As a way of immortalizing the late award-winning rapper, Dagrin, Stingomania Records has decided to begin filming the a movie based on the late rapper’s life titled “Ghetto Dreamz”. Auditions for all roles have been scheduled to hold on Saturday, February 5 while shooting will commence on February 9 at the former Kingsize Restaurant, Ikeja, Lagos. The movie will feature the life and times of the rapper and is expected to hit the cinemas in April 2011 to celebrate Dagrin’s first anniversary memorial project.
“Ghetto Dreamz” will now be directed by Daniel Ademinokan. Revealing the reason behind the movie, the chief executive officer of Stingomania Records, Ope Banwo said, “Dagrin was an emerging star in the Nigerian music scene, it is only imperative for stakeholders in the industry to do something about memorializing his name in a constructive and enduring manner. There is need for something to be done to keep his hopes and dreams alive for the next generation of struggling and upcoming artistes.”
Winners of this year’s The Future Awards were announced yesterday at a well attended ceremony which took place at Landmark Village, Victoria Island, Lagos. The list covers 21 different categories.
Popular On-air personality and CEO of M54, Wale Ewedemi has apparently quit his job at 92.3 Inspiration FM.
Wale who was the General Manager/Chief Operating Officer at the radio station before his resignation was a pioneer staff and one of the brains behind the radio station’s success.
The 2008 British Council Music Entrepreneur of the Year Award winner tells us he’ll be venturing other projects as he feels his work there has been done.
A Graduate of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ewedemi earlier worked at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria and at Cool FM where he was the General Manager for the Abuja Station.
There are speculations his departure from the station is premature, and that he may have been asked to quit, but NET cannot confirm this at this time.
The Nigerian entertainment industry is well known for graduating artistes, who come into the limelight and fade out after a few hits; only a few are able to stay grounded and maintain a relationship with their fans in what is tagged: “the comeback” and if a comeback is anything to go by then Afro hip hop crooner Jazzman Olofin’s efforts should set him right back where he used to belong, atop the charts as he released his album “READY TO GO” on January 18, 2011.
The album, which produced a single “Erekere” featuring the late Rapper DaGrin has enjoyed airplay across radio stations while the video has been aired on local and international TV networks in Nigeria.
Jazzman Olofin, known for his smooth fusion of R&B and Hip Hop first introduced himself to the Nigerian audience in a group called X-APPEAL alongside fellow artiste Lexzy Doo who is featured in his current effort “READY TO GO”.
Describing his music as “original flavored Nigerian Hip Hop”, this album will appeal to the musical needs of fans that are aware of the gap his break from the industry created.
The 13-track album features notable names like M.I and OJB Jezreel.
The Broadway musical FELA! co-produced by Jay Z and Will Smith is coming to Nigeria, native home of the famed musician and activist FELA KUTI.
Now Edward Tyler Nahem, who co-produced the Broadway run with Jay-Z and Will Smith, is taking the production to the Nigerian capital of Lagos after proving its draw by bringing big names to its audience.
Nahem tells the New York Post, Fela Kuti was to the music of the last 40 years what Picasso was to art in the 20th century.
The Tony Award-winning show closed on the Broadway on the 2nd of January 2011 after thirteen months in the Big Apple and famed veteran singer Patti LaBelle played the role of Fela’s mother.
Superstars including Oprah Winfrey, Sting, Madonna, Beyonce, Mick Jagger, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, Prince and Denzel Washington were seen at the Big Apple for the musical.
Nigerian Pop music singer and first runner up at the 2007 Idol West Africa, Omawumi will release a new single, ‘If You Ask Me’, today Monday, 10 January 2011. The song “deals with child sexual abuse and takes a musical journey through that painful experience,” a release from her Public Relation company reads.
According to the release, the track which was produced by ace music producer Cobhams Asuquo, is the first off her upcoming sophomore album. Omawumi released her debut album, ‘Wonder Woman’, in 2009 to commercial success. The album included monster hits, ‘Today Na Today’ and ‘In The Music’.
