Category: Entertainment

One of Nollywood’s finest actresses, Kate Henshaw, has been around for over a decade and is still waxing stronger. Kate, who recently parted ways with her husband of twelve years, has obviously moved on with life. In this interview with Mercy Michael, the mother of one and former Glo Ambassador, opened up on failed marriage. Kate, who is toast of Nollywood producers, also explained her role in a new Nollywood blockbuster, The Meeting, as well as the pains and gains of being relevant in the movie industry. Excerpt: 

WHAT is your relationship with your ex-husband?

We have our daughter, so we look after her. We still talk about her. She’s part of us. She has to be taken care of, so we talk concerning her and her welfare, everything concerning her. There is no animosity really. It didn’t work, it didn’t work.

Single and beautiful, you must have loads of toasters. Any consideration for another marriage?

I’m not really looking for anybody right now, but if it comes it comes, fine. I mean nobody ever says ‘oh! I will never love again’, after all, even God gave us His son to love us.

You come across as happy-go-lucky lady. What could give you a low moment?

I am a happy-go-lucky person. But for low moment, just generally, when life gets you down. The issue of the breakup of my marriage, it will get anyone down. Having been through twelve years, and you have plans for the future, and then everything stops. But then, that’s life! Life hits you with different things. But you move on or you stay down, it’s your choice.

You sound like you miss him. But the impression was that you wanted the divorce.

Yeah, I wanted it. It wasn’t working anymore. It’s good to leave than to live together in rancor, with hatred. Sooner or later it will affect my work. You people would say, this girl, there is something wrong with her. If someone is not happy in her home, you will know. It will show in her work, no two ways about it.

Anybody meeting you is sure to ask about your beauty regime. What’s your beauty regime?

I was telling someone that maintenance culture is very high, whether you like it or not. I work out in the gym every day. This stature, I’m maintaining this beauty. Every day I work out. I do a lot of weight training. I do aerobics. I do dancing. I do Zunba. Anything that’s going to make me look good, I do it. I’m very, very diligent in my exercise routine. I have my facial. I have massage. I love massages. I love to rest. I love to travel. I eat right and I leave the rest to papa God up there.

Talking about dancing, you were recently part of a musical video. I saw you dancing the popular Etigi dance style. Tell us about the experience?

That was really lovely. You see, those are the kind of things that I like. Nobody expects me to do that kind of thing. It will surprise people. Etigi is from my place. I’m from Cross River. That’s our dance.

But most people don’t see me in that light. It’s good to just put it out there and surprise people. The concept of that video was…, they were shooting this musical video on the street, and there was this woman, all dressed up for an o wa m be party. The road is blocked and she was like what’s happening here, ‘oh! People are dancing; let me show them that I can dance this dance more than them.’ That’s what it was all about. I love the experience. I love every bit of it.

Should your fans expect to see more of you in musical videos?

It depends, if it’s for a good cause. And of course I love JJC Skills. I love his music.

You also have lovely voice. At a point, I thought you were going to veer into music?

You people should leave me o. I don’t want to disgrace myself. Acting is my strong point and I would stay there. I don’t want to veer into something that…I might do a collabo I mean, never say never. Maybe there is a collabo. You never know!

A lot of other actors are delving into other areas like directing, producing and so on. Are you likely to go in that direction too?

Well, I don’t know. Everyone doesn’t really have to produce. Everyone doesn’t have to direct. Most people want to remain as actors. Most people want to remain in front of the camera. I’ve produced a documentary, the one for the Lagos State tax advert. I shoot that for them as part of my contribution to bring into the consciousness of Lagosians to pay their tax. I also did an advert for the Akwa-Ibom State government, just little, little things…I’m more of someone who can plan, organize stuff, so maybe as a producer, but movi production is plenty money, Kai! The money is plenty.

As an actor who has been there for over a decade and still relevant, what’s the drive and staying power?

