Kaline Injects Sunny Rays In Tell you of my love

Uzo Chikere

This fresh release of her song, titled Tell You Of My Love, portrays the act, Kaliné as one who brings out the sun; joyful summer rays and awesome retro music.

In recent times, she has unleashed conscious music, but it is nice to see her come back with another love song.

The most exciting thing about listening to her new tune is that this is not a jazz or R&B track but rather a cheerful mid tempo fussion of jazz, R&B and afrobeat. There is no gainsaying that Kaliné played with afrobeat on this score.

 Tell You Of My Love is about a girl in love with a guy and afraid to confess how she feels. Eventually she summons up courage to tell him.

Now because the singer is a pianist and a film score composer, she is somewhat automatically stereotyped as to be significantly polished. The songbird with the ‘fro reveals a whole new side to her personality in her lyric video. She’s in shorts, funky sunglasses and having fun dancing shoki and azonto the sun.

One of the great things about living in a city like Lagos is the fact that it’s always summer, we’ve got amazing sunshine and great weather most of the year, so Kaline’s song will perfectly fit into any summer vibe.

Glo Laffta Fest Opens In Benin Aug. 9

…As Dance With Peter Enters

 Uzo Chikere

All arrangements to thrill its current and potential subscribers across the nation by Nigeria’s National Telecoms Operator, Globacom, has been concluded as the company returns with its highly raved comedy show, Glo Laffta Fest.

The telecom operator said in a press statement that the comedy show will kick off in Benin, Edo State on August 30 and subsequently go round major cities and towns in Nigeria.

Laffta Fest debuted in 2009 and quickly garnered wide acclaim owing to the calibre of the artistes who performed at the shows. The revamped show will feature top-rated Nigerian stand-up comics including existing Glo ambassadors, Basket Mouth and Helen Paul as well as the newly signed Bovi and AY with a guest appearance by Salvador from Uganda. Other popular comics billed to perform are Okey Bakassi, I Go Dye, Seyi Law, Funny Bone, Dan De Humorous, Julius Agwu, Buchi, Gordons, Omo Baba, Osama, Bash, and others.

After the debut of the show in Benin, its next port of call is Victoria Island, from where it will move to Abeokuta, and then Surulere, Port Harcourt, Ikeja, Ibadan, Ikorodu, Egbeda, Abuja and Ijebu-Ode. At each of the locations, the show will be preceded by a road show.

The event will also feature award-winning artistes such as Flavour, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Wande Coal, Korede Bello, Di’ja, Reekado Banks, Pasuma and Saheed Osupa, while DJ Jimmy Jatt, DJ Neptune, DJ X Gee, DJ Spinall, DJ Switch and DJ Tor will man the music deck.

“Globacom has been in the fore-front of supporting and improving the entertainment industry in Nigeria, with a view to developing enterprising talents in the music and comedy genre,” the statement read.

Globacom said as a world-class brand, it is committed to providing its subscribers with the best entertainment and value-for-money. “We are totally committed to initiatives that will promote the entertainment industry in Nigeria.” 

The company enjoined Nigerians to join in the fun by using up to N3,000 on calls, SMS and data on the Glo  network in a month, and text ‘LOL’ and location of the show which they want to attend to “33001.”  For example, subscribers wishing to attend the show in Port Harcourt are encouraged to text ‘LOL PORT HARCOURT’ to 33001. They will subsequently get an invitation to attend the mega show.

 The statement further explained that the first hundred guests to arrive at each location will enjoy photo opportunities with Glo ambassadors at the venue.

In another development, registration for the upcoming Reality TV show sponsored by Globacom, has started. Dubbed Dance With Peter designed to be the hottest in Africa, and packaged by Peter of P-Square, Globacom promises to reward would-be winners of the dancing competition with mouth-watering prizes.

The best dancer will go home with a brand new Toyota RAV 4 with N3million and the rare opportunity of featuring in P-Square’s next music video. 

The first and second runners-up, on the other hand, will receive a brand new Honda Civic car, N2million and a brand new Kia Rio car with N1million respectively and a chance to feature in a top Glo Ambassador’s music videos.   