Maybach Music head honcho, Rick Ross would be making a return to Nigeria for a concert organized by Kilimanjaro and Storm 360. He was in Lagos for the MTV Africa Music Awards that took place on the 4th of December.
The show tagged Lagos Shut Down Concert also has M.I., Naeto C, Dr Sid, Ice Prince, YQ, WIzkid and Iyanya.
Kilimanjaro Entertainment, the outfit responsible for a number of top level concerts in the earlier part of the decade, with Boys 2 Men, Joe, Sean Paul being just some of the major talents they successfully delivered in major concerts return to the game with this show which is destined to be one of the best shows this season in Nigeria.
1. Moving too fast 2. Bere mole ft. Reminisce 3. Tete lo bere 4. Rock da party ft. Svee 5. No one knows 6. Muzzing muzz (radio skit) 7. Joor (remix) ft. Iceprince, Reminisce, Durella, Ruggedman & Eldee 8. Layemi 9. Panya panya ft. Don Tom 10. Hangover ft. ID Cabasa 11. Di dada ft. Reminisce 12. The one ft. Banky W 13. Rock my world 14. Far away ft. J.O.H.N & Jospo 15. Waving drag
FUJI music exponent, Alhaji (Dr) Sikiru Ayinde Balogun, popularly known as Barrister, is dead. He died on Thursday morning at St Mary’s Hospital, London, United Kingdom, after developing complications as a result of surgery he underwent recently to
extract excess fat from his body. He was 62. His death was confimed by one of his sons, Wale, popularly known as Barry Showkey, who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune from London.
About three months ago, Barrister was admitted to a German hospital where about 32kg of fat was extracted from his body. Before this, he had undergone surgery at an Indian hospital, but on his return to Nigeria, he developed some complications, and he travelled to Germany for further medical treatment.
While in Germany, news filtered through that Barrister had died. That news shook his fans and artistes who looked up to him for guidance, but he quickly came out to debunk the death rumour.
Barrister’s brand of music (Fuji), was initially believed to be for touts and bus drivers, but today, fans cut across all classes of the society, due to the modernisation of the music by Barrister and youthful artistes who now dominate the Fuji scene.
While Barrister was active on the music scene, there was great rivalry between him and Alhaji (‘General’) Ayinla Kollington, another veteran Fuji artiste.
Before becoming a full-time musician, Barrister was a soldier and he fought in the Nigerian Civil War. He so much cherished the memories of the war that he sang often about it in his albums.
In one of his albums, he sang that he feared nothing in life because he had been to the war front and nothing could be more terrible than that.
Also, Barrister loved his mother so much that he mentioned her struggles to bring him up in almost all his albums.
Barrister, also known as Alhaji Agba, touched the lives of his fans in one way or the other through his music.
His music is also very philosophical. In his lifetime, he was the subject of various rumours, innuendoes and distortions, but always came out stronger after each time.
Brief History Alhaji Sikiru Ayinde Balogun was born in Lagos on February 9, 1948. After creating a genre of music, he named it Fuji, which he got from Mount Fuji, the Japanese Mountain of love. Fuji is a combination of the Were beat, Juju, Apala and traditional Yoruba praise poems.
Upon his discharge from the army, where he fought in the Nigerian civil war, Barrister formed his musical group, The Supreme Fuji Commanders.
He has his fan clubs spread across the country, especially in the northern part like Kano, Kaduna, Zaria, Jos, among other states.
Meanwhile Nigerians have started reacting to his death. According to Yinka Ayefele, “the death of Sikiru Ayinde Barrister is still a shock to me. He was a great man and he created the Fuji music that is waxing stronger by the day. May God grant him eternal rest.
Former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, described his death as a big loss to the country.
