TLDR: A conversation with LVRN co-founder Justice Baiden during The Remix Project’s “Journeys” series explores focus, authenticity, and the long game behind building one of music’s most influential labels.
The Remix Project’s Journeys series has become one of Toronto’s most meaningful spaces for creative dialogue — an intimate speaker platform where founders, executives, and cultural builders share the real paths behind their success. Often in collaboration with partners like RBCxMusic, the series brings together leaders from music, fashion, and business to reflect on their creative journeys and offer mentorship to the next generation.
Last Friday night at Soho House Toronto, Justice Baiden — co-founder and Head of A&R at LVRN (Love Renaissance) — offered something that felt increasingly rare in music conversations: clarity.
The evening was thoughtfully moderated by Gavin Sheppard, co-founder of The Remix Project, whose questions guided the discussion through Baiden’s journey and the deeper realities of building one of the most culturally influential labels of the past decade.
The room was full, attentive in the way industry rooms only are when people know they’re in the presence of someone who has actually built something real. The first half of the conversation traced Baiden’s journey — from early influences rooted in reggae through classic soul to building LVRN as a label. It unfolded as a strong historical arc, thoughtfully guided and well-paced. You could feel the lineage — Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, the emotional DNA of reggae to R&B — informing how LVRN approaches modern artists today.
But it was in the Q&A — the portion I was able to record — where the sharpest insights landed.
Justice Baiden and Gavin Sheppard (Photo: Ry Ones)
Justice Baiden on Building LVRN and Surviving “The Middle”
Baiden was asked about a phrase he often uses: “The middle kills everything.” It’s the kind of line that sticks because anyone who has built a company, a label, or even a career recognizes it immediately.
He described “the middle” not as failure, but as noise. The meetings. The distractions. The busy work. The creeping doubt after the initial excitement wears off but before momentum fully locks in. It’s the phase where belief is tested — especially when others don’t yet see what you’re building.
For anyone building in Canada’s hip-hop ecosystem — where infrastructure is thinner and belief is often conditional — that idea resonates deeply. The middle is where most independent artists stall. It’s where labels get diluted. It’s where focus gets traded for optics.
Baiden’s point was simple but disciplined: protect your energy. Protect your time. Do meaningful work. Momentum isn’t built through volume of activity — it’s built through clarity of purpose.
There was also a refreshing honesty when the conversation shifted toward authenticity. An audience member asked how you recognize what makes you “you” — what draws people to your presence or your taste.
Baiden’s answer was disarming. “Find a hater,” he said, half-joking but entirely serious. Find someone in your circle who will tell you the truth. Not the polite truth. The real one.
In an era of algorithmic validation and curated brand personas, that advice feels almost radical. He admitted he once wanted to be known as the guy with the cool pants — the aesthetic energy in the room. But over time, he realized his real value wasn’t surface coolness. It was perspective. Honesty. The ability to see around corners in music.
That level of self-awareness is what separates trend chasers from culture builders.
Photo: Ry Ones
LVRN’s Long Game: Building a Label Around People
Perhaps the most powerful moment of the evening came when he discussed LVRN’s wellness program. During the pandemic, the label introduced therapy resources for staff and artists — a decision that was financially costly but humanly necessary.
He was candid about the trade-off. It wasn’t the most profitable move. It didn’t boost margins. But it aligned with the values of the organization.
In an industry that often extracts more than it replenishes, that choice signals something deeper about LVRN’s model. Sustainability isn’t just financial; it’s psychological. Artists aren’t content machines. They’re people carrying trauma, ambition, pressure, and expectation.
The decision to invest in mental health — even when the spreadsheets don’t immediately reward it — speaks to a long-game mindset. Labels that endure will be the ones that understand the human infrastructure behind the hit records.
When asked how he fills his own cup — how he handles isolation — Baiden returned to music itself. Not as product, but as soundtrack. As companion. As narrative anchor.
That answer lingered.
In a room full of executives, managers, creatives, and aspirational founders, he reminded everyone why we’re here. Music isn’t just an industry; it’s the thread that shapes identity. For many of us — especially those navigating cultural and familial expectations — music was the first place we felt understood.
He spoke about rewriting narratives. About gaining respect over time. About choosing paths that align with internal motivations rather than external validation.
And then, fittingly, the evening closed with a call for lateral support.
Not gatekeeping. Not hierarchy. Lateral growth.
Build with each other. Exchange information. Strengthen the ecosystem horizontally.
That may have been the most important takeaway for Toronto’s scene. We often look outward — to Atlanta, to New York, to Los Angeles — for validation and blueprint. But Baiden’s presence in that room underscored something else: infrastructure is built by people who decide to build it together.
LVRN didn’t emerge fully formed. It survived the middle. It survived disbelief. It survived noise.
And perhaps the quiet lesson from Soho House last night was this:
If you want longevity in this business, you must know who you are, protect your focus, invest in your people, and build laterally — even when it costs you in the short term.
Because the middle only kills what isn’t anchored.
And culture builders don’t drift.
Justice Baiden of LVRN addresses the crowd at Soho House Toronto (Photo: Ry Ones)
5 Ways to Support HipHopCanada:
- Submit Your Music
- Follow Canadian Fresh (HipHopCanada’s Spotify Playlist)
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on X (Twitter)
- Like us on Facebook
