Faze – It’s A Pity

Faze Joins the Movement on #OccupyNigeria with his Brand new joint called “It’s a Pity”. In this new single, Faze cries out to Nigeria & the world at large to stop the violence gradually spreading across nations. Irrespective of the tribe or race he preaches peace to us all.

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Wizkid – Lowkey Freestyle

EME Star, Wizkid today shares a leak to his freestyle titled ‘Lowkey’ produced by one of the best producers in Nigeria, I’m talking about Samklef. The guy goes in hard on this freestyle but I must say it has some explicit content. Enjoy, download and share your thoughts.






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Eedris blasts D’banj, other pro-Jonathan campiagners

Eedris Abdulkareem has blasted the Mo’Hits

Rapper Eedris Abdulkareem has blasted the Mo’Hits pop singer D’banj and other Nigerian artistes who campaigned for President Goodluck Jonathan before the April Polls in 2011.

He particularly called D’banj names for allegedly collecting money from the government.

The Kennis Music act spoke at the ‘OccupyNigeria’ protest on Monday January 9, in support of the on-going strike against the Federal government’s removal of Fuel subsidy, held at  the Gani Fawehinmi Park. He called out the names of all the artists that campaigned for president Jonathan last year.

About D’Banj, he said, “F… that b… D’Banj for collecting money from Goodluck, God will punish you”

The rapper also revisited his past issues with former president Olusegun Obasanjo.

‘The man wey say i dey craze because i sing Nigeria jaga jaga where him dey now inside this hardship. Na 2002 I sing Nigeria JagaJaga, na 2012 we dey so o’, Eedris lamented to the mammoth crowd.

The rapper who has six albums credited to his career had released ‘Jaga jaga’, a single which described the country’s down-state back in 2002. Obasanjo supposedly replied him derogatorily.

Eedris disclosed that he was also approached to campaign for the current president but he said ‘no’. ‘They called me too but I turned them down, D’banj can’t be here because he knows he has disappointed the people’, Eedris said.

Others at second day of the protest include Olu Maintain, Pasuma, Zeez, Femi Kuti, Eldee, Seun Kuti, Salawa Abeni, Tosyn Bucknor,Tunde Bakare, Dele Osunmakinde, Bimbo Akintola, Desmond Elliot and several others. In related news, the rapper recently released a sequel to his ‘Jaga jaga’ hit song titled ‘Jaga jaga Pt 2’; the message doesn’t stray away from the content in the original song.

Tu Face, D’banj, Asa, others enliven Calabar Carnival

Asa

This is the best place to be at this time. If you are not experiencing Calabar this Christmas season, then you are not experiencing anything at all. So I would advise those who are outside the city to take some time out and visit Calabar this period. There’s just everything. Peace, hospitality and an atmosphere filled with fun and excitement. I can’t wait for the carnival. Everybody just has to be here. As they say, the taste of the pudding is in the eating.”

For 32 days, Calabar, the Cross River State capital will witness exciting cultural events and colourful activities that usually attract millions of people all over the world. Since inception, this festival, which has become one of the biggest tourism and leisure attractions in West Africa, has grown tremendously in popularity and scope.

Over the past years, the Cross River State government has used this carnival to drive its tourism sector and provide exposure for its citizens, as well as develop its vast tourism sites and infrastructure such as the Obudu Ranch Resort, the Tinapa Business Resort, Marina Resort.

The festival commenced with a tree-lighting ceremony on November 30 at the Millennium Park, Calabar and will end with a thanksgiving ceremony on January 1 of the succeeding year.

Usually, musical concerts that feature renowned national and international artistes are used to make the carnival very attractive. People like the late Lucky Dube, Joe, Alpha Blondy, Hugh Masekela, Oliver Mtukudzi, Akon, Kirk Franklin, Donnie McClurkin, Chevelle Franklyn, Fat Joe, NeYo, Asa, D’banj had at one time or the other graced the event with their rhythms and lyrics.

Other attractions of the festival include awareness campaign and seminars on contemporary issues of global concern, children’s Christmas camp, theatre performances, vocational training for youths, fashion and food fair, a weekend at the Obudu Mountain Resort to celebrate Africa, and so many other side attractions. Of course there is usually a two-day carnival to spice up the season.

