IEC and EDIO Present “The Culture of Sound,” Featuring Kevin Ekofo
Grammy-winning producer “Kofo” bridges music and culture in his return to UTM
To close out Black History Month on Friday, February 27, musician, producer, and University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) alumnus Kevin Ekofo was invited to the Student Centre to host “The Culture of Sound,” an event organized by the International Education Centre (IEC) and the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Office (EDIO) where Ekofo spoke about his gradual embrace of his culture’s music, described his journey into the music industry, and led a short workshop where students collaboratively created a song.
Attendees were greeted by the scent of Caribbean cuisine catered from the Blind Duck. In the furthest corner from the entrance of the Student Centre Presentation Room, Ekofo had a very small studio setup consisting of a MIDI keyboard connected to a laptop running Ableton, a digital audio workstation. In the near corner, the Centre for Student Engagement (CSE) had set up a small exhibition table celebrating “Black Brilliance & Belonging.”
After being introduced, Ekofo thanked Christine Nguyen from the IEC for extending him the invite. After the event when asked about her inspiration for doing so, Nguyen told The Medium that “Kevin’s journey is honest, unconventional, and full of both inspiration and hard work. I hoped his story would encourage students to dream big, but also understand that every meaningful path comes with sacrifice and challenges.”
The producer led attendees through his journey where he first “had to learn to be passionate about [music].” However, he learned theory and received private lessons on Congolese-style guitar, his interest for music still hadn’t been established until he played in the church choir, where he was also able to develop long-term friendships. “Music is a language that connects everybody from different walks of life,” Ekofo said after the event. “It’s crazy how far music stretches and that we all understand the basics of it. Which is the idea that evokes any sort of emotion out of you.”
The formula for Ekofo’s journey toward making a living consisted of just six words: “Finish. Work. Work Harder. Execute Vision.” It was this mantra that got him through his four years at UTM, where he graduated with a BA in Digital Enterprise Management in 2018. Ekofo also credits his degree with teaching him discipline primarily, which helped guide the rest of his journey.
Before Ekofo broke into the industry, he spent a year trying music as a full-time job and dabbling with production. Then, he spent the subsequent year networking in music, and this landed him a production credit via the producer P2J who, after hearing his samples, informed him that he would have a song with WizKid. Ekofo’s work has so far culminated into 10 Juno nominations and six Grammy nominations for “Kofo,” including one win for his production contributions to the deluxe edition of Chris Brown’s 11:11, which won Best R&B Album in 2025.
For Ekofo, whose parents emigrated to Toronto from Congo, culture played a key role in developing his interest in music and he now uses music as a means of sharing and spreading culture. “The music I worked on early in my room helped bridge Africa to the rest of the world,” Ekofo later told The Medium, “and all we had to do is amplify specific songs on a global level. This pushed people to want to know more about the origin of certain styles of African music and even why this culture celebrates music the way it does.”
Eventually, Ekofo wished to build something sustainable and combined his passion for music and his business acumen to form his own tech company: Kofo Sound, a music platform that focuses on “community and pushing musicians to their highest potential.”
For the workshop portion of the event, Ekofo invited students to his mini studio at the front of the room and had them create a song by inputting the instrumentals for an acapella he had saved. One at a time, students dragged percussion samples into Ableton, programmed a kickdrum track, and even used Ekofo’s own guitar plug-in software “Buttr FX” to record a chord progression. Ekofo played the resulting mix to attendees and, afterward, shared his contact information inviting them to reach out to him if they are interested in finishing the song.
Jayeden, a student in his final year who inserted a percussion track into the song’s mix, expressed that the experience “was very, very fun. It was so good to see other people interact. And live reception from the public while you’re making music, it’s a good thing.” The first-year student who recorded his own kickdrum pattern for the song, Adrian, appreciated Ekofo’s presence and considered it “a very cool experience, getting to know someone—a giant in the industry that also went to UTM.”
“This session was such an amazing opportunity to me because a big part of my business at this point of my life is giving back in the form of knowledge and experience.” Ekofo said to The Medium. “Most students have a passion for something that they can’t immediately tackle because of many things like doubt, not having enough resources or simply just fear. I want [to] be able to challenge people around me to do something that will bring a lot of purpose to their everyday lives.”
Near the end of the event, after Q & A with Ekofo but just before the group photo, the Access and Inclusion team at the CSE gave a short presentation about a “community quilting project” they were working on through Black History Month with the intention to “recreate and tell the story of Black excellence and culture.” When asked about why events like these that are focused on culture and creative expression are important to have at UTM, Nguyen shared that they “give students a chance to express themselves, explore new ideas, and build community. UTM has such a diverse student body, and creating spaces like this just adds to the strength of that diversity.”
