Category: Entertainment

Talented Nigerian entrepreneur and celebrity stylist Abiola Oluwatobiloba has revealed how he built his brand during the toughest time of his life.

 The CEO of EntityByToblad said a lot of things could trigger one’s decision to start up a business including depression.

 “Starting a business can be inspired by various reasons, people offer services based on solutions or innovative ideas,” he said.

 “However, for me, I got inspired to start my business during the toughest time of my life. I was so depressed and lost in the middle of my thoughts. But I was all alone and then the inspiration came to do something along the fashion line.”

 He then added: “For me, it looked weird because I didn’t expect much to come to me at that tough time but it was a miracle. I thought about it and decided to pull through. And now I am happy that thought came during that tough moment.”

Nigerian filmmakers and film enthusiasts were engaged by Africa Magic in an intimate conversation at the 2023 Africa NXT Festival.

 Moderated by poet, writer, and filmmaker Wana Udobang, the panel conversation featured a chat with the Executive Head of Content & West Africa Channels, MultiChoice Nigeria, Dr. Busola Tejumola, and MultiChoice Talent Factory Academy Director, Atinuke Babatunde.

The conversation centred around ‘the imperative of indigenous content’, where the panel discussed the importance of creating authentic African stories in our local languages. Dr. Tejumola explained that it was essential to have these discussions about creating more indigenous content because there’s been so much westernization, thanks to the world being a global village.

She said, “In Nigeria alone, we have over 250 tribes and ways of living, and stories for days. We can tell 250,000 stories in a year, and you won’t repeat any of them. There is just uniqueness

and diversity in our stories. As a brand, we are not just jumping on a trend with indigenous stories. We’ve told these stories for over a decade through our Africa Magic Yoruba, Igbo and

 Hausa channels. As much as we believe that local content that appeals nationally is good, we know that people want to see themselves represented on screen.”

Nigerian music act Clintonic Strings is set to host Ric Hassani, Kenny Blaq, Ladé, and Ace Orchestra among others in his annual concert tagged ‘Symphonies of Clintonic strings.’

 Scheduled to hold in Terra Kulture on February 18, the event is aimed at projecting the creative ingenuity of music and arts through the lens of the luxurious African music background.

 Disclosing the uniqueness of this year’s edition, Clintonic Strings said he would be having the Ace orchestra performing alongside Nigerian artists.

 Other artists who would be performing at the event include Beekay, Precious, Progress, Forever, and MC Ajele.

The current success of ‘Takeover Agunechemba’ is giving Nigerian singer Nwachukwu Prudence aka Minister Prudence a good ride.

 Minister Prudence has been all over the moon since the recently released single went viral in churches and in the gospel circles.

 Signed to Tsoule Media Records, Minister Prudence She has performed in several churches such as Winners Chapel, Streams of Joy, ZionHill Global, and David’s Christian Centre.

Afro-pop singer Bobbyaino has declared himself the next big thing to happen to the Nigerian music industry.

 The music graduate believes that his talent and experience have given him the capacity to be the best in the ever-growing Nigerian music industry.

 The singer born Jimoh Abiodun Michael, in a recent chat, says he would bring dynamism to the Afro-music industry while giving established acts a run for their money.

 Speaking in an interview, the musician who featured Qdot on the song, ‘Nigboro’ maintained that the versatility of his craft is noticeable in the songs he has released over the years.

 “I want to be remembered for making myself and my country proud, I want to be remembered for making good music, changing lives with my brand of music. I want to be mentioned in the region of some of the greatest artists like Fela, Sunny Ade, and so on. I want to be the best. I see myself on the biggest stage, doing music for not just Nigeria but for the world, collaborating with the finest in the industry, and winning awards.”

 Afro-music, according to Bobbyaino, is a general term covering a wide range of music styles, which has helped the world get acquainted with the popular dance and music of the people from Africa.

 “I would say Nigeria’s music is rich both in culture and tradition, the whole world today listens to our music not just because of the lyrics but also because of the songs we produce. Again, in terms of creativity, our music can compete with the best in the world, Afrobeat is the biggest genre of music in the world right now, and Nigeria is at the forefront of such movement,” he said.

Africa Magic has announced the premiere of a Hausa series, ‘Dala Dala’, on February 13 on GOtv.

 The indigenous series, originally produced by Africa Magic, follows the story of Farouk who is in constant battle with his conscience after receiving $120,000, to hold in secret, from his close friend Hamisu who gets murdered. He is forced to make a quick decision with a lurking unseen enemy who threatens his family and life.

Commenting on the premiere, Executive Head of Marketing, MultiChoice Nigeria, Tope Oshunkeye, said Dala Dala is another quality local content that will provide life lessons and entertainment for customers.