I think my ability to laugh at whatever situation, to smile. People always comment on my smiling habit. It’s like, ‘Kate do you ever have any problem? Do you ever get angry?’ Like I said, I choose to be happy. I choose to wake everyday and say today I’m going to be so happy. But people are going to wonder, ‘ha! Did you win lottery?’ That’s the most positive attitude to go through life with. Life is hard. Especially in Nigeria, it’s so hard. People don’t dress like you.

People don’t have a roof over their head. There are flood victims there. I was watching a woman on TV, she said she and her husband struggled to build a house over two years and now everything is gone. And look at me here. I’m grateful. I’m so, so grateful.

Talking about the situation in the country, what are your thoughts about the four UNIPORT students that were brutally murdered?

It should be condemned. I didn’t want to talk about it. But everyday, it’s like we sink lower into the ground as human beings. Our humanity is totally lost as Nigerians. There are no longer the days when you see somebody on the floor and you want to be a Good Samaritan and help. Everybody will just stand and look. Nobody wants to help anymore. Everybody is afraid for his life.

I watched that video and my heart just turned cold. I was weeping, I still hear the sounds of the big stick on the skulls of those boys. I wouldn’t advice anybody to watch it. But if you can, do so that you will know what is going on. It’s just amazing that students do not have enough accommodation in their surrounding, that they have to go and get an off-campus location that is not even secure. The security level is so low. Except you are in the townships or select areas, the rest of the places, you don’t even know what’s going on.

There is a new elected president for AGN. Do you think there is new era for AGN?

There is a new era. Hopefully and prayerfully, I hope IB will turn things around for AGN. I mean without the actors, really there isn’t any film. You can have your script, you can have your production crew, but if there are no actors to interpret what you’ve written down, then you don’t have a movie. We are like the biggest body. There are people wanting to be actors. I get such calls every day. She will have a 100 percent of my support if she can turn things around and make us more unified. It is because we are not unified that we are not where we should be.

We deserve to have a whole lot more. To reap a whole lot more, better ourselves as a body. The Association of Movie Producers (AMP) has sorted themselves out, music industry, comedy and all of that. We need to get our acts together as Actor Guild of Nigeria. Maybe one day we’ll have a woman president, the right one, not the one that steals.

How do you mean?

I support women causes hundred percent. But that’s women that are worthy of the cause. Any woman that disgraces me, I will disgrace you back. I will shout. We’ve had women in government who have disgraced us women. And they make us seem as if we are not worthy, that we don’t deserve the post that we have. I’m an ambassador for the Nigerian Women Trust Fund. And this trust fund was set up to encourage and help women in their political ambitions.

So I’m glad to be part of that, and I do believe that a woman deserves a chance. There is Ellen Johnson in Liberia. We have a woman that is the Prime Minister of Australia. It is possible, very possible. We are strong, women can do a whole lot. And when their heart is in the right place, there is no going back.

There is Ibinabo now; there is Ema Ogugua, and there is Emeka Ike. Which of these sides do you belong to?

Ema Ogugua is on the Board of Trustees. Ema Ogugua is no longer the AGN president. He was the president when it was Nigeria Actors Guild (NAG). Ema is on the Board of Trustees. He has nothing to do with being a president. Ibinabo is the president of AGN. Emeka should join forces with her and let us stop this rancor. It doesn’t make us look serious. People are laughing at us, everyday there is strive in AGN, why? Emeka should drop whatever suit or case he has and support IB.

I mean we are all colleagues. He should marry whatever proposals or whatever ideas he has with hers, and they should come to the table and everybody talk and we move forward. He should drop his suit please. Enough is enough. I don’t want to say more than that.

We’ve had like seven Blockbusters so far in Nollywood since the reinvention of the cinema. I know you featured in the soon-to-be-premiered The Meeting. Honestly, do you think it will be part of the list of Blockbusters?

Yes, totally. I say to you, watch The Meeting, and if you don’t like it, I will give you back your money. That’s Kate saying that. End of story. Finish! I can’t say more than that. And Rita is going to get award, I said it first.