Despite the fun and relaxed atmosphere around the carnival, a great degree of thought, creativity and discipline goes into the interpretation of the carnival theme under a strict adjudication process. The result is pure magic – an outpouring of colour, sound and spectacle, unmatched by anything else on the continent.

Calabar Carnival takes place on December 26 and 27 each year, and is the highlight of the 32-day festival which runs from  November 30 to January 1. The carnival is the largest cultural festival in Africa, with 50,000 costumed revelers, 2 million spectators and an audience of over 50 million television viewers on NTA Network, NTA International, AIT, CRBC and Continental TV (Africa Magic, Channel 0 and MTV Base).

The carnival features 5 major competing bands and many others.

The major bands comprise of approximately 10,000 revelers each, including up to five kings and queens wearing large scale costumes that interpret the annual theme and set the tone for the other outfits.

Sections of these costumed revelers create a riot of colour and sparkle, accompanied by live music, DJs, well-decorated floats and steel bands. The carnival parade terminates at the U. J. Esuene Stadium which is the final adjudication and end point of the competition for the ‘Band of the Year’ in various categories. This competition attracts an additional 15,000 seated spectators and 10,000 others in and around the stadium, as well as 50 million TV viewers.

Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State unveiled the theme for the year: “Endless Possibilities” during a ceremony tagged, “A Glimpse of Destination, Cross River.” He described as “tedious and tasking, the process of finding a suitable theme for the carnival because it is more than dancing and costuming as the latest does not reflect the previous ones.”

Each of the five carnival bands are guided by the theme and expected to work hard to interpret them into dance, float and costume as they affect the people and the future.This year’s festival is well-packaged and better than the previous editions as it is driven by the visions shown a few years ago.

The Calabar Festival was initiated by the immediate past governor of the state, Mr. Donald Duke.  Unveiling the ceremony was only a tip of the iceberg as more await those that intend to visit Cross River State this December.

All things being equal, business booms as the Calabar festival village begins. For revelers and fun seekers in the country, there can be no better place to be in this yuletide season than the Cross River State capital, especially with the opening of the festival village at the cultural centre complex. The festival village, strategically located at the middle of town at the moment, is the hub of economic activities and revelry and the perfect place to relax, socialise and have a good time.

However, it is not all about song and dance, the organisers of this landmark event said. “It is a festival that showcases the best of music, culture and talent. The festival is Cross River State’s tourism niche,” says Nzan Ogbe, special adviser to the state governor on Events Management.

Youths in particular stand to benefit from the festival as there are programmes aimed at training interested youths in various aspects of events production, management and entertainment. According to him, the festival committee worked round the clock to ensure that visitors to the serene city of Calabar during this period go away with a full sense of satisfaction.

New activities have been introduced, such as the Calabar Water Carnival—a boat regatta that would showcase the state’s rich culture on water, a food fair, which will also bring to the fore the state’s cuisine, the governor’s masked ball, a unique charity event and a host of other fascinating programmes.

“The festival is a compendium of activities with diverse scope and content, which we try to improve on every year,” Ogbe concluded, adding, “With new initiatives introduced this year and a strong committee, I can say we are going places and reaching for the higher height.”

However, due to reports of persistent stealing of handbags, snatching of GSM Phones, raping of innocent women and other atrocities perpetrated during Christmas festivals in the state, the Cross River State government has reeled out rules for Calabar Festival.

Government had warned spectators and participants at the festival not to attend the various ceremonies with their handbags or any other bag, noting that the safety and comfort of participants were paramount to the government.

The statement made available to LEADERSHIP WEEKEND said, “Spectators are advised not to come with handbags or any other bag to the venue of the festival events. Your safety and comfort is our topmost concern. Enjoy the Calabar Festival peacefully. The statement added, “The general public is hereby advised to note that the Calabar Festival stadium entrance, through the Naval Base, is strictly for holders of paid tickets.”

