The Nation Newspaper

Tag: SUPERSTARS

  • ‘Hooligans’ as superstars

    ‘Hooligans’ as superstars

    The drama started this year when Mavin Record’s Reekado Banks was announced as the winner for the Next Rated Artiste category at the 2015 Headies. Not caring who was watching, Olamide blatantly expressed his anger when the YBNL gang climbed the stage to pick up Adekunle Gold’s award for the Best Alternative act for his single, Shade.

    “Lil Kesh is our own Next Rated artist,” Olamide said.

    “F**k that sh*t! The streets ti take over. Every f**king single was a hit back to back. From lyrically to Shoki to Efejoku. Ko ni dafun Iya anybody.” He then dropped the microphone on the stage, threw his cup away and walked backstage. Don Jazzy, leader of Supreme Mavin Dynasty, Reekado Banks’ record label, couldn’t resist the implied jab and replied Olamide with a one-liner. The whole episode was aired on live television.

    Following that public tragedy, Olamide took to twitter to declare war on Don Jazzy. In one of his tweets, he said: “Don’t f**king come to the Mainland. Honestly, f**k you, I am f**king Mainland.”

    The duo settled a day later and just when we thought that the Nigerian music industry was regaining its tranquility, Afrobeat superstar, Wizkid and Hypertek signee, Dammy Krane got into a bloody brawl at the Quilox Nightclub, Victoria Island, Lagos. It was reported that Wizkid smashed a bottle on Dammy Krane’s head before bouncers pulled them apart.

    Origin of the melee started on Tuesday, January 12 when the Hypertek musician, Dammy Krane, went on Twitter to accuse the Ojuelegba crooner, Wizkid, of stealing his song.

    Some of his tweets read: ‘#ENTERKRANER (@dammy_krane) Wizkid has done it a couple of times before, but he (Dammy Krane) kept mute about it, probably owing to their once good relationship. @dammy_krane: Wizkid is a bitch n..ga, I was about to loose it and f..k him up but they even had to beg me, no time to form I am the streets!!#industreet#’

    Although Krane has an album with several notable singles, his career has not taken an upward swing like that of his contemporaries.

    Krane who in 2013 accused Davido of stealing his Skelewu dance step did not however mention the song which Wizkid purportedly stole from him, but expressed his displeasure for ‘thieves’.

    Some questions that come to mind after reading these tweets are: Why couldn’t Dammy Krane list out his stolen lyrics? Does Dammy deserve to be treated this way by the new ‘Mr Broken Bottle’, who happens to be an ambassador of many brands? What legacies do these artistes intend to leave for the youths after them? Were our musicians made to verbally insult?

    According to some reports, 80% of the hip hop lyrics that are currently on the top 10 lists around the world contain violence. And some Nigerian hip hop songs are assaulting to the ears of youngsters. It’s so disheartening seeing underage children singing some lewd lyrics which have been made popular by these artistes. Braggart and meaningless lyrics are fast trending in music sector and countless of our upcoming acts want to sound like hoodlums.

    Our musicians are making children believe that ‘The Street’ has betterment to offer than school.

    And while some parents accuse musicians of contributing to the negative behaviour of their kids by exalting sex, drugs and alcohol through their songs and the media that air explicit contents on their platforms, some artistes in response blamed parents for being too lax in their roles.

    Music enthusiasts believe that music should reflect the culture of the people. It should have a good storyline and history with variety of genres like classical traditions, folk music, medieval and other genres and not some sex or drug inclined narratives. Jazz saxophonist and composer, Charlie Parker once said, “Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don’t live it, it won’t come off your horn.”

    In the heydays, music was used to keep hope alive, put smiles on people’s face, educate and, in some cases, criticise inept government. Such was how the likes of Ebenezer Obey, King Sunny Ade and  Fela Anikulapo Kuti used music, including preaching love and unity to the world. They recorded evergreen songs that have depth and meaningful information up till date.

    ‘Street ti take over, baba yaayi’ are some of the portentous words of the YBNL boss, Olamide Baddo. It’s quite unfortunate how some Nigerians appreciate hooligans and noisemakers who call themselves musicians.