Oyinlola, in a statement, on Thursday, said, the death of Barrister had left the nation poorer, just as it had robbed the entertainment industry of one of its pillars.
The Oyo State governor, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, said the late Sikiru Ayinde would be missed for the message of his lyrics. In a condolence message signed by his Special Adviser on Public Commu-nications, Dotun Oyelade, the governor said the deceased was a world class entertainer when he was alive.
Capital Hill music producer/ recording artist Tha Suspect drops his debut cd I Am Music…the producer album on December 14th.
“It is called a Producer album because it show cases Tha Suspect much more as a producer than as vocalist and features a heavy collage of various artistes (notable and upcoming) of different sounds and styles with Tha suspect only on the hook on some of the songs”, says his management..
Tha Suspect produced Kel’s “The Investment album”, Rooftop Mcs “for my life”, Teeto Ceemos “oshamo” and more… Finally the musical Crase man is set to drop a collection of his own works.
Dem Don Dey Move, Tuaile, Mugu, I Go Make Am are some of the cuts that have been released as singles and songs like For My Life remix with Rooftop Mcs, Mike Anyasodo & Kefee, I No Send You with Wyclef Jean and various artistes which received a lot of rave reviews on the internet are some of the tracks that made the album.
Collaborating artistes include Blak Twang, Ill bliss, Pasuma Wonder, Timaya, Terry G, MI, Jaywon, Sasha, Muna(Munachi Abi), Vector, Shank, Zee and more.
I Am Music is an eclectic album and is to be distributed nationwide by Sammyvibes entertainment.
Tha Suspect and his Capital hill music family are to celebrate the album release on December 16th at club Volar by Vuitton, VI with fans, the featured artistes and other entertainment industry heads.
Also there will be an autograph signing session for fans on the December 18th at The Hub, Palms, Lekki, Lagos.
For the first time, a Nigerian artiste came clean on the financial value of his album.
"This is not to prove any point, it's only to inspire someone that we are doing this. Mr Abhu can you step up please" said M.I, and with that intro, CEO Abhu ventures, a strong force in the Alaba 'conglomerate' presented a N20million cheque to M.I in exchange for distribution rights to his MI2 album through out West Africa.
Here’s fresh news coming in – Nigerian rapper Sasha and singer-producer JMartins have joined the long list of performers at the third edition of the MTV Africa Music Awards coming up next weekend in Lagos.
Sasha, who has seen her career rise these past months, winning back-to-back awards and improving her live performance, is also a nominee for Best Female at the MAMAs. JMartins, widely known accross the continent for his debut hit ‘Good or Bad’, is one of the most promising talents on the continent right now. It is therefore not surprising, that both acts are joining bonafide superstars Rick Ross, 2face Idibia, Wande Coal and Fally Ipupa to light up this year’s MAMAs, alongside other performers.
Other newly announced performers include Sarkodie (Ghana), Diamond (Tanzania), Paul G (Angola), Barbara Kanam (DRC), The Parlotones (South Africa) and Radio&Weasel (Uganda).
MAMA 2010 is scheduled to hold at the new Expo Centre of Eko Hotel on Saturday December 11, 2010- and we have been told, by very reliable sources, that apart from hip hop rave Rick Ross, the organisers are also warming up to announce another major international headliner…Who will it be? We’ll keep you posted!
As the countdown begins to the 2010 MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA), four more awesome artists have been added to the performer roster for Africa’s most exciting music event USA hip hop star Rick Ross, Kenya’s P-Unit, South Africa’s Jozi and Nigeria’s Wande Coal will join previously announced performers DJ Arafat (Ivory Coast), 2FACE (Nigeria), Daddy Owen (Kenya), Banky W (Nigeria), Fally Ipupa (DRC), Teargas (South Africa) and Cabo Snoop (Angola).
Visiting Africa for the first time to take part in the 11 December spectacular, US rapper Rick Ross has been described by the New York Times as “one of rap’s most potent and creative forces”.
