Friday 8 November 2013

Gossip & Gists: Modupe Ozolua Hot In Red

Modupe Ozolua is the CEO of Body Enhancement Limited in Nigeria, she is also the founder and president of Body Enhancement Annual Reconstructive Surgery (BEARS) Foundation.


Here's a few things you probably didn't know about her. She got married at 21, had a son at 22, and got divorced at 23. She came to Nigeria at 27 to pioneer cosmetic surgery and body enhancement. She turned 40 just last month and still looks like a vixen, stunning woman.

Gossip & Gists: Ghen Ghen! Actress Yvonne Jegede Disses Yvonne Nelson On Twitter

Choi, I love this my amebo job o...lol. Was just minding my business *cough* when I saw this Tweet from actress Yvonne Jegede.
 
 

She says she's the good actress, while Yvonne Nelson is the attention seeker. Let the cat fight begin! Haha

Gossip & Gists: Photo Of The Day


If that's really what I think it is, then salute to Wizkid! *straightface* #strollsaway

Music: "I Be Like Dem Obama" By NG


Donzubi Entertainment presents NG aka Onyekwu master, with a brand new hit single titled “I Be Like Dem Obama” produced  by Popito, after his succefully single "Touch & Do" with 2face Idibia, "Friday Nite", "Sexy Lady" among others and his recent NEU Awards 2013 for Best Nigerian International Act.



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Interviews & Hype: "Reasons I Stopped Managing D’Banj Before Mo’Hits Broke Up" - Sunday Are

It has been long the Chief Executive Officer of List Entertainment, Mr. Sunday Are spoke extensively on major industry issues but the former manager of the defunct Mo’Hits did in a recent chat with our correspondence.


He opened up on life after the shocking break-up that scattered one of the biggest Record Labels in Nigeria and other issues...

Being a veteran artiste manager, how has it been?


The only thing I can say is I am working and I have not stopped working because it’s a job that gives me joy. I have passion for my job. I love the job and that is why you’ll see me at some event, not because of the money but the passion. Beside, my core work is field work, which is setting up stage, sound and light until when I diverted into artiste management.


In fact, I prefer to be addressed as a stage manager than artiste manager because that’s my foundation. For instance, I coordinated all the artistes that performed at the launch of Mo Abudu’s EbonyLifeTv and Dare’sLove Like A Movie Concert. I paired Pa Victor Olaiya with 2face, Evangelist Ebenezer Obey with M.I, Elegant Stallion Onyeka Onwenu with Omawumi and King Sunny Ade with Wizkid for tight rehearsals in my office during the EbodyLifeTV lunch.

It was a tight concert and I feel honoured for such events. Honestly, I still want to do my stage management work even though I still love managing artistes because it’s something I love doing as well.

Let’s talk about the business of managing artistes. How profitable is the business?


It is the joy of everyone to do business and make profit from it, but for me; it is not about the money. When I joined the industry in 1979, I didn’t think about making money, my love for music was the driven force because as at that time, I had nobody, I just lost my dad. So I had no family around but I know a group and somebody that do music. I went to him and I told him my intention to join him.


That’s how it all began. About profitability, you can ask all the artistes i have worked with. I have managed from D’Banj to Omawumi, I didn’t start working with them base on money. Even when I set up the band for D’Banj, I don’t think he or the group pay me to set-up the band.

I did it because I love D’Banj’s style of music and I want to see him performing with live band until later when they started making money. We began to take budget for that. Even for promotion, I used my money to promote their songs because they have good materials.

From experience, what are the usual challenges of managing artistes?


Every profession has its challenges but for me, I have always been happy with the people I have or I am working with. If you do what I want, I will be happy because I cannot withstand challenges.


So, I will rather break-up with you before the challenges would come. I always see the signs coming in most cases, that is why it’s hard for you to see any artiste that would come out and say he sacked me.

We have seen you at couple of shows full of energy to ensure that your artistes are satisfied with your services. Where do you get the energy even at your old age?

(Cuts-in) I am still young; I am still here (smiles). The fact is I love my job and I love everybody that I work with. I always want them to see me as their body, so we work together even though they are the one you see on stage.


It is not the matter of old even though I am still a young but the love for the job. I love my job and I think that is the source of the energy you see me displayed.

There is a general impression that you’ve lost your core job since the broke up of Mo’Hits. How true is it?


