Chidinma, Davido win @ 2012 KORA Awards as Omawumi, D’banj, Clarence Peters lose out

Chidinma with her award

The 2012 KORA awards was delayed by 24 hours but it wasn’t enough to douse the surprises and thrills of the epoch making event which held late Sunday night in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Petite framed beauty and Kedike crooner Chidinma walked away with the Best African Female Act award for her hit song ‘Kedike’  surprisingly beating ebony skinned, song goddess Omawumi’s ‘If you ask me’ and five other African female artists.Omo baba olowo Davido who was absent also was a winner at the event as he clinched the Best Newcomer Award.

It wasn’t a happy KORA awards event for D’Banj, Clarence Peters and the Infinity Group as they failed to win in their categories as Best Male African act, Best Director and Best Gospel group respectively.

American pop recording artist Chris Brown who was the reason for the event’s 24 hours delay as he had flight issues arrived Abidjan Sunday with his off/on Girlfriend Rihanna to perform at the event.

Nigerian pop recording twins P Square also hit the stage to give their own electrifying performance.

A full list of winners will be published shortly…

R-E-V-E-A-L-E-D: Why Osaze was dropped, Regret Insulting Keshi

Facts may have emerged on why Nigeria’s West Brom striker, Osaze Odemwingie was excluded from the Super Eagles squad for the 2013 African Nations Cup holding in South Africa, by coach Stephen Keshi.

According to Paul Bassey, a columnist with Vanguard Newspaper, who was present at the NFA Technical Committee meeting where Keshi and his assistants defended the Nation’s Cup list, the Eagles’ coaches were skeptical about a player who withdrew from National duty just because he was substituted during a match at the last world cup.

According to Bassey, Keshi was querried by the technical committee on the omission of Martins, Taiwo and Osaze from the list. “Members of the Technical Committee were unanimous that Nigeria needed to go to South Africa with the best legs there are, and presently Osaze was one of the best.

“But by the time Keshi and his assistants finished explaining the reasons for his (Osaze)omission, there was nothing to fault him. Post events have certainly proven the coach right. Much as I do not want to drag us back, the coaches were skeptical about a player who withdrew from National duty just because he was substituted during a match at the last world cup”, Bassey noted.

“…Sirs, as I am talking to you I have an idea of my starting eleven and Osaze may not be there as he has not been part of our plans so far. What happens if I go to South Africa and I do not give Osaze a starting shirt, don’t you think it will cause more problems for the team?….” Keshi was quoted to have told members of the committee.

Keshi was also said to have reminded the meeting that when he invited Osaze in November to take part in the Venezuela friendly, he said he could not because his wife was expecting a baby. “As you are reading this, Osaze’s wife is yet to put to bed!”

“Then, there was the issue of lack of respect for constituted authority. A player who decides not to respect his captain is definitely not a team player and a destablising factor”, Bassey said in his Column, Sports Bassey.

Meanwhile,  he has said he regrets his abusive Twitter comments. He claimed they were made because coach Stephen Keshi was not fair to him. He even described Chris Green, whom he had also abused, as a good man:

“I remember it was Green who settled my case with Siasia then, but I was too angry when he called me over this matter, and was impatient to listen to him.”

“My comment was not directed at him personally, but to those who made the decision, but I think I overreacted then.”

On his face-off with Keshi, Osaze said:

“I called the coach two or three times within that period, maybe two or three days before the list was made public and told him of my commitment to be part of the Nations Cup, and have told my (club) coach I will be going to the Nations Cup.

“I told the coach I was ready to report to camp by January 3, even before other professionals start reporting to camp, if I were in his programme for the Nations Cup, and even told him to feel free to drop me, if I were not in his programme.
“I felt betrayed after that seeming heart-to-heart discussions with the coach few days to the release of the team list and he could not hint me I was not in his plan for the Nations Cup.
“I am human and open to errors by the way I may have taken the issue, and regret the whole controversy, and want to put all this behind me now and focus on my club career, while wishing the team the best of luck as a Nigerian.”

Recall that the West Bromwich striker had in the wake of the release of the Nigeria provisional team list for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations taken to his Twitter account and made disparaging comments against Keshi, the team captain and some Nigeria Football Federation officials.

