After more than 15 years in the Canadian music industry helping platinum-selling and JUNO Award-winning artists reach global stages, Katrina Lopes is stepping into a bold new chapter—this time, leading from the front. With the launch of Maidie Music House, Lopes is rewriting the rules of artist development, building a full-scale infrastructure created by and for Black talent in Nova Scotia. And she’s not asking for permission.
Launched on Emancipation Day as part of Crescendo Festival in Halifax, Maidie Music House isn’t just a business—it’s a cultural declaration. “This day represents freedom from systems that were never designed for us,” says Lopes. “We’ve stopped asking for seats at tables that were never built for us and built our own. That’s exactly what Maidie Music House represents—our own table, our own legacy.”
Named in honour of her grandmother, Maidie Upshaw—a community matriarch who insisted that music was a birthright—the House is a long-awaited answer to the systemic exclusion of Black Nova Scotian artists. While Music Nova Scotia’s 2022 Black Music Matters report helped bring awareness to the issue, Lopes says the problems have long been known by those living it: “That report documented our reality—it didn’t discover it.”
What sets Maidie apart is its legendary-caliber infrastructure tailored to Black artists and delivered with cultural fluency. “Traditional models ask our artists to fit into systems that were never designed for them,” Lopes explains. “We build systems designed for their excellence. We champion greatness without demanding artists diminish themselves.”
That approach includes management, publishing, development, record label services, and deep mentorship—not just for artists, but for stylists, publicists, producers, and other music professionals who are still shockingly rare in the region. “There’s less than a handful of Black music managers or publicists here,” she says. “Our artists deserve support from people who understand their cultural reality.”
Lopes began laying the foundation for this moment years ago with the KL Management Black Mentorship Program, later organizing Black-only songwriting camps that brought creatives from Toronto and LA to collaborate with African Nova Scotians. “Many artists shared they had never been in a songwriting session with other Black creatives,” she recalls. “It affirmed what I already knew—there’s no infrastructure there for our artists. So we built it.”
Launching the company in Halifax (Kjipuktuk) was no accident either. “Nova Scotia is where our story begins in this country—and it’s where we’re writing the next chapter,” Lopes says. “This soil holds generations of our ancestors’ dreams, struggles, and triumphs. The legendary culture flowing through our community deserves legendary infrastructure right here at home.”
The official launch concert is a statement of that excellence, featuring powerhouse performances by Reeny, Zamani, Haliey Smith, and Jody Upshaw. “These aren’t emerging artists hoping someone might notice their talent—these are legends in the making,” says Lopes. “When I see them perform, I see the future of our culture being written in real time.”
With her years of experience helping artists share stages with icons like Elton John, Drake, and Anderson Paak, Lopes is now scaling that success model with one key difference: cultural fluency. “We’re not just preparing artists to participate—we’re preparing them to dominate,” she says.
So what’s the legacy she hopes Maidie Music House will leave behind?
“That we stopped waiting for systems to change and started building better ones,” Lopes says. “That we honoured our ancestors’ contributions by creating something that would endure, protect, and preserve what matters most.”
And for those asking how to support?
“Listen to our artists. Share their music. Come to their shows. Buy their merch. Collaborate with us. Supporting Black artists in Nova Scotia isn’t charity—it’s investment in the future of Canadian music.”
If she had to sum it up in one song title? “Respect,” she says without hesitation. “Because that’s what this has always been about—respect for our contributions, respect for our culture, and respect for our community. We’re not asking for it anymore. We’re building a House that makes it inevitable.” —Noa Nichol
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