Other spectators to grace the event at the stadium who are not paying are advised to use the entrances through the Murtala Muhammed highway as well as the IBB Way, with their destinations clearly marked on them.

Interestingly, Governor Liyel Imoke expressed happiness over the number of private sponsors the festival has attracted, including Nigeria’s top brands, First Bank, Guinness and Dangote Group.

On the security of tourists in the face of the current situation in the country, the governor said he would not take anything for granted as effort is being intensified to revamp the Emergency Response Centre and reposition it for quicker response while 20 independent special security squad is to be strategically located at various points in the state to check any breach of peace.

Answering questions on why the festival is allowed into the night, he said  the initiative was deliberate because that is the right period for the  sponsors to get value for their investment as many people would be glued to their television sets.

D'banj and Tuface

Swe Bar Hosts Top 10 Mics Pre-Party Concert

The much talked about TOP 10 Mics Concert  is billed to hold on December 23, 2011 but as a build up to the event, popular hangout spot Swe Bar will play host to the 10 artistes billed to perform at the concert.

In what has been tagged as pre-concert party, the event will hold on Saturday, December 10, 2011 and will be attended by friends, partners and a selected few to ‘party, mingle, and dance exclusively to the songs of the 10 artistes on parade for the December 23rd concert’.

Revered and popular comedian Ali Baba will be the host of the night’s event and will be supported Chioma of Silverbird TV.

As announced earlier, the ten artistes billed to perform at the concert include 2face Idibia, Wizkid, Duncan Mighty, Mo’Cheddah, Obesere, Sir Shina Peters, Femi Kuti, M.I, Psquare, and eLDee.The much talked about TOP 10 Mics Concert  is billed to hold on December 23, 2011 but as a build up to the event, popular hangout spot Swe Bar will play host to the 10 artistes billed to perform at the concert.

In what has been tagged as pre-concert party, the event will hold on Saturday, December 10, 2011 and will be attended by friends, partners and a selected few to ‘party, mingle, and dance exclusively to the songs of the 10 artistes on parade for the December 23rd concert’.

Revered and popular comedian Ali Baba will be the host of the night’s event and will be supported Chioma of Silverbird TV.

As announced earlier, the ten artistes billed to perform at the concert include 2face Idibia, Wizkid, Duncan Mighty, Mo’Cheddah, Obesere, Sir Shina Peters, Femi Kuti, M.I, Psquare, and eLDee.

Muma Gee Weds Actor Prince ‘Eklips’ Eke

Afro-pop singer Gift Uwame, popularly called  Muma Gee is set to tie the nuptial knot with her heartthrob, Nollywood actor, Prince ‘Eklips’ Eke in an elaborate triple wedding celebration.

According to plans made available to Nigerian Entertainment Today, the first stage would be a traditional wedding ceremony slated for Tuesday, December 20, 2011, at Muma Gee’s hometown in Odiabidi, in Ahoada East LGA of Rivers State.

The white wedding follows on Friday, December 23 in Port Harcourt at the Recovery House, 36, Uyo Street, Off Stadium Road by Bereton School, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

Meanwhile, the singer/actress, who is known for her outlandish dress sense, is currently prepping up for release of her new album scheduled for release early next year. It features the single ‘Port Harcourt is Back’ for which she has already shot a video.

RoofTop MCs’ Snatcha Ties The Knot

The name Adekunle Adeyoola might not ring a bell, but his moniker ‘Soul Snatcha‘ probably does.

One half of veteran Gospel rap duo, The RoofTop MCs, Snatcha recently revealed that he’s gotten married!

Although Snatcha shared the good news today, Friday, December 2, 2011 via twitter, putting up a picture of himself and his wife Abimbola, he said they actually got married back in October.

‘The Rooftop MCs travelled for a series of shows in the UK, that’s where I met her (Abimbola). She came to have dinner with a couple of friends of mine at a restaurant. I quickly ended my meeting just to sit with her’, Snatcha tells Nigerian Entertainment Today.

On New Year’s Day, Snatcha says he and Abimbola drove round town and ended up at a friend’s party.

‘For the first time in my life I knew I have found the one. Before I returned to Nigeria I had spent days, hours and minutes on her case so we started dating’, he said.