Past coaches, including Samson Siasia and Lars Lagerback, were not spared and continued days later with direct hits at ex-Nigeria international Victor Ikpeba.
However, Osaze said his mistakes were made in a fit of anger.

Omotola answers questions from fans on Twitter

 

The actress answered some very personal questions from her fans on her Twitter page. Questions like what happened to her husband’s job, her supposed rivalry with Genny, how much she charges for movies, her real age, music career, her kids, sex advances from movie producers,

 

The actress answered some very personal questions from her fans on her Twitter page. Questions like what happened to her husband’s job, her supposed rivalry with Genny, how much she charges for movies, her real age, music career, her kids, sex advances from movie producers,

See first photos of Mercy Johnson’s baby

 

The news and the picture flew like wild fire about the addition to the Okojies as Mercy Johnson Okojie gave birth to a baby girl a few hours ago in a hospital in the. Isn’t it a great way to say; Happy New Year?

According to reports, mother and daughter are doing just fine and they look happy in the photo above.

From the Stable of AFTERMATH INC, we are all saying  congratulations to the Okojies.

“Mario Balotelli is glad that I am dating his sister” – Obafemi Martins

Obafemi and Abigail in a private jet

Obafemi Martins is dating Mario Balotelli’s elder sister, Abigail Barwuah and Mario is said not to be particularly happy about their relationship. But in a recent interview with Goal.com, Obafemi dismissed insinuations that Mario was not happy that he’s dating Abigail

“Mario is my boy. The respect is there because I used to play at Inter, in the youth team with him. He’s giving me my respect and I’m doing same. People are putting it in the news that he’s upset, of course he’s glad.

“He’s glad that Obafemi Martins is dating his sister. But if he gets jealous then it means he doesn’t want his sister to grow. But it’s not like that. The boy is not a bad boy.

He also said he and Abigail haven’t discussed marriage yet.

“The relationship is true but getting married or not, we haven’t discussed anything like that. She’s upstairs and we’re happy together.

Abigail, 24, told the The Sun in an interview in April that she couldn’t date a footballer: “Mario wouldn’t let me anyway. He knows only too well what they are like. They are surrounded by women. Girls throw themselves at them.”

The Entertainers and Events to Watch For in 2013

The year 2012 is one that would not be forgotten in a hurry by close watchers and players alike on the entertainment scene. We take a peek into the New Year, chronicling those who may likely make the headlines in 2013.

Making up the roll-call in no particular order are a list of promising acts and the ‘usual suspects’ set to take the scene by storm.