Lost my core job? I don’t think so because the name, Sunday Are has been there for long and my prayer is that it would remain forever. What many people don’t really know is that before Mo’Hits eventually broke up, I have made up my mind to stop working with D’Banj. Don’t get me wrong, D’Banj is one artiste I will continue to love whether we see or we don’t see, whether we talk or we don’t talk.


Personally, if I am working with you and I don’t love you, I won’t achieve anything on you. So for me to achieve my mission on you, I must love you. But for D’Banj, I see it coming. The love I have for him was dropping and two weeks before they announced their break-up, something happened between us during a show in Asaba, and that night, I wouldn’t lie to you, I said to myself, I am not going to work with him again.

Like I told you earlier, I can’t withstand challenges, so before it comes, I took the decision.

Would you like to share what happened between you and D’Banj?


It’s best known to us and I think it’s not important anymore. Truly, I was not happy during the period but that was then. Life goes on and till tomorrow, he’s somebody I still love, respect.


So, I thank God that he’s doing well and I am also doing fine. I am very happy because I know what I have achieved since they left. I know what God has done for me since they parted ways.

Aside D’Banj, do you still have a working relationship with Mavin artistes?


The thing is, when I stopped working with D’Banj, I still maintained my working relationship with others in the Mo’Hits but I never knew they had planned to break-up. When the break-up came, I went back to the drawing board and plan my next move.


Although I still get shows for them or connect clients with the right people they needed to call to get D’Banj, Wande Coal and others for shows, even for Tiwa Savage. There are some I collected service charge but in most cases, I  did it for free. So, it wasn’t like the working relationship I have with them as members of Mo’Hits.

But there have been different reports that you manage D’Prince, Dr. Sid, even Wande Coal before recent story that Wande Coal sacked you for Nana Abbey, one of your boys. How true are these reports?


Like I said, we still have a very good relationship but not really a working relationship. They call me “our daddy” anytime they see me. So, where they employ me as their managers I don’t really know. It sounded a bit insulting when I heard it but it is one of those things.


For me, I don’t think anyone of them needs me as hype because they are already super stars. The person that was said to have sacked me (Wande Coal) and the one they sacked me for (Nana Abbey) are my children. I remember how his parent brought him (Nana) to learn under me not even to work.

It was very ridiculous to see the headline; Wande Coal sacks Sunday Are, his Manager, for Nana Abbey! Nana Abbey is my son and Wande Coal has never employed me before.

What about your appointment as one of Don Jazzy’s aides?


That word, aide sounds weird because if you check my age and that of Don Jazzy, the gap is wide. Let me tell you the truth about myself, I am a proud person and I respect myself. I may not be more than this but I know my worth. So, I am not comfortable with the word. But, the truth of the matter is that he called me one afternoon that my children (referring to Dr. Sid, Prince) are missing and they wanted to see me. I told him I would be travelling out of the country.


So, when I came back, we met and he specifically told me that I should take care of Dr. Sid and D’Prince the way I am taking care of my artistes. That was about a year after they registered Mavin Records.

I accepted and collected their materials, their singles and I did the promo CD for their new songs. So, it is not like a Management deal but rather than helping them because of the bond we’ve shared together.

Thursday 7 November 2013

Videos: Official Video Of "Raga" By Made 7

Michael “Made 7” Alika, was musically influenced by the sounds of Fela Kuti, Reggae crooner Bob Marley and notably R&B singer, 2face Idibia. His brand of music cuts across Afro-pop to a blend of Soul and R&B, a multi talented ariste who will soon take the world with his abundant artistry.


Made7 has decided to re-brand Afro-pop with a novel style he tags “Ragga Pop”. This he achieved with his massive airplay hit single “Orukonla”, gaining a large fan base. His lyrical composition, delivery and content which is based on themes the people can relate with. 

Catchy choruses and thumping beats with awesome lyrics are what to expect from Made7, as yet another hit single blew the airwaves and still lingers on the mind of every music lover. The club anthem “ Raga” was a great success with a very raunchy and brilliant video directed by Matt Max for Anchor Media.

Made7 has made it clear with his hit songs that his best is even yet to come as he asks his fans to get ready for more monster hits.

Interviews & Hype: "Our Negligence Is Killing Us" - Omoni Oboli

Her 13th wedding anniversary celebration couldn't stop her. Omoni Oboli is still very much angry that she lost a friend, Deji Falae and other Nigerians in the Associated airline plane crash.


Even as she celebrated, Omoni managed to pen this down. She thinks Nigeria should have moved beyond plane crashes due to human errors, and if we come together as a nation and move against people who consistently display incompetence in their jobs, Nigeria will be a better place.