He popped the big question in February and in August he met her parents.

The RoofTop MCs, consisting of Snatcha and long-time friend SoKleva made their music debut in 2002 with their album ‘Shock Therapy‘.

They have released five albums including ‘Shock Therapy: The Minority Report‘ which featured the hit song ‘Lagimo’ featuring Cobhams Asuquo.

Femi Kuti on Grammy Awards Nominees list again

Nigerian musician and respected Afrobeat singer Femi Kuti  has been nominated at the 54th edition of the prestigious Grammy Awards.

Femi picked up his third ever nomination in the World Music Category for his ‘Africa for Africa‘ album last night Wednesday, November 30, 2011 when the list was unveiled at the ‘Grammy Nominations Concert Live!!‘ in Los Angeles, US.

In 2003, Femi, eldest son of late Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti picked up his first ever Grammy Award nomination but lost out to  Panamanian salsa singer Rubén Blades. He similarly lost in 2010  when he was nominated in the same category. US banjo player Bela Fleck walked away with the award.

His recent nomination sees him up against Latin/Roots music band AfroCubism, South African male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Malian band Tinariwen.

‘We’re extremely happy, and hoping they give him this time around‘ Femi’s elder sister and Positive band veteran Yeni Kuti told us this morning over the phone. ‘It’s his third time and he has really worked hard‘. Femi Kuti himself, currently touring Europe, is unreachable for now. ‘I can’t say if he’ll attend or not, but I hope he will. He did not attend last year‘ Yeni says.

US rapper Kanye West leads the pack with seven nods, making it the second year in row a Hip-hop artiste has reached that feat. (Eminem topped the nominees list in 2010, with 10nods. He walked away with two wins).

Kanye is closely followed by UK singer Adele who is tied with Foo Fighters and Bruno Mars with six nods each. But the controversial rapper-producer was, surprisingly missing on the biggest award category ‘Album of the Year’. Other notable acts that missed out on the big prize are Taylor Swift and veteran singer Tony Bennett.

The awards ceremony is billed to hold on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Adele, 21

The Foo Fighters, Wasting Light

Lady Gaga, Born This Way

Bruno Mars, Doo-Wops and Hooligans

Rihanna, Loud


RECORD OF THE YEAR

Adele, ‘Rolling in the Deep’

Bon Iver, ‘Holocene’

Bruno Mars, ‘Grenade’

Mumford & Sons, ‘The Cave’

Katy Perry, ‘Firework’


SONG OF THE YEAR

Kanye West, ‘All of the Lights’

Mumford & Sons, ‘The Cave’

Bruno Mars, ‘Grenade’

Bon Iver, ‘Holocene’

Adele, ‘Rolling in the Deep’


BEST NEW ARTIST

The Band Perry

Bon Iver

J. Cole

Nicki Minaj

Skrillex


BEST POP SOLO PERFORMANCE

‘Someone Like You’ — Adele

‘Yoü And I’ — Lady Gaga

‘Grenade’ — Bruno Mars

‘Firework’ — Katy Perry

‘F***in’ Perfect’ — Pink


BEST POP DUO/GROUP PERFORMANCE

‘Body And Soul’ — Tony Bennett & Amy Winehouse

‘Dearest’ — The Black Keys

‘Paradise’ — Coldplay

‘Pumped Up Kicks’ — Foster The People

‘Moves Like Jagger’ — Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera


BEST DANCE RECORDING

‘Raise Your Weapon’ — Deadmau5 & Greta Svabo Bech

‘Barbra Streisand’ — Duck Sauce

‘Sunshine’ — David Guetta & Avicii

‘Call Your Girlfriend’ — Robyn

‘Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites’ — Skrillex

‘Save The World’ — Swedish House Mafia


BEST DANCE/ELECTRONICA ALBUM

Zonoscope, Cut/Copy

4×4=12, Deadmau5

Nothing But The Beat, David Guetta

Body Talk, Pt. 3, Robyn

Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites, Skrillex


BEST TRADITIONAL POP VOCAL ALBUM

Duets II, Tony Bennett & Various Artists

The Gift, Susan Boyle

In Concert On Broadway, Harry Connick Jr.