    Who is to blame for the unintelligible lyrics with loud instruments? Is it those youths that pay attention to lyrics or the radio and TV stations that play these ‘club songs’ non-stop on their stations? Why do the media and fans hardly look in the direction of Asa, Brymo, Timi Dakolo, Bez and few others who are talented lyricists?

  • School sends off ‘superstars’

    Diamonds Mine Schools, Ifako-Ijaiye, Lagos has graduated her sixth set of ‘super stars’ at valedictory and prize-giving ceremony.

    Proprietress of the school, Mrs Grace Aderibigbe, said this year’s set were highly intelligent and promising, hence, she was confident of their success.

    “These children are wonderful, brilliant and intelligent. They passed all the exams they sat for. They went for Lagos State Model examinations, state school examinations, federal and even command school examinations and they did brilliantly well in all of them. I am not panicky for them about any secondary school they go to. They have morals and they are super stars,” she said.

    Mrs Aderibigbe expressed her gratitude to parents and workers for constant support and the love they showed their children by sending them to school, despite biting economic challenges.

    A parent, Mrs Remi Samuel, said: “I like the school and the proprietress also. She is very nice and welcoming. I wish the pupils success and more progress in all their endeavours. They must remain true to their morals and standards.”

    The class teacher of the graduating class, Mrs Olabisi Akinbosede, who described her experience with the pupils as ‘tedious, yet exciting’, charged them to be morally upright and godly.

    “It has been exciting and full of activities teaching the graduating pupils due to preparations for Secondary School.

    But I thank God for these children; they are all hardworking and brilliant. God saw us through despite how tedious it was. We took them through practical and theoretical education. I wish them prosperous years ahead and more exciting experience in their educational life,” she said.

     

  • Three Superstars file lawsuit against WWE

    Three Superstars file lawsuit against WWE

    Former WWE Superstars Big Russ McCullough, Ryan Sakoda and Luther Reigns are suing WWE for suffering serious brain and other damage as a result of “egregious mistreatment” by working for WWE.

    TMZ reports that they claim that as a result of working for WWE, they have suffered brutality in the ring has resulted in dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and a lot more.

    According to the lawsuit, “under the guise of providing ‘entertainment’ …. has for decades subjected its wrestlers to extreme physical brutality.” The suit acknowledges wrestling is scripted but nonetheless unrelentingly brutal, claiming “WWE is in the business of selling violence.”

    The legal docs chronicle various matches in which wrestlers were destroyed.  It mentions the 2014 Royal Rumble, in which one wrestler “demolished another with a series of brutal steel chair attacks,” and the docs refer to “the carnage created by the match’s victor.”

    The suit claims, “The WWE coerces its wrestlers to work while they are injured by, among other methods, threatening to strip them of their position within the organisation if they refuse.”  It says they are “universally encouraged to ‘wrestle through the pain.’”

    And the lawsuit mentions Chris Benoit, who was “routinely hit in the head with a chair.”  Benoit, who killed his wife and son along with himself, was autopsied after his death.  A doctor concluded Benoit’s brain was so damaged from CTE, it “resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer’s patient.”

  • ‘Our graduands are made superstars’

    ‘Our graduands are made superstars’

    It was a memorable day as St Jude Private School FESTAC bade farewell to its pupils.

    The event tagged: ‘2013 graduation and prize-giving day,’ include activities such as prayers for the graduands, song rendition, reading from the Holy- Bible, and various cultural performances among others.

    The Rev father Serbastine Nwankwo who was the officiating minister gave words of encouragement and motivation to the pupils on how to attain stardom.

    He said St Jude’s products are built to be a super star, and therefore they must always strive to attain greatness at all times.

    She said: “You must remember that this school is reputed for sterling qualities. We are committed to producing superstars that will take the world by storm. So let me say to you graduands of today, have the world on your fingertips. Take charge and fly like eagles.”

    One of the parents, Mr Gabriel Ofikulu praised the school. He equally lauded teachers’ efforts saying they are doing wonderfully well.

    The head teacher, Mr Benedit Osai Etim stated identified dedication among teaching and non teaching staff toward achieving greatness as the secret behind the school success.

    There were also presentation of prize and certificates in different categories to the pupils as rewards for their performance so as to spur them towards greater performance.