Auditions for the competition will kick off in Abuja on Friday, August 28, at the Shehu Musa Yar'adua Centre, Central Business District.

Thereafter, the audition train, led by Peter Okoye, will move to Accra Ghana, for the audition at National Theatre, South Liberia Road , Accra, on Tuesday, September 1.

This will be followed by Benin, Edo State, on Friday, September 4, at the Oba Akenzua Cultural Center, Airport Road, Benin City. Lagos is next in line on for the audition on Tuesday, September 8, at Bamako Studios, 1 Bamako Street, Ojodu, Lagos.

The final audition for“Dance with Peter” will be held in Port Harcourt on Thursday, September 10, where prospective dancers in the show will be auditioned at the Atrium Event Centre, Stadium Road.

Globacom said those interested in participating in the show can register by sending ‘DANCE’ to the short code 55517 in Nigeria and 3030 in Ghana through their Glo lines.

Registration costs N100 for Nigeria and 0.5GHc for Ghana. “Once they send the SMS to the short code, they will then be requested to send their details such as Name and Location at no extra charge. All successful registrations will get confirmatory SMS with instructions on what to do next.

Dance legends such as Peter, Kaffy and Flex will feature in the show as judges, while Ehis Okoegule of MTV Base will be the host.

Monsco Hits Beat Scene With I am A Man Who Can

Uzo Chikere

Monsco is certainly not a bell-ringing name. But the bearer is one budding act determined to hitch his wagon to the sky with the pushing out of his two promotional singles, entitled I am A Man Who Can and Weleke respectively.

Driven by the passion to hit enviable heights in the beat scene, Monsco, a marketing graduate of Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State, has already penned about 15 songs to be packaged into a music album. But he elected to first test the terrain with the two singles which he had obliged the Alaba music dealers to include in their mixed tape series.

The Edo State-born singer had been involved in music for as long as he can remember. According to Monsco (real name; Aghiemien Omokpagbe), he has passion for music and has been into music right from time with experience as a back-up singer for Elizir Black as well as stage performances with DJ Gravity and Songs man respectively.

Faced with the challenge of pushing his trade into prominence by completing his impending full length album and shooting the accompanying musical video, the promising act who fuses African cultural sounds into hip-hop, informed that his determination and passion would see him through the lengthy and bumpy road to his artistic destination.

As the title of one of his singles, I am A Man Who Can, suggests, Monsco believes that he can scale through whatever obstacles strewn on his way to musical success. Said he: “In all, I’m being driven by the passion I have for music, and I know I’ll get there. I hope to keep working and praying; the rest is in the hand of God. I’ll keep trying until I hit the top despite the stiff challenges in the music industry”.

Monsco said that he is open to sponsorship and collaborations with willing record labels to push his work, pointing out that he will break through if he kept working hard on his music.     

Okoroji Urges Buhari To Initiate Intellectual Property Revolution

Uzo Chikere

The chairman of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Chief Tony Okoroji, seems not to be ready to let go on the issue of creating an enabling environment for the take-off of intellectual property revolution in Nigeria. In that vein, he has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to spark an intellectual property revolution in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy without delay. A very passionate Okoroji made this call at a Town Hall Meeting organized by BBC Media Action in Abuja recently. 

According to a press statement signed by COSON’s corporate communications officer, Mary Uket, at the event held at Protea Hotel, Asokoro, Chief Okoroji said that in a world which is rapidly being swept over by the digital economy and revolution, the Nigerian nation would hugely regret her failure to quickly tool itself with the full understanding of the concept of intellectual property and the economic necessity to defend intellectual property rights. 

Said Okoroji: “The days when oil ruled the world may have gone for good. We may have seen the last of the era of the 100 dollar a barrel of crude oil. Our crude oil of the future may have to be drilled from the ingenuity of young Nigerians. That ingenuity can be seen in how wide our music, movies, literature, fashion, programming and similar products of the creative endeavor are spreading across the world. This is clearly an area in which Nigeria has comparative advantage. Unfortunately, both at home and abroad, these creative products are being stolen with impunity without our nation seeming to care much”

Chief Okoroji who was joined on the panel which discussed Piracy in the Creative industry by Mr. Aderemi Adewusi, Head of Public Affairs at the Nigerian Copyright Commission said that the important investments required to actualize the hundreds of thousands of potential jobs which the Nigerian creative sector can generate and the billions of naira in revenue accruable to the nation will not take place except investors are guaranteed that their investments would be protected.