 “Dala Dala is an interesting indigenous series that tells a captivating story of money in relation to human values and how these values are put to a test in the face of temptation. This is another local production that reflects our high-quality standards at MultiChoice. ,” Oshunkeye said.

Hamza Noah aka B-Tone has completed works on a masterpiece Extended Play (EP) entitled ‘Nudes.’

 According to the singer, songwriter, and performer from Kogi State, ‘Nudes’ is a seven-track affair exhibiting various genres in such cuts as “Holy Water”, “Tension”, “Attention” and “My Head”. Others include, “Isakaba”, “Brother” and “Don’t Matter”.

 In the lead track, ‘My head’, B-Tone described the song as one talking about love: “A girl that has shown me love in my lowest, and stood by me, and everything she does blows my mind (my head), so even if I get carried away by the glitz and glamour of fame and money, I’ll always remember her in high spirit because she’s still the only one with attributes that blows my mind”.

 The graduate of Biology major from Kogi State Polytechnic started out in music at a very early age, with great influences from friends and his surrounding.

 In 2008 he formed a group with two friends and started making and recording music.

 The act admitted that he had drawn inspiration from artists such as Wande Coal, 2-Face Idibia, Jon Bellion, M.I, Cobhams Asuquo and Wizkid.

 B-Tone is signed onto Royalty Records, where he works with a strong team and a producer, Lake.

Nigerian Fuji stars have taken to social media to celebrate one of their own, Sule Alao Malaika as he turned 50 on Wednesday, February 15.

 Rejoicing with the Fuji act, 55-year-old Wasiu Alabi Pasuma welcomed him to the golden age saying, “HBD to a multitalented fuji musician Alh Sule Alao Malaika. I welcome you to the 5th-floor Qibla of Fuji, wishing you a long life with good health and happiness. Happy 50th Birthday CNN Alhaji.”

 In the same vein, Saheed Osupa described Malaika’s 50 years on earth as a long journey filled with memories. “Congratulations as you have reached the 50th milestone of life. It was a long journey with so many memories…”

 Continuing, the 53-year-old Osupa said, “God has sent you into life as a blessing. May God pour His amazing grace and blessings on you throughout your earthly journey. Wishing you a fabulous 50th birthday, Alao Madiba @ks1malaika.”

 Also joining his colleagues to shower encomiums on Malaika, Abass Akande Obesere shared a picture of Malaika with the caption, “Oshe Olorun ko’boju e je. Alhamdulillah for a new life. Congrats to you @ks1malaika.”

 Similarly, Sulaimon Adio Atawewe showered his namesake with prayers saying, “Happy Golden Jubilee to you KS Malaika. By the special grace of God, everything you lay your hand on will always be successful. It shall be well with you and all that belongs to you. Enjoy your day Password Fuji.”

 Meanwhile, a ball in honour of Malaika has been scheduled to be held on Sunday, February 19 at Oriental Hotel, Lagos.

Nigerian hip hop artist, Felix Philemon aka Skillager has released a new single entitled “Busybody.”

 Speaking after the song’s release Skillager said he has always loved hip-hop songs, engaged in rap battles in his early days, and believes he can do a lot with rap while creating amazing sounds. He added that he kept growing and discovering himself, having known he could do more which gave birth to his new sound.

 He said, “I always want to pass a message with my sound because I believe music is a form of communication, so I create conscious sound and also not to be boring, I try to make it very engaging with a feel of Afro-fusion, I am still growing and intend to discover more because it is also a learning process and you never know it all when it comes to creating music.”

 Commenting on the choice of the song title, the artist said, “Busy body is a very special song to me, one because it is my first single for the year and also because it has been a while since I put out a project after my last Ep in 2020. It is a song that appreciates every beautiful African lady out there and I called it busy body because our women are blessed and we men love it, so it is just a song to appreciate every beautiful black woman out there.”

 Skillager is signed onto Tree of Life Entertainment owned by Irhuesogie Alexander Ogbewi.

emPawa’s signee, Joseph Akinwale aka Joeboy has opened up on how 33-year-old American-Jamaican singer Sean Kingston influenced his writing abilities.

 Joeboy recently made the confession at Apple Music’s Home Session.

 The Nigerian-born Afropop singer specifically pointed out one of Kingston’s songs, ‘Beautiful Girl’ as an influence that cemented his love for pop-dancehall.

 “‘Beautiful Girl’ by Sean Kingston was basically the soundtrack of my early teen years and reminds me of when I started crushing on girls,” he began. “The song really influenced my writing ability and cemented my love for pop-dancehall love songs.”

 After joining Mr Eazi’s emPawa Africa platform in 2019, Joeboy’s career skyrocketed in the wake of a string of hit single releases with “Sip (Alcohol).” And with his highly-anticipated album on the way, Joeboy is set to be a staple on playlists and screens for years to come.