Tell us about your role in the movie?

My name is Mrs. Ikomi in the movie. She’s an executive, very nice lady, but she has some other parts to her that you won’t expect from an executive. It’s a small role, but it’s a role that I loved. The character is very funny and interesting. The script was different. You need to watch it. It brings to light the bureaucracy that goes on in our ministries. One, in our federal parastatals and in that whole situation, two people meet and find love.

Is that your most challenging role so far?

Not for me. But I loved every bit of my role. You cannot have the most challenging role. Depending on the movie, you have different challenging roles.

Before now, you were not part of the Blockbuster movies that has come and gone in the cinema. Why?

I was part of Tango With Me. I was a doctor. It was a small role though.

You’ve played several roles. What’s the dream role for you?

Mad woman (laughs). A mad woman, I mean someone who is sort of impaired physically. I want you to see me, and you ask, ‘is that Kate?’ That’s the next role I’m waiting for.

Looking back, which is your most memorable role?

When the Sunset. My first movie, my very first. I have it. I have a copy of all my movies. And once in a while, I slot it in and watch. I also loved doing Stronger than pain, the one I starred in with Nkem Owoh. That one was different for me. My character was totally different. In the beginning, I was a bit doubtful.

No matter how many years you’ve spent as an actor doing different roles, there are some roles that come, it makes you doubtful. Can you do it? Will I be able to portray it so convincingly that people will accept? When you do it, you get the accolade; it makes it all worthwhile.

I’m going to take you back to your experience on the set of your very first movie. How easy was it for you coming from your background as a medical person?

It was hard. I was scared. The script was thicker than a bible. I was with Franca Brown, Bob Manuel, K.O.K, Ema Odokpai, the late Funmi Martins, Sandra Achums. These people, they all started before me. It’say that’s when we really treasure doing movies properly. It was like a big family. When you leave the set, it’s like you’ve left a family and friends behind.

There was more attention to details. We will have countless rehearsals to make sure that your character bonded. I spent a lot of time with Bob Manuel. So much that people thought we were dating. I spent a lot of time with him. He really was helpful.

Growing up, was acting what you always wanted to do?

I wanted to be a musician. Yes, I wanted to sing. My father said, no way! Those useless people… I’m sure he’s not saying that now. The late JT Tom West, I will always mention he’s name, always be grateful to him, because he took me to my very first audition. And if then, I didn’t know what they were doing. They said they wanted somebody to come and cry. They didn’t give me a script, nothing. They called me, Victoria Inyama, Rosemary Ona, we were like four. They said, your sister told you she’s a prostitute, react. So it just happened. After The Sunset, different people, started coming, ‘I want you in this movie, I want you in that movie’.

What are the pains and gains of your career?

The pain is the press, I’m not complaining though. It comes with the territory, like it or not. To the credit of the Nigerian press, we are not even having it bad here like Hollywood. Hollywood, they will come hang on your tree, check your dustbin. What did you eat last time? For instance, look at Kate, the wife of Prince Williams, they followed her to where she’s relaxing her body with her husband. It’s not as if she was with another man. Her body is all over the place. It comes with the territory. Once you are in the limelight, there is nowhere to hide.

You must go through that fire. It’s either it makes you stronger, makes you depress or it makes you say ‘hey! Let’s all go there!’ Then the gains, it goes without saying. People want to do stuffs for you. You want to see somebody and nobody is going to stop you. You meet people that ordinarily if you see them you won’t even have access to them. The gains are just innumerable. I remember going to the airport, and I was trying to buy some perfumes, over at least 500 pounds worth. I was about to pay and one man said, you are Kate Henshaw? I will pay for that. And the girl at the counter, said, ‘do you know him?’ and I said know. And she said, ‘wow! I will like someone to do that for me.’

You can’t be caught stereotyped. How were you able to achieve this feat?

