TIFF 2019: Inside RBCxOVO’s Kick-Off Party with Majid Jordan

It’s no secret that RBC House is the place to be for the hottest parties and prime celeb sightings during the Toronto International Film Festival. For the past few years, RBC—a long-time supporter and official sponsor of TIFF—has been kicking off the festival party circuit with a hush-hush private gathering featuring a musical performance of some sort (last year it was Haim, the year prior The Arkells).

This year, and last night, RBC House welcomed Toronto R&B duo Majid Jordan, of OVO fame, to the stage. Of course, this wasn’t just any old fete to kick-off TIFF: it was also a celebration of the partnership between RBC and OVO. If you haven’t been in the loop, the long-standing Canadian financial institution recently partnered with Drake’s record label with the goal to support a new crop of Canadian creators and lifestyle entrepreneurs. (Remember all those cryptic OVO and RBC-branded billboards on the Gardiner earlier this year?)

Of those in attendance at the RBCxOVO party, we spotted Olympic swimmer Penny Oleksiak and actor Eric Johnson. Guests were treated to special performances by the likes of Oliver El-Khatib, Chromatic, Vacations, Gonnie Garko, G0HomeRoger & Kid Masterpiece, and of course, Majid Jordan.

Prior to the party, we sat down with Majid Al Maskati and Jordan Ullman to chat their new album (when is it dropping?!), Area 51 and index funds (seriously). Here, a few takeaways:

Majid knows a lot about finances

“You know what’s funny? I actually studied finance and economics in school,” the singer revealed right before going into a tangent on why index funds are key. “I know people want to live in the moment, I think it’s important for the younger generation to save money for their futures.”

“Caught Up” is not a Storm Area 51 statement

“We filmed it before the Storm Area 51 thing happened; we were just thinking about aliens!” Ullman laughed. Due to the nature of the song’s lyrics (“It’s one of the more serious ones we’ve done,” he said), a lighter visual was needed to achieve a balance. Thus the trippy alien theme.

A new album is on the way!

The duo stressed the new record is in the works. They couldn’t divulge anything (even after I prodded them about whether it’ll be titled Good People); only the fact that it’s coming soon.

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photography by Lucas Kschischang

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Inside TIFF’s RBCxOVO Party