Olamide: Filling the void

Barely two years into his professional music career, Olamide Adedeji, known for his creative lyrics, has become a household name in the Nigerian music circles. His single titled ‘Eni Duro’ literarily catapulted him into national prominence while he also seemingly filled the void left by DaGrin with his endearing lyrics delivered in Yoruba.
Olamide’s road to fame is one for the history books, this time two years ago he was a regular kid growing up in the heart of Lagos Mainland, Bariga. Even though Olamide insists he is still that Bariga boy, a lot has changed in his life.
A recording artiste signed onto ID Cabasa’s Coded Tunez Record label and managed by industry heavy weight Toni Payne, his rise to fame was not handed to him on a silver platter. Olamide’s hard work and pure unbridled talent are responsible for the artiste that we see today.
In an industry filled with artistes delivering their lines in American accents, whether real or imagined, it is a relief to have at least one artiste we can call 100% Nigerian.
King Sunny Ade: Set to usher good tidings with ‘My Year’ In a manner that looks more of a prophecy, newly crowned ‘music emperor’ King Sunny Ade is launching into the year 2013 with a new work which predicts a bountiful and rewarding year for Nigerians.
According to KSA; “the work, titled ‘’My Year’, is packaged to bless my fans particularly and Nigerians in general, encouraging them to hold on to the belief that 2013 is their year of blessings and rewards in their individual endeavours.”
A sneak preview into the collection indicates another major music piece from King Sunny Ade as he goes back into musical archives for arresting lyrics, technically crafted into moving proverbs of songs and danceable beats that had been his trademarks for years.
Distributor of King Sunny Ade’s works, Mr. Ademola Joshua, said, “’My Year’ is an essential musical work to stimulate those who are looking forward to 2013 as a rewarding year.”
Tiwa Savage: Tightens her grip on the scene Ever since she dropped her endearing single, titled ‘Love Me Love Me Love Me’, sexy artiste Tiwa Savage has won for herself a glut of fans and admirers alike. She is a singer cum songwriter signed onto Mavin Records who seems poised to tighten her grip on the music scene which is equally littered with quality female vocalists.
Currently working on her debut upcoming album, Tiwa’s career received a big boost when she was named Pepsi Ambassador- a role she shares with EME’s cash cow, Wizkid.
She has collaborated with Chuck Harmony (Rihanna, Mary J. Blige), Warren ‘Oak’ Felder (Chris Brown and Jennifer Lopez) and producer So Sick, just to mention a few, on her debut collection.
Weaving an eclectic collision of influences on her forthcoming piece, Tiwa says her album will be a blend of “songs in my native language and some straight up Soul and R&B cuts.”
Tuface Idibia: Away and beyond While faceless people were spreading rumours about his death, 2face Idibia was far away in a Los Angeles studio waxing a song. The rumour which came days after proposing to his girlfriend, Annie Macaulay, didn’t deter the musician as he went on to launch his celebrity hangout Rumours in G.R.A, Ikeja while also acquiring choice properties in Victoria Island.
2Face Idibia is scheduled to return to the school circuits come 2013 after a six-year hiatus. Idibia will embark on a scheduled campus tour that would see him visiting various tertiary institutions in Nigeria for the first time in over six years.
The tour was engineered to provide the artiste with a platform on which he could show gratitude and appreciation to everyone who played a part in making the 2face brand successful in the year 2012. In the year 2013, the ‘African Queen’ crooner seeks to foster a lasting relationship that will ensure continued association and cooperation in the future.
Don Jazzy The godfather of club hits The recently was rated as the 36th “Most powerful celebrity in Africa” according to Forbes. Such is the stock of Michael Collins Ajereh (born November 26, 1982), better known as Don Jazzy.
Jazzy is a multi award-winning record producer, singer-songwriter, musician, former CEO of Mo’ Hits Records founded in 2004 and current CEO of the Mavin Records label which he founded in May 2012 after his split up with childhood friend D’Banj.
Don Jazzy’s first full credit production work was in 2004 on Tongolo for Nigerian singer D’Banj. He went on to produce D’Banj’s first studio album titled No Long Thing released in 2005.
Jazzy’s appetite for a full-time career in music could no longer be satiated when, in 2004, he partnered with D’Banj to set up the Mo’ Hits label. Within two years, the prolific producer had wrapped up two albums (No Long Thing and Rundown/Funk You Up) with his former Mo’ Hits partner and was working on a third, Curriculum Vitae. By this time, he had already started becoming a household name with the trademark intro It’s Don Jazzy Again!
In 2008 there were further production credits for the best selling album of that year; Jazzy repeated the trick with Wande Coal’s Mushin 2 Mo’ Hits, an album that was described as one of the best albums to ever come out of Nigeria.
2013 will definitely be a busy year for Jazzy as he is set to make more hits for his signees on the Mavin Record stable such as Tiwa Savage, D’Prince, Wande Coal and Dr Sid.
Burna Boy: Blazing the trail His songs are said to be a break from the norm as he succeeded in changing the sound gear of present day Nigerian lovers of music who mostly love songs with heavy beat and low message.
Burna boy showed why he indeed is the King of the Afro Fusion genre as he perfectly blends English with a bit of Igbo and Yoruba over the smooth sound of the house influenced beat produced by LeriQ.
The Aristokrat Records signee officially dropped four singles off his forthcoming debut album L.I.F.E. (Leaving an Impact For Eternity) which will include successful singles such as ‘Like To Party’ and ‘Tonight’.
Expect more singles from the six pack artiste who has got female fans excited about his music in 2013, leading to the launch of his debut album.

Courtesy: Ahmed Boulor

D’Banj Issues Apology For 2012 Koko Concert Fail

A few minutes ago, D’Banj issued an apology via his twitter page for the shambolic mes that was the Koko Concert which took place 27th December at Eko Atlantic Lagos.