I am Omoni Oboli, and I represent Naija!

I haven’t been this sad for a long time, owing to the passing away of a friend, Deji Falae. I can’t imagine that we still lose people in that manner. We have passed through this road of plane crashes and I thought it was a thing of the past, but here we are again. What’s wrong with us? Where did we begin to operate in this spirit of hatred for our own such that we end up killing ourselves.

Our negligence is not just an irresponsible act that we need to change but something that could cause the death of another human being. I’m just so saddened by this incident, because it could have happened to anyone. No one in his right mind would get on a plane if there was the least shadow of doubt to its airworthiness. That is why the passengers got on board.

There’s a process that an airplane must go through before it is cleared for take-off. Various experts, who have been paid to carry out several checks on the plane, put their expertise to work to ascertain the flight worthiness of the aircraft before it is given the all clear to fly. This process has been done by the same airline or airport staff on ground (not the minister, President or governor) trained in this duty for years, so that they can ensure the safety of the passengers, who have paid, and put their trust and their lives on the line, in the hands of the “able” experts to get on board the aircraft.

The unsuspecting passengers get on board without the slightest idea that some personal issues, incompetence or any other depraved excuses by the workers in charge that they may be able to concoct under the sun have made the aircraft their final coffin. I’m trying to paint a graphic picture of the senselessness, insensitivity to the conscience and wickedness of many people, who find time to blame the government, anyone or anything else for their irresponsible acts that have caused the death of the very people their competence was supposed to protect.

We should weep for our many acts of wickedness, which stem from our lacklustre attitude to work. The most appalling thing of all is that they also have the audacity to blame God for all their actions, calling it “an act of God.” Why would anyone call it that, when there was nothing that even remotely suggests that the plane crashed due to errors beyond human control. True to our Adamic nature, we blame God and every other thing but ourselves.

If we all spoke with one voice against our neighbours who consistently displayed incompetence in their duties at work, knowing that the blind eye we turn today could lay the foundation for an unforeseen disaster tomorrow, we would begin to see the fruits of that attitude in our nation. This culture of “manage” has caused many of us to settle for the mediocre instead of demanding the excellence we deserve. A workman delivers a job that is distasteful to the eye and less functional for the purpose the job was made to achieve and asks you (the one who pays with his hard earned money) to “manage” it, because he doesn’t want to be made to pay for his mistakes with his own money. This is a tragedy because the workman will never grow beyond that level of competence to achieve excellence in his chosen field.

The pilot of a plane has the duty to check his plane before he gives it the clearance to fly. He should not rely on his “super skills” to fly a plane that he thinks may be less flight worthy than it should. He shouldn’t use the lives of his passengers to test his skills. There are rules and regulations, and the people at the helm of affairs should ensure that they are strictly adhered to for the safety of the passengers.

Today, there are very few airlines operating in Nigeria, thank God! When are we going to wake up from our slumber and see that there should be few instead of many because safety should not be compromised and if only the few can deliver, then so be it.

Many businesses do not see the light of day solely because many complacent workers are there. They are quick to gather themselves into small groups within the office to talk about the one who has positioned himself to provide the very job that gives them the food they eat so that their mouths can curse them. How very sad! We talk behind our bosses instead of talking for our bosses. We spend their money to pretend that we follow their vision, all the while trying to see ways that we can do our own business, using their time, which they are paid for.

There’s nothing wrong with doing your own business, but do it in your spare time I can’t imagine going on set of a movie, after being paid, and then make up an excuse to go on another movie production because I want to make more money. That is stealing! We should be more diligent and learn to cherish our jobs. Look around you and see that many others are praying to have the job that you are showing contempt for.

You will be dearly missed, Deji Falae, and my condolence to the other passengers and crew on board the ill-fated aircraft. May this serve as a wake up call for Nigerians to begin the change towards a better future.

Gossip & Gists: How Tiwa Savage Caused The Feud Between Don Jazzy And Wande Coal

There is a new twist to the Don Jazzy versus Wande Coal saga as new reports allege that Tiwa Savage, the first lady of Mavin records is the source of the whole trouble.


Some hours ago, Don Jazzy accused former label mate Wande Coal for allegedly stealing one of his songs titled ‘Baby face’.

According to report, Tiwa and Don Jazzy were rejoicing over the positive responses from fans over the success of their recently released 'Eminado' video when she brought his attention to the released 'Baby Face' track.

