Odeyemi talks to Bobby J about his musical journey:
For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians — from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community — check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.