Yesterday I gave you a little insight into what went down at the concert that got everyone so mad.

See his apology tweets after the jump

 

D’banj kokomaster

• ✔

@iamdbanj

To all my great FANS that came out for me. Words cant express my gratitude and love for u guys. I apologise to everyone for any inconv…

29 Dec 12

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D’banj kokomaster

• ✔

@iamdbanj

Inconvenience, most especially the trek to jerusalem. Logistics crew were overwhelmed by the crowd turn out and traffic made adapting hard.

29 Dec 12

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D’banj kokomaster

• ✔

@iamdbanj

I send out my sincere apologies especially for the fact that you still came and made the show a Great success. I promise there won’t be a re

29 Dec 12

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D’banj kokomaster

• ✔

@iamdbanj

Repeat of what happened. Measures are being taken to guarantee that. Again thank you and God bless. There can’t be Dbanj without u guys,love

29 Dec 12

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I was crushed after I lost MTN Project fame 3 – Tolulope Adesina

 

*Tolu performing at MTN project fame season 3

Background

My names are Tolulope Abraham Adesina  and I was MTN Project Fame ex-contestant in 2010 . I was on the same set with Chidinma .I was born and raised in Kaduna until 2010 when I came to Lagos for the MTN Project Fame. I’ve been singing since I was 11 and my first background in music was in Baptist Church children ‘s choir where I was taught  how to sing and perform and by the time I was 16years, I had my first major performance at a grand opening at House on the Rock Jam Mega Festival in Abuja . That is at the stadium where I sang the national anthem and everybody was like  blown away because of my girlish voice  and since then, it’s been a wonderful journey .

Also I’d  been to about seven other competitions before MTN Project Fame.  I was at Nokia First Chance; West African Idol and so many of them and singing  to veterans like Donnie Mclurkin, Kim Burrel at B.E.T auditions” but finally, Project Fame saw  talent in me and I went as far as I did .

Growing up

Well, growing up in Kaduna was really nice for me because Kaduna  then used to be a very peaceful and loving society.  There were no religious crises and for me , it was a wonderful experience because I had loving  parents who supported me when they recognized the talent in me. Also, I grew up among  five siblings . I was  the first and there was only one girl amongst  us .So it was fun growing up .

My starting point

Well it started  with love and passion for  music . I grew up loving and falling in love  with music because as a young boy, there was nowhere I heard music that  it wouldn’t catch my attention  and my Dad had a very huge music  library. It was as big  as a record store. He always played music and sometimes when I closed from school, I’d go there to listen to music  after my assignment, to an extent that I’d even forget to remove my uniform (laugh).

So I always played music  from the time  I returned  from school  till when was set to do my assignment. So for me , music started way back before anybody knew me. And then in 2010, people got to feel who Tolu is , they got to know who Tolu is and so far its been a wonderful journey .

Life after MTN Project Fame

Yes , I released  a song  after Project Fame called “Arewa’’ and it’s a beautiful song , a song about Nigeria’s beauty. Arewa in English means beautiful woman  .When I dropped the song, people loved it because of the sincerity in the word and the technicality of the music .

It was RnB and then, there was a lot of Yoruba in it.  People  loved it because it was indigenous and  international. Later, I dropped a video for it  and it was played in couples of stations like Soundcity , On TV, AIT,  to mention a few . I’ve also dropped lots of single like ‘’Wine it ‘’ and presently, I’m doing  a new song which are three singles in one

My kind of Music

I will say Tolu’s strength in music is RnB and soul .But Tolu has grown since 2010 and I’m doing a lot of music like Afro pop , Pop and RnB . So, I do all kinds of things that appeal to different kinds of people and this makes me to be three in one .So generally. I do three different songs that go three different directions .

Experience from MTN Project Fame

It  was a lucrative experience . I learnt a lot of things about music . I learnt that to go beyond your talent,  you need to have a stage act ,  manage your stage well  and appeal to people when you are singing so they can feel your music other than just listening to your voice . Also, we had vocal training on how to improve  in our vocal strength and even all of  those  trainings are helping me because even now, I have a vocal studio myself and I’ve learnt how to manipulate and use my voice for the best .