A reliable source said, "Tiwa and Wande Coal haven't always been friends, and she was the one that brought Don Jazzy's attention to the "Baby Face" song. When Don Jazzy saw and heard the song, he was angry and had resolved to giving Wande Coal a call but Tiwa insisted that he should make it public.

Tiwa allegedly said, "he can not continue to steal from you, he should at least be respectful enough to credit you, if you don't do this, he will continue to steal your works, if you put it out on twitter, he'll know you are serious. It's wrong to always take people for granted."

Meanwhile, Tiwa Savage is known for always attacking anyone who offends on twitter. She recently attacked editors of TW on twitter for a publication rather than calling them privately to settle whatever misunderstanding they had.

Music: "You Are Mine" By 1-Million


Linda Ibezim aka 1-Million hails from Umuahia (Abia State), Nigeria. Born in the late 80's has been singing for the past 5 years. Inspired by the likes of Lady Gaga and Asa. 1-Million is a lover of music, movies, sports, nature and here she debuts "You Are Mine".

Videos: Real Self Out With "Back Off" Video


Real Self returns with the v.video of SEXTAPE, after the success of the massive downloads of the audio. He uses this opportunity to drop yet another single; BACK OFF, which featured Prinswill, the artiste behind the hook of Seriki's "Love Song".


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Music: E-Black Drops "Jubilate"


"Somebody was born in a day and it's today, another person was born in another day and it's today". The rush is over as E-Black OnPoint finally drops a birthday song; JUBILATE. Kindly download and share with friends, enjoy.



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Gossip & Gists: Outcome Of FG & ASUU Meeting: FG To Give Varsities N1.1 Trillion

Very late Monday night November 4th, President Jonathan met with officials of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, over the on-going strike.


After the meeting, ASUU officials said they would relay the outcome of the meeting later this week after consulting with other members of their board.

The Union has not made an official statement yet but Punch is reporting that a key component of the agreement reached by the parties after the meeting was that the Federal Government would  inject N1.1trillion into public universities in the next five years.

They said the federal government would release N220billion yearly into the sector beginning from 2014. For the outgoing year, the government will only release N100bn and this has been processed.

They also said the strike would be called off anytime next week. Halleluyah!

Gossip & Gists: Drag Queen Apologizes For Derogatory Comment After Nigerians Attack Her On Twitter


Nigerians went on the attack on Twitter. As in, they finished her and she was forced to apologize. She says it was a joke. Expensive joke ni yen. Anyway, apology accepted!
 
 

Monday 4 November 2013

Music: Bee Jay T Drops "Showugo"

South Africa based Nigerian act, Oluwatobiloba Omobolaji Balogun aka Bee Jay T has just set the ball rolling in his music career under the recording company of "FFI Records"


Sending some Afro Pop  vibrations through your speakers, 23 years old singer-songwriter Bee Jay T is quite impressive on his brand new track titled "SHOWUGO", a fusion Afro-pop tunes which was produced by T-Fresh Beat will definitely make you groove and whine.

Bee Jay T who is also a song writer and a wizard on drums and piano, is in his 3rd year, studying music in the University of South Africa. We definitely should expect more fireworks from this prolific artist in a few months to come.



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Music: "Amorum Taa" - Black Pope Featuring DJ Humility

World's famous DJ Humility features on Black Dope's new single, "Amorum Taa".

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After the outstanding success of his last single Amaka, Black Pope teams up with Superstar DJ Humility to create another monster hit titled 'Amorum Taa'.
 
 
 

Music: Archer Out With "Marry U"

As a follow up to his Debut single ’E No Mean’ whose Video was released some months ago, Archer born Iseghoede Madonna, best described as a new school artiste fuses, Afro/Hi-Life and new school sounds comes out with another classic love song for everyone out there.


The new single 'MARRY U',  is amazingly exceptional. The Edo state Born artiste/Producer is presently working Hard with his Alpha Music Box Team, and promises to deliver beyond a convincing point.

Archer teamed up with OMO, Lagos based producer to deliver an absolute impressive song that will leave you smiling all day. Inspired by classics from the 80's, MARRY U is one song everyone would appreciate.




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Videos: Young Paperboyz, Premieres The Official Visual For The Track ‘Angel By My Side’


This is taken from Naija Boss Techno Reloaded album ” that is now available for purchase on  iTunes,  Spinlet and other major digital retailers. This is one of Young Paperboyz’ most exciting and accomplished pieces of work, which symbolizes their induction into a whole new level of techno perfection.

Directed by Mayor Boss Production.




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