Chief Tony Okoroji, a former president of the Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN) and author of Copyright & the New Millionaires, said that President Buhari who has a Vice President in Prof. Yemi Osinbajo with the intellect to fully grasp the issues, owes it to the Nigerian nation to kick start an intellectual property revolution in Nigeria that assures our citizens that if your mind can create something of value, the country will protect you to enjoy the fruits of your labour. “Nigeria must end the ‘monkey dey work, baboon dey chop’ environment that retards growth and development so as to release the latent creative ingenuity of our people and attract the investments to fully exploit this ingenuity”, he said.

Okoroji who is perhaps the best known intellectual property activist across Africa, said that his experience with COSON should show everyone that change can indeed happen in Nigeria and that Nigeria is not necessarily a lawless nation, adding that COSON has had to go to court about fifty times to ensure that the users of music in Nigeria begin to appreciate the fact that music is someone’s property which cannot be deployed in a business or public setting without appropriate permission. He called on creative people in Nigeria to stand up; take responsibility and establish strong lobbies which are required in every democracy to positively shape policies.  

The Town Hall Meeting was attended by authors, musicians, actors, directors, producers, photographers and many people from the creative industry across the nation who asked Chief Okoroji and Mr. Adewusi countless questions.   

Osun Osogbo Festival Opens With Iwopopo Ceremonies

Uzo Chikere

In line with its commitment to promote and celebrate indigenous culture, Goldberg lager beer, the official beer of the Osun Osogbo festival was on the ground to celebrate with the people of Osogbo as they kicked off the 2015 Osun Osogbo festival with the Iwopopo ceremonies. Apart from brightening Osogbo town with communication materials, Goldberg also provided a mobile cart that served cold beer to visitors and residents alike who participated in the ceremonies.

Commenting on Goldberg support for the festival, the Public Affairs Manager West/MidWest, Nigerian Breweries Plc Mr. Tayo Adelaja pledged that the brand would create a memorable beer experience that will excite and reward loyal consumers and indigenes of Osogbo town. He said Goldberg would stay with Osogbo people throughout the Osun Osogbo festival. Mr. Adelaja assured that Nigerian Breweries Plc, would continue to partner with the Osun Osogbo festival to unlock the cultural potential of the festival and the country at large. He maintained that as a socially responsible organization, Nigerian Breweries remains committed to winning with Nigeria by championing causes that add value to the society. He also paid tribute to those who have worked hard to ensure the festival remained what it has been in the last 600 years. “I will like to use this opportunity to pay homage to all those who have struggled, sacrificed and worked hard to ensure the preservation of this institution of culture till this day”, he pedged.

Meanwhile, the Goldberg beer village located at the city centre has continued to play host to visitors and residents who visit the village. The beer village will remain open for 21 days. For three consecutive years, Goldberg has been the official sponsor of the Osun Osogbo festival in the beer category.

In an interview with Journalists, a ranking chief in Osogbo, the Agbaoye of Osogboland, Oba Tunde Akanni who commended Goldberg’s consistent involvement with the Osun Osogbo festival said the Iwopopo is a traditional cleansing ceremony that announces the commencement of the festival. According to him, the Iwopopo is a period when residents of the town come to pay homage to the king and pray for peace, protection and prosperity for the land.

Oba Akanni said; “Iwopopo is a ceremony where every indigene of Osogbo comes out to pray for the King; pray for peace and prosperity for the land. It is always done before the commencement of Osun Osogbo festival. In the olden days residents used to clear the road with cutlasses before the commencement of the festival. So, what you are seeing today is the symbolic cleansing of the town with prayers”.

Also speaking, the Atun Esa of Osogboland, Oba Moshood Aremu said the Iwopopo ceremony affords indigenes, families and groups the opportunity to offer prayers for the peaceful and successful reign of the Kabiyesi. Prayers offered at the ceremony are mutual. The people pray for the king and the king prays too for his subjects.