Not winning the contest

I was crushed (laugh). I was very bitter about it and it  took me a while to recover from it because I spent three months in that house and everybody knew I was that good .A lot of people have different theory about what happened to me . Some people said I lost my passion  but I gave  my best show and I tried to be the best I could be at every given point  in time . I could remember that there was a week in the house that I lost my voice and my performance during that week wasn’t good and when I recovered from it, I gave my best . All the same, I’m happy for the winner because she ‘s doing so well . Chidinma is doing well and I’m proud of her because she’s growing and changing .But I’m also doing my own thing in my own corner (laugh ).

Compensation as one of the finalists

Yes , we were given some  thank you packages and a little cash to say keep on coming .

Present occupation

Tolu is three  things  presently: I’m a  producer, song writer and performer ;so these three things are what I find pleasure in .I produce artists to help them actualize their dreams and recently, I did something for Skales which  is  coming out in his new album ‘’Adaba’’. So, producing is a kind of  introducing the other side of Tolu to the world .

My three works

Why it’s easy is because they are right under the same umbrella , they are all around music . All of them complement each other .So, sometimes people come to me and say I like your song ,who produced it and I’d say I did and they will want me to produce for them. Some would say, I like your voice, I want to sing like you and I trained their vocal cords .

My hero in the industry

In Nigeria I look up to two people ;Asa and 2Face. I  believe in their style of music. They have a message because each time I listen to 2Face, no matter what he’s singing about, there’s always something to learn from it. His music is poetic .And Asa is also soulful , lyrical and she was the first female artiste to make us proud in the music industry .

Internationally ,my biggest mentor is Brandy and if you listen to my song, there’s a lot of Brandy’s influence in it .

My future in the industry

I wish to be a name that when you said Tolu internationally and nationally, people will know who you are talking about.

Challenges as an up coming act

There are  musical challenges for anyone because it goes beyond the talent which is to promote your songs, get it out there and people have to hear it  and all that cost money .

So as an up coming act,  it can be a little frustrating to get your good work out to the public for people to hear .But I thank God for my management Vintage Record and also my manager Rukky for their support

Advice for upcoming acts

Believe in yourself ,you cannot give up on yourself .And the last person to give up on you is you .

Even if everybody thought  you can’t do it keep doing it and one day people will hear you.

#TheKokoConcertReview – Let me tell you why my friend, Gbolahan left the venue…

 

Heartthrob Idris asked the crowd to give it up for the biggest artist in the world, one could almost feel the tired crowd perk up, ‘Is it Kanye West, is it Jay Z’?! Someone pulled out a Yoruba film style ‘Kabiyesi-Crown’ and placed it on a figure cloaked in a deep red damask, the robe came off, as did the crown, it was D’Banj. Sigh.

The overhyped Koko Concert that took place at the ‘still-under-construction’ site that is Eko At
lantic, promised much.

The erstwhile headliner of the Afro-pop scene, D’Banj had a lot to prove. His abrupt parting of ways with his Mo-Hits crew had his audience curious to see what he could deliver.
The Nigerian acts that preceded the foreign acts did the bare minimum, they performed songs the audience was familiar with but judging from the crowd’s reaction, they were content just dancing. The live stream got over the technical glitch the rendered Burna Boy’s performance silent, the (V)VIP stand collasped, however, thank God for the sub-compere, Basketmouth (Idris Elba was billed as he main host of the show),  who did a good job of keeping the crowd distracted.
And the night kicked off from there. The main part of the show started with UK-born Nigerian artist, Tinnie Tempah, whose performance set the bar for the rest of the night.
He performed his songs on clear high quality instrumental tracks, which was a welcomed break from the previous artists who simply lip-synched over their hits. He engaged with the crowd, reminded them that he was one of them and at one point had the boys in the audience waving their t-shirts over their heads helicopter style, he danced, he ran and thanked the crowd.
Next up was D’Banj’s label mate, Pusha-T, an artist with barely any name recognition in Nigeria; he performed his guest spots on several singles, the crowd, as one tweet decribed: ‘looked at the guy like an election poster’.
Everyone knows the Nigerian concert audience is very hard to please, unless an artist is willing to expend huge amounts of energy to get them just like Tinnnie Tempah did or perform hits that they are very familiar with. Pusha exited the stage to a polite applause, no surprises there.