You have to be picky. I don’t care what anybody says, If the script comes and it’s the same thing, you tell them ‘can you not change it, I don’t think I want to do this.’ Because they won’t do it for you, unless the person has foresight to say, ‘ok! I want to see how Kate can manage herself in this role. I want to see if she’s real?’ Most of the time, they will say, cry for me. How can I just be crying for you? I mean I don’t cry all the time. I’m a happy person.

How do you like to unwind?

I relax. I hang out with friends.

FOR a world integration project like the much-talked-about switch-over from analogue to digital broadcasting, sensitive governments have evolved proactive and systematic line of actions to ensure that they are not caught napping when possible interference from neighbouring countries hit them. They have also ensured that the citizens enjoy the choice of clearer picture, ample channels and the succour of subsidy on the Set Top Box (STB); the conservative device that will provide signal to the existing television sets after the June, 2015 switch-over date.

The leapfrogging tendencies of a country like Nigeria become worrisome considering the fact that a global agenda of this nature is not just a complex transition, but one which seeks common understanding, diplomacy and cooperation of neighbouring countries within the continent.

Suffice it to say that in Europe and Africa, a timeline has been agreed within the framework of an International Telecommunications Union (ITU) treaty. The consensus is such that after June 2015, analogue television transmissions will no longer be protected from harmful interference caused by digital TV transmissions. In the same vein, analogue TV transmissions will not be permitted to interfere with digital TV transmissions.

Evidently, migration to digital broadcast transmission technology has begun, with countries like France, United States, United Kingdom, Sweden and New Zealand already advanced in their migration programmes, even as Finland and Mauritius have already switched off from analogue.

While South Africa, which began the process years back, may not have overcome the complexity of the transition, the fear for Nigeria’s readiness is ominous. It is because indeed, while other countries are already engaging their regulators, policy makers and digital analysts to unlock the migration process, Nigeria, it appears, will exert its usual magic when the reality of 2015 comes to it in a flash.

Analysts have reasoned that for a smooth transition, the government of a country must consider the fact that the STB will take about six months to be manufactured. And although the price of the decoder has dropped to about $40 ever since a higher version dubbed DT2 entered the market, there is the need for each country to subsidise its production. And while it is also pertinent to consider the eligibility for a subsidized decoder based on the number of TV Households (as it is the thought in some countries), this may be a challenge in a country like Nigeria that is still struggling with population data and, to justify the government, where TV licences are not paid for.

But wherein the various governments in Africa do not seem to have engaged the stakeholders well enough on this digital revolution that is set to herald more channel choices and value to television viewers, Multichoice, a big private sector stakeholder in the scheme, and the largest pay TV conglomerate in Africa has set an enviable agenda based on its Social Responsibility objective. Not only did the company begin a test-run of the digital TV innovation in Nelson Mandela’s town of Soweto, last week, it also gathered African journalists from the IT, Entertainment and Business beats to interact with experts for two days in Johannesburg, South Africa. That Digital Dialogue Conference, more than anything, has enabled a deeper understanding of the digital migration process through topic of discourse ranging from ‘Entertainment and Media Outlook from 2012-2016’; ‘Preparing for the Transition of TV Broadcast Services to Digital’; ‘How TV and the Internet are Meeting’ and ‘Effective Public Education for Digital Migration’. The conference which took place at the Sandton Convention Centre last Thursday, ended the next day, with a session specifically on the STB and government obligation, presided over by Mnet Technical Director, David Hagen at the MultiChoice Headquarters. This was followed with a tour of the households in Soweto where Digital Terrestrial Transmission (DTT) is already being tested. Testimonies abound in Soweto that indeed, the new innovation renders sharper picture, and better sound quality; such difference as it is between an old video cassette and a DVD.

The households visited in Soweto agreed that they have a choice of more channels on the new device. Reason for this is not far fetched. Experts have explained that digital signals take up much less bandwidth than analogue signals. The result is that we can broadcast up to 10 television channels in the same bandwidth – giving you the potential of many more channels to choose from. Another benefit that this gives the people of Soweto is that they are for the first time, able to access many free-to-air TV channels.