Music Is Better Than Words, Seth MacFarlane

What Matters Most – Barbra Streisand Sings The Lyrics Of Alan And Marilyn Bergman, Barbra Streisand


BEST ROCK PERFORMANCE

‘Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall’ — Coldplay

‘Down By The Water’ — The Decemberists

‘Walk’ — Foo Fighters

‘The Cave’ — Mumford & Sons

‘Lotus Flower’ — Radiohead


BEST HARD ROCK/METAL PERFORMANCE

‘On The Backs Of Angels’ — Dream Theater

‘White Limo’ — Foo Fighters

‘Curl Of The Burl’ — Mastodon

‘Public Enemy No. 1″ — Megadeth

‘Blood In My Eyes’ — Sum 41


BEST ROCK ALBUM

Rock ‘N’ Roll Party Honoring Les Paul — Jeff Beck

Wasting Light — Foo Fighters

Come Around Sundown — Kings Of Leon

I’m With You — Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Whole Love — Wilco


BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM

Bon Iver — Bon Iver

Codes and Keys — Death Cab For Cutie

Torches — Foster The People

Circuital — My Morning Jacket

The King of Limbs — Radiohead


BEST TRADITIONAL R&B PERFORMANCE

‘Sometimes I Cry’ — Eric Benét

‘Fool For You’ — Cee Lo Green & Melanie Fiona

‘Radio Message’ — R. Kelly

‘Good Man’ — Raphael Saadiq

‘Surrender’ — Betty Wright & The Roots


BEST R&B ALBUM

F.A.M.E. — Chris Brown

Second Chance — El DeBarge

Love Letter — R. Kelly

Pieces Of Me — Ledisi

Kelly — Kelly Price


BEST RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION

‘Party’ — Beyoncé & André 3000

‘I’m On One’ — DJ Khaled, Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne

‘I Need A Doctor’ — Dr. Dre, Eminem & Skylar Grey

‘What’s My Name?’ — Rihanna & Drake

‘Motivation’ — Kelly Rowland & Lil Wayne

‘All Of The Lights’ — Kanye West, Rihanna, Kid Cudi & Fergie


BEST RAP PERFORMANCE

‘Look At Me Now’ — Chris Brown, Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes

‘Otis’ — Jay-Z & Kanye West

‘The Show Goes On’ — Lupe Fiasco

‘Moment 4 Life’ — Nicki Minaj & Drake

‘Black And Yellow’ — Wiz Khalifa


BEST RAP ALBUM

Watch The Throne, Jay-Z & Kanye West

Tha Carter IV, Lil Wayne

Lasers, Lupe Fiasco

Pink Friday, Nicki Minaj

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West


BEST COUNTRY SOLO PERFORMANCE

‘Dirt Road Anthem’ — Jason Aldean

‘I’m Gonna Love You Through It’ — Martina McBride

‘Honey Bee’ — Blake Shelton

‘Mean’ — Taylor Swift

‘Mama’s Song’ — Carrie Underwood


BEST COUNTRY SONG

‘Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not’ — Jim Collins & David Lee Murphy

‘God Gave Me You’ — Dave Barnes

‘Just Fishin’’ — Casey Beathard, Monty Criswell & Ed Hill

‘Mean’ — Taylor Swift

‘Threaten Me With Heaven’ — Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Will Owsley & Dillon O’Brian

‘You And Tequila’ — Matraca Berg & Deana Carter


BEST AMERICANA ALBUM

Emotional Jukebox — Linda Chorney

Pull Up Some Dust And Sit Down — Ry Cooder

Hard Bargain — Emmylou Harris

Ramble At The Ryman — Levon Helm

Blessed — Lucinda Williams


BEST WORLD MUSIC ALBUM

AfroCubism – AfroCubism

Femi Kuti- Africa For Africa

Ladysmith Black Mambazo- Songs From A Zulu Farm

Tinariwen- Tassili


BEST BLUES ALBUM

Low Country Blues — Gregg Allman

Roadside Attractions — Marcia Ball

Man In Motion — Warren Haynes

The Reflection — Keb’ Mo’