Idris Elba, the Hollywood heart throb, whose presence at the show prompted Lagos chics to buy fresh weaves and wear high heels to a beach concert in the hope that he’d make eye contact with them, made another appearance to introduce the ironically named Big Sean, also a GOOD music label mate. Sean told the crowd he brought his family to experience the ‘motherland’ and even though he lost his luggage, he was keen to put on a good show.
In his ill-advised leather combo, he proceeded to perform his features on songs the audience was clearly unfamiliar with, he re-rapped ‘Mercy Me’, brought out Pusha T again and the crowd was made to ‘swerve’ at least three times! Despite his repeated efforts to amp them up, the crowd was not entirely responsive. Perhaps it was fatigue, it was already 2am by the time Sean, who had since shucked his leather shirt, launched into his hit with Chris Brown, the aptly named, ‘My Last’.
Big Sean exited the stage, Heartthrob Idris came back on, he asked the crowd to give it up for the biggest artist in the world, one could almost feel the tired crowd perk up, ‘Is it Kanye West, is it Jay Z’?! Then there was some more commotion on the already over crowded stage. Someone pulled out a Yoruba film style ‘Kabiyesi-Crown’ and placed it on a figure cloaked in a deep red damask, the robe came off, as did the crown, it was D’Banj. Sigh.
If there was a roar when he revealed himself, resplendent in his shirtless glory, it was hard to hear. He launched into ‘Oyato’ his semi-hit pronouncing himself as a standout on the scene. What was however hard to understand was, the CD track was playing, as was a live band that sounded strangely amateurish. He then gave a long speech, asking the already tired crowd to show him some love before turning to VVIP section and apologizing for what one can only assume was the disorganised natured of the show. Unsatisfied, he turned to main body of the crowd, those who paid five & twenty thousand Naira respectively and asked them to ‘beg the (V)VIPs’!  After this revealing episode, Naeto C came on, for a review of his performance, please see the second paragraph.
He then launched into a couple of his GOOD Music era songs, at it was that point that Gbolahan came into view.
#Gbolahan was a member of the crowd, whose body language seemed to reveal what the majority of the audience felt. He kept hands in his pockets as D’Banj performed his GOOD Music songs, shifting from one foot to the other. The hands came out as Davido was introduced and launched into his non-descript hits, he was familiar with these songs, he did a little jig from side to side. He cocked his head to the side in utter bemusement as D’Banj took Davido to the right of the stage because “the people wey pay money dey dat side” and with sweet irony, he announced, “ah won ti lo le” (Ah, they’ve gone home). We knew what Gbolahan, in his No. 14 Arsenal jersey was thinking, ‘My 5k is money too’.
We lost Gbolahan when D’banj decided that at 3am, he would launch one of his yankee acts, who would engage in vocal gymnastics and sing a song no one was familiar with. The crow thinned out at this stage.
To close the show, D’Banj launched in to his single stellar hit on the year, the Don Jazzy produced ‘Oliver Twist’. At this point, Gbolahan reappeared, as D’banj sang, he stood almost still, the hands were back in his pocket. He had stayed till the end, perhaps in the vain hope that D’Banj, the dapper happy-go-lucky star of the Naija music scene would come good. As the song drew to a close, he shook his head and did a slow shuffle to the exit as the ‘Koko Master’ finally thanked the 5 and 20k crowd for coming.
In the end, it was Tinnie Tempah’s show, he performed like someone who knew people had paid to see him, the clarity of the backing tracks he rapped on and his determination to keep the audience engaged made sure, even in the middle of the mediocrity that was the Koko Concert, there was a highlight for the audience to take away.

 BY TOLANI SARUMI

Photos: From D’banj’s Koko Concert Last Nite

 

 

D’banj, Idris Elba, Tinie Tempah, Naeto C, Big Sean, Ajebutter 22, Seyi Shay, Pusha T, Iyanya, Ice Prince, Kay Switch & More thriled fans at the star-studded 2012 edition of the Koko Concert which took place on Thursday in Lagos.

The show was hosted by Idris Elba, Basketmouth and Bovi.