Back at home, all that we hear is the Federal Government’s plans to have 20 million STBs manufactured locally by 2015. If that is the case, then 2015 for Nigeria will be the beginning of migration plan for the country, but not its own switchover year; unless the country’s leapfrogging magic happens, will it enjoy the technology without the risk of initial interference. I guess also that for a population of 160 million Nigerians, 20 million STBs is an average way to plan for one citizen who has television sets in abundance and for his neighbour with none. And in the spirit of the current transformation agenda of the Federal Government, the claim that the government is currently wooing foreign and local companies to invest in the digital TV STBs production, and its wish for the country to start manufacturing digital devices locally is supposedly laudable.

But how many of the relevant stakeholders is Nigeria engaging on this evidently uphill task? I recall Hagen saying at the last conference that many players in the migration still habour many unanswered questions. This cannot be typical of South Africa.

Some of the key issues that arose from the Johannesburg conference included right, new, attractive and relevant content; affordability of STB; balanced technology features; relative conformity of the decoder to current devices; consumers’ understanding of the process of migration; cooperation with broadcasters, signal distributors and manufacturers, who must be involved in the project from the beginning; and a possible community support or call centres for easy access to information on migration.

Unfortunately, doubts persist among stakeholders as to the ability of the government to achieve its supposedly aggressive digitalisation ambitions. Reason: The government is under-estimating the huge complexities to be faced in implementing the migration and probably needs to first focus on making the NBC more efficient.

At the inception of the discourse on migration, Nigeria had in its characteristic manner, shown some aggressiveness by pronouncing a self-imposed target of June 17, 2012 as the change-over date to digital broadcasting transmission in the country. Today is October 20, 2012 and with that initial aggressiveness running out of steam, it is only pre-emptive to say that 2015 is a wishful thinking.

A committee of experts and representation from a wide range of business and economic sectors set up by the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in October 2008 to create the roadmap for the take-off of digital broadcasting in Nigeria, we learnt, had long submitted its report to the Minister of Information and Communications in December 2009. Perhaps at the point of switch-off of analogue technology in 2015, the country will find its way through a dysfunctional data signal, like the fire brigade moving precariously through the deadly inferno in order to put out the conflagration from its fierce source.

Christened Samson Uche Mogekwu at birth, but popularly called Samsong, this artiste has come to be associated with contemporary gospel R’n’B music. A former banker, Samsong’s love for the art has made him to abandon his dream for the apex bank in Nigeria. Two decades gone by since he plunged into music, the singer, writer and label owner, talks about early years as a gospel act, marriage, philosophy and other issues in this interview with MERCY MICHAEL.   

BIANULE, is one of your songs that is very popular. What inspired that song?

Bianule is just a thanksgiving song. I found out that there is a lot to be thankful for. God has done a lot for me. I’m married now. I’ve got two kids. And through all the struggles and challenges of being a gospel artiste, God gave me the grace to overcome most of them. I’m very happy. So that’s where the inspiration came from.

How long have you been doing gospel music?

Professionally, I started doing gospel music in 1990.

You did say God saw you through some struggles and challenges. Tell us about them?

Interestingly, gospel music is much better now than when I started. I sing contemporary gospel R’n’B. So when I started, the acceptability was a little shaky. ‘Samsong, why don’t you sing something that we can identify with? With this your voice, sing something traditional’, that’s all I get to hear most of the time. And I’d answered by saying ‘I can’t sing traditional music.’ But you know, as I grew in the industry. I realized that no matter where you are. No matter where you are from, it’s important for you to be able to reach out to your people. It’s interesting to know that even Americans sing their own traditional music. Though, their traditional music is not in the language. It’s in the genre. Those church songs you hear are American traditional music. For us, our traditional music is not in our genre. It’s in our language because we have diverse languages. So I thought, let me try Bianule, and it worked. And after then, I’ve done another album that’s titled Church Boy Reloaded Album. This was in 2010. And it’s doing very well.