Revelator — Tedeschi Trucks Band


BEST FOLK ALBUM

Barton Hollow — The Civil Wars

I’ll Never Get Out Of This World Alive — Steve Earle

Helplessness Blues — Fleet Foxes

Ukulele Songs — Eddie Vedder

The Harrow & The Harvest — Gillian Welch

Femi Kuti Impregnates Another Dancer

Afrobeat maestro Femi Kuti is sure taking after his father’s footsteps – he’s already worked his way to being crowned king of the musical genre his father founded. And for some time now, he’s thrown caution aside as he adopts the unconventional romance and baby making lifestyle of his late father Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. The junior Kuti, who has confessed being in a string of relationships, is now believed to be expecting his sixth child from his latest lover Antonia.

Sources close to the Kutis say Tonia (as she is fondly called) who is one of Femi’s Positive Force Band dancers, is ‘very heavy’ and will soon put to bed. The ‘couple’ according to tabloid reports have been seen together one too many times at social functions (including Mrs Sonia Ransome-Kuti‘s burial back in April). A source close to the Kuti family says Tonia pays occasional visits to the Kutis’ residence in Akute, Ogun State.

Femi Kuti is currently in court with his ex-wife Funke over their pending divorce.

He told us in October 2010 in an exclusive interview ‘I have girlfriends and they know themselves…I got married once and I knew I was wrong. I don’t believe in marriage‘

An attempt to reach the activist-musician who we hear just rounded up his Europe tour and is back in the country proved abortive; and text messages sent to his sister Yeni kuti were not immediately replied. Our reporter visited the New Afrika Shrine on Thursday November 24, but none of the managers on duty was willing to comment.

The expected sixth child follows the birth of Kuti’s fifth child Tejumoluwa, from another dancer Bose Ajila on Tuesday, March 15, 2011.

The other five Femi Kuti children are Lade, Ayomide, Tunmise and his first son Morinmade fondly called Made.

Darey Art Alade Interview

Dare Art Alade

Considered as the king of R&B in Nigeria, Darey Art Alade has successfully earned the title with his numerous achievements after just three albums in the bag. Darey, in a chat with Factory 78’s Adesope Olajide lets us in on his rise to fame, plans for a U.K album and why he proudly supports Charity events.

How are you doing sir?

I’m good.

We’re very happy to see you at events. You just went to Charity Bowl Bar, Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys. How was that event?
Ah, it was great. Just hanging around, supporting the charity which is really important. You know the charity is all about immunizing children in Africa and in India. And as a Nigerian just doing my PR tour, I thought ‘let me just support this charity because it makes sense’. It sounds genuine. And the event was really interesting; it was fun meeting people, seeing some old faces I haven’t seen in a while, and enjoying the performances from different artists. Big surprises, like Boy George, I have never seen perform live. It was great seeing him perform live. It was interesting.

You’re talking about performances, having your own tour. I was very lucky to be at performances by yourself, at KC’s bar. First of all the performances, how do you think you were received here in London?

It was great. Yeah, Steam Bar, gave a performance, just a few songs. Just trying to get people to see what we’re doing. Obviously they know some of the songs. From ‘Somebody’ to ‘The way you are’ which is the one we’re trying to promote.

I saw your performance, absolutely smashing. It was well-received especially by the ladies. Even though you kept them in mind when you were making that song; ‘Bani ki di’, ‘Style na style’, let’s talk about this album that you’re promoting. But before we get there, I just want us to give a little introduction. Yes, you’ve come from a blood line of greats; your father was a legend in the game, and we still talk about him this day. And you’ve come up in that family, just following your father’s footsteps. Let’s talk about your upbringing and how music kind of became the norm for you.