The tattoo-loving, six-foot, larger-than-life rap figure first came to attention with “Hustlin”, his 2006 debut single. Influenced by artists like Luther Campbell and Notorious B.I.G, Ross, a.k.a. William Roberts, aimed to put Miami back in rap’s national spotlight and went on to do just that with his 2006 album “Port of Miami”, which went to number one on the Billboard album chart.
Similar acclaim followed for “Trilla” (2007) and “Deeper Than Rap” (2009), while his 2010 album release “Teflon Don”, which debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, has garnered critical acclaim for its emotional depth, cinematic production, sleek, synth-heavy beats, and rich soundscapes.
Ross is nominated in the Best International category at the MAMA awards.
Making their first appearance at the MAMAs, Best Group contenders P-Unit are going head to head against Uganda’s Radio & Weasle, South Africa’s Teargas and multiple MAMA winners and Nigerian music phenomenon, P_Square.
As well as performing at the 2010 show, former MAMA winners Jozi are also nominated in the Artist of the Year category, where they are pitched against 2FACE, P_Square and Fally Ipupa. Wande Coal faces a tough race in the Best Anglophone category, where Ghana’s Sarkodie, Kenya’s Daddy Owen and South Africa’s Biz Nuz are also in the running.
The MTV Africa Music Awards with Airtel takes place on Saturday 11 December 2010
Twelve years after the release of his last album, acclaimed Original Bad Boy and the still one of the most influential musicians in the country, Daniel Wilson is back on the block.
The River state born musician who once held sway as the hottest dance hall reggae musician and melted so many a ladies heart with his very potent lyrical delivery has taken a break from his bakery business to do what he knows best how to.
In a message posted on his wall last Thursday being his birthday, the handsome tweeted thus “ Oh My God! It really is my birthday today! Wow!
You all know I planned to mark it with the release of a new album “Cool & Deadly”, first from me in twelve since I took a break to build the largest bread industry in Africa, Wilson’s Foods!
As you know, only Jehovah disposes our plans!
Well, the album is ready for airplay …in a few days but the album sleeve is now my profile picture. Enjoy! Half bread, as they say is..
Terry tha Rapman... Whom has been the most relevant rap act this year has released his much is much anticipated album which he titled (BOYZ R NOT SMILIN) ...with hit singles like Sample RMX which earned him two HipHop World Awards nominations for the Best Rap Single (which he won) and Best Collaboration (won by Keffy). The same song was recently nominated for the Best Collaboration In A Music Video at the SMVA.
This album has been tagged the album of the year by industry greats with its second single titled (Boyz Don Hammer) sitting currently on the number one spot of the MTN Radio Top Ten Nigeria while the third single Ojoro which features Terry G is also already a street anthem.
Terry recently dropped another video which is the intro track of th album to the public this track is titled (BOYZ R NOT SMILIN) which also doubles has the name of the album. The video already has been receiving loads of good comments and has been well received by both the media and the general public.
The Boyz Don Hammer video is set to follow in a couple of weeks.
The album release party is also scheduled for the 13th of November at Club 10 (46, Saka Tinubu, VI)
YSG rapper, Vector tha Viper has finally released his much anticipated debut album, ‘State of surprise'. The album, his debut, which was initially planned for a midyear release was released on October 31 with an official listening party held at Q Club off Allen Avenue in Ikeja, Lagos. Similarly, ‘Extreme Music' rapper, Overdose released his sophomore album, ‘Hustle or Die' on Friday October 27.
Nigeria's MTV Europe Music Awards winning singer, D'Banj has recorded a track, "Mr. Endowed Remix" with American rapper, Snoop Dogg.
Although a verbal confirmation from Mo'Hits has not been made, the label boss, Don Jazzy, uploaded a cover art for the track on his twitter account, giving credence to the story. It however remains a debate if the new track will be released as single or fans will be made to wait till the full album drops.