There is this notion that gospel music isn’t as commercially successful as secular music. Was it easy for you to settle for gospel music then?

I didn’t start singing for commercial reason. I never really wanted to be a musician. I’ve always wanted to be a banker. I studied Accounting in school. When I left school, I worked in Central Bank of Nigeria. I later worked in Golf Bank. I actually wanted to be the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria. That was my dream. That was what I was working towards. But somewhere along the line, I started feeling like a square perk in a round hole. So I resigned from the bank and plunged into gospel entertainment. I love what I’m doing. I love to sing and to see that people are happy that I’m singing to them. That was my drive. But as much as possible, I knew that money would come. I was passionate about the art. I wasn’t so crazy about money. I didn’t have much money, but I just kept singing. I had too many offers to sing secular music, but I believe that music is not just about singing. It’s a lifestyle. If I’m living a Christian life, then I should sing gospel music. If I’m living a secular life, then I should sing secular music. It’s not about just picking up pen and writing lyrics. I should be able to write lyrics that are congruous with the kind of life that I live. There is no way I would have been singing secular music. I’m a Christian. I love God. And I love to sing gospel music. Basically I’m still here because it’s more than music to me. It’s a lifestyle.

I’m sure you didn’t just wake up one day and decided that today I’m leaving the bank. What were those incidents that culminated into you quitting your banking job for music?

Well, I have this brother whom, whenever we are watching R. Kelly; he’d says, “You’re just as good as this guy.” Whenever he says it, though I come up with the excuse that R. Kelly is in America, he has the opportunity, in my quiet time, I always think about it. Again, a pastor walked up to me one day and told me; ‘look, how much are you being paid in the bank? Do you know how much you can make if you take music seriously?’ Those comments helped to build my confidence. But then, I also had people who were like, people are rushing into the bank, you are thinking of leaving. So I had to choose which voice I wanted to listen to. At the end of the day, I followed my heart. And what my heart told me was to go into gospel music. So I left the bank. My friends who were in the bank with me then thought I was stupid, but today they are very proud of me. I guess most time; one has to just follow his heart.

How would you describe gospel music now in Nigeria?

It’s much better than it used to be. It’s more developed because the minds of the people too have developed to a level where they can appreciate lyrics. For me, I believe that gospel music is not all about the beats. It’s more about lyrics. You are trying to pass across a message. If you are able to achieve lyrics then you most likely would achieve gospel music. So, it’s much better than it used to be. When I started it was difficult. There are things people wanted to hear. And as a gospel artiste, you cannot say those things. But today, more people are even tilting towards gospel music. They are embracing decent life. I’m not marketing born-again (laughs). People appreciate good lyrics now than just hearing about drug, sex and money.

Certain people do gospel music but their lifestyles do not necessarily stand them out from those who do secular music. What’s your take on this?

I call it the double standard life. In short, that’s what the bible calls it. I would say its falsehood. It’s falsehood because writing a lyric that you are not living is double standard. If you write lyrics that are of good values, but you live a life of vices, it’s falsehood. You’re living a false life. That’s why I said before that music is a lifestyle to me. I don’t sing secular music, not because I cannot sing it, but because I do not live it. So how do I sing what I’m not living. That’s it for me.

To live a decent life doesn’t come cheap. It takes a lot of discipline. What’s your experience, especially when you were starting off?

Life is a choice for every one of us to make. We have our choices to make in life. There are people who are not Christians but they’ve chosen to life a decent life. It comes from that perspective. There are people who are not born-again. They’ve not accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and saviour but they will not go out there and drink, smoke or frolic with girls. What would you say about that? So for me, it’s a choice that everybody has to make. As a young artiste, I grew up in a Christian home. Though I had ladies come to me, I travelled a lot as an artiste and I had people come to me to introduce all sort to me, but I never gave in because I made a choice to live a good life. It’s not for the fact that I’m born-again, I decided right from time that I wanted to live a good life.

You’ve got great looks. How do you handle advances from the opposite sex?

Yes, ladies come. They are my friends. No, they are my fans. Not even my friends. They like the fame; they like the lifestyle, but don’t even know me. So there is no way I can expose myself to them like that. To a large extent I decided to life a decent life. It’s not difficult. The truth is that for every decision you make, you must put machineries in place to help you through it. When I decided I wanted to be a gospel artiste, I had to cut off from some friends. I made some new friends. I had to start being in church a lot. I had to start studying the Bible to help me build myself spiritually. So it’s not a difficult thing to do. It’s a process. It’s just like making a decision to be a banker or to be a dancer. That’s just it.

You are one the judges on Destiny Child, a gospel talent hunt reality show in the making. What are your thoughts about it?

I think it is a very fantastic initiative. I have craved to see this happen for a long time. And my philosophy about life is this, if you see this thing and you don’t like it, stop complaining, create a parallel. Now, we complain that most of the guys that win the secular reality show come from church and when they win they go secular. If you complain from now till thy kingdom come, it will not change. It’s been like that before now and it will remain like that. So the only thing that we must do is to create a parallel. Something that looks like it, but it’s not it that will accommodate our people, Christians, real Christians so when they come in and they win; they are signed under a record label that’s not going to tell them not to sing gospel music. So it’s a parallel of what we see. Like I always say, Destiny Child has come to write the wrongs.

It’s the first time you’re going to be a judge on a reality show? How do you feel?

I’ve done it before, but not to this magnitude. This is going to be like the biggest because it’s going to be on national TV. The ones I have done before now, have been within churches. Basically, it’s a great feeling.

When did you get married?

I got married in 2008.

How has marriage helped to balance out pressures from the opposite sex?

It was more difficult before I got married. Nigerian girls know how to respect marital union, I mean to some extent. I’m not trying to say I’m totally free from it but yeah, now, when they come around and they notice I’m married they just take a step back which is very good. Now, I handle less pressure.

You look quite glamourous with your hairstyle. Tell us about your style?

Let me start by saying I have a clothing line. That’s called ‘Boogie Down’ by Samsong. The hair thing is a style that I created about six years ago. I believe that everybody has to be known for something, especially in show business. If I’m not having this I would be like everybody else and there won’t be anything to me. So I thought let me do something that most people will find difficult to do. It takes a lot to keep this. Most people do it and after a while they get tired and they take it off. But for me, this is my image. It’s my signature.

FUJI maestro Adewale Ayuba is set to take the music scene by storm as he releases a new album titled Sugar. He revealed that though the album is coming a bit late against the wishes of many of his fans, but he believes that “It is better to be late than never. I released the album because of the demand from my fans”

The album according to him, “is a chart buster with special tracks for my mother, Late Sikiru Ayinde Barrister, Bola Tinubu, importance of marriage and his own side in the history of Fuji music. This is complete sugar different from my previous works.

On his absence from music scene in recent times, he said, I played regularly, just like Bob Marley; I’m preaching the Gospel of Fuji Music round the world.”

FOLLOWING a successful outing last year, Midwestern Oil and Gas an indigenous company is yet again putting their weight behind this year’s event by sponsoring the MUSON Jazz Festival 2012.

Featuring an all Nigerian lineup of both international and home-based Jazz and jazz related (NAIJAZZ) musicians, the festival will take place today at the Shell Nigeria Hall MUSON Centre in two shows, 3pm and 7pm.

Artistes on the bill for the day include South African based guitarist (Ayodel the tungba Jazz master), South African based bassist Mike Ebere, Germany based Piano Virtuoso, Dapo Dina, El Jazz – the blues guitar maestro, Saxtee the Saxologist, Victor Ademofe Trumpeter Extraordinaire and Adesua the eclectic jazz vocalist.

According to Engr. Adams Okueme, CEO of Midwestern Oil and Gas, the decision of Midwestern Oil and Gas to once again throw its weight behind the festival stems from a belief in the Nigerian project. “We have to develop ourselves. For Midwestern Oil and Gas, it is about contributing our quota in developing an aspect of Nigeria. It is a pleasure to e associated with the MUSON Jazz Festival,” he added.

The MUSON Jazz Festival 2012 is part of the annual MUSON festival and is powered by Inspiro productions.

Last year, the event witnessed performances from two legendary and iconic highlife artiste, Victor Uwaifo and Victor Olaiya.

LOVERS of Juju music and indeed, edifying lyrics will, this Christmas, enjoy another chartbuster from the repertoire of frontline Juju musician, Michael Adedayo Omosilade popularly known in the music domain as Micho Ade.

The musician hinted this week that he would release a six-track video work entitled, Oju Ogun L’aye, in the third week of December which had, years back, shook the nation’s music scene.

Besides the hit track Oju Ogun L’aye, he itemised other tracks in the work as including: Baba mowa dupe, Ore ti Jesu se, Olorun gbeja mija and Ebe mobe.

Efforts, the musician explained, were being perfected by Lintel Productions, an Ibadan, Oyo State marketing outfit, to ensure that the work is distributed to every nook and cranny of the country.

“The work is too superb to be missed by any lover of our kind of music; that is why we are leaving no stone unturned with our marketer to see to it that copies are well distributed across the country and beyond,” he said.

With the coming work, the talented musician assured that those who had thought that the genre is fast fizzling out or being displaced by other genres would have a better opinion that Juju music is not dying.

“Oju Ogun L’aye is a well-packaged work that was shot in various locations across the country especially in Oyo State. It is a work that will convince all that Juju music is waxing stronger. It is also a good menu for those who take delight in listening to music with good content. We are here to rock the music scene with the video work,” Micho stated.

The illustrious son of Ikere in Ekiti State enjoined music lovers to keep faith with the genre even as he admonished his colleagues to continue to do serious home works that would enable them to come out with meaningful albums that would help to sustain the kind of music as a leader in the industry.

SEUN Kuti, son of Late Afrobeat Legend Fela Kuti, on Monday, October 15, joined other members of his family to attend the opening of the Kalakuta Museum in Lagos. Cited in the home the musician once lived in, the opening of the museum comes during Felabration, an annual music festival honoring the singer.

On a day which would have marked Fela’s 74th birthday, his sons Seun and Femi and daughter Yeni celebrated the opening of the museum which boasts of a boutique, hotel, rooftop lounge and concert space. The opening comes during Felabration, an annual week of concerts put on by his children to honor their father’s musical legacy.

The Kalakuta Museum includes a wall holding Fela’s shoes, photographs of him and his family, murals and album art. It also features his room as he left it at the time of his death, with VHS tapes, a giant inflatable globe and racks of clothes hanging above a simple twin bed. Pillows and a sheet lay nearby, a remembrance of how he slept on the floor, weakened as AIDS slowly killed him, said Lemi Ghariokwu, who designed many of the musician’s album covers.

Fela created Afrobeat in the late 1960s, mixing the rhythm of jazz, the catchiness of pop music and traditions of African mysticism into 10-minute-long songs riffing on politics and sex in a nation only recently freed from colonialism. He embraced the idea of pan-African leadership and openly criticized the military rulers who revolved in and out of power in Nigeria when others had been cowed into silence.

REPORTS say that Paul Okoye of the P-Square duo now dons the Mohawk hairstyle, joining some of his co-entertainers. The artiste was spotted in Zimbabwe with the new look with his twin brother Peter Okoye where they went for the Summer Beer Fest sponsored by Lion Lager.

The Mohawk, sometimes referred to as a Mohican, is a hairstyle in which, in the most common variety, both sides of the head are shaved, leaving a strip of noticeably longer hair in the center. Though mohawk is associated mostly with punk rock subculture, today it has entered mainstream fashion.