Probably for me music started from as young as eight, singing here and there, joining a school choir in secondary school at C.M.S Grammar School. I ended up joining the choir; from there I started doing performances outside school. I joined different groups, started singing with different bands. Then I started radio. I did radio for five years. I did some years on T.V at the same, getting a degree in the University at the same time, performing at shows. So there was a lot of music and entertainment going on at a stretch at the time, including school. And then 2004 came, the reality show in South Africa; Project Fame. It was a great launching pad, just to get me in the consciousness of Nigerians and Africans in general. After that, I released my first album in 2006, ‘From Me 2 U’; quite a mix of songs, a mix of genres in the album. But quite a few songs, like two or three songs made it big. That was a good start, it was exciting. It was actually a critical success in the sense of the word because people tore it down, they ripped it apart, and people loved it too. It got people talking, and it was a great beginning. And the second album, ‘Un-DAREY-Tated’ dropped in 2009, and some hits like; ‘Not The Girl’, ‘No Stars’, ‘Carry Dey Go’ with 2Face, ‘Style Na Style’ with 9ice, I did the original with just him and myself, and quite a few other songs. Did ‘More’, ‘let You Know’; so many songs!

So it was even a bigger hit than the first one, we were on the roll. It took another two years to finish the third album which is the double album, ‘Double Dare’, this is all for Naija by the way. And of course, ‘Double Dare’ has great songs like ‘The Way You Are’, ‘Bani ki di’, ‘Style Na Style’ remix with like Jesse Jags and 9ice. I have people like Timaya on the album, Psquare on the album, Mo’Cheddah and Chamillionaire all the way from the U.S. On the success of that, and from all the hype over the years, people have been like ‘you know what? let’s share this music with the rest of the world. Let’s go international’. And we’ve wanted to; we’ve been working underground for this, for the longest time. And it’s about time we start rolling out the plan little by little. Do some PR, Come out here to do a week-long PR campaign, attending events, performing, mixing and mingling, doing press interviews and all that stuff. So now after obviously I’ve dropped an album in Nigeria, I have to do a U.K album, some of the songs in the third album in naija will make it to the UK album. Recording fresh stuff that will work with our oyinbo friends and our western friends just so that they won’t feel left out. We’ve got a mix of African-Euro pop kind of sound.

Sorry to cut you short there. I didn’t want you to leave that Euro pop thing going. Speaking of the different type of sounds you’ve brought into the game this time. The first I saw of it was like a viral video. I just kept on playing it. I was like is this funky house, what exactly was it and how did that come about?

I can’t exactly tell you really what it is. I mean it’s experimental; you just do what you’re feeling. But if you want to dissect it, the lyrics are in Hausa, the beat is like House. So you can call it ‘Housa’. (Laughs). You know it’s fun, it’s high tempo, it’s high energy. The synth is very grimy, you hear that at high volume and all you want to do is dance, you don’t really care what they’re talking about. I think that’s the dissection of that.

You went from ‘The Way You Are’ which is a brilliant video. Everybody has seen it. You’ve been crowned the king of RnB in Nigeria, people appreciate your voice. People are trying to put you with some of the greats we’ve listened to. We appreciate good music in Nigeria. We’ve listened to the Joes, the R. Kelly’s and you’ve had a chance to perform with some of these guys on stage. How does that feel for you?

I remember opening for R. Kelly in Cape Town a few years ago, for the This Day Music Festival. That was fun. Meeting him afterwards, just chatting, and taking pictures and all that stuff. And I was the only person that opened for that stuff and it was lovely. Performing for South African audience that really didn’t know the music, and they were so supportive, and they had a great time. So that was definitely great. There’s been other openings and sharing stages with so many other big names and that really is very humbling and something worth being happy about.

There’s one part I’ve always wanted to talk to you about, and that’s your video making; the video that you guys come up with. I don’t know who you work with, who directs those videos but you have completely taken African music videos to a whole new level.  You’ve been recognized for those videos in the past. You’ve dropped ‘Bani Ki di’ and ‘The Way You Are’. You have to expect big nominations even if you’ve only given it to the fans. People should recognize the hard work you’ve put into it. Tell us more about who people you’ve worked with in those videos, and those beautiful pictures came about.

I don’t know if we’re going to get nominations and all that but we do these things as promotional tools, and really for people to enjoy. When nominations come, it is by the way. It is exciting, don’t get me wrong, it’s not like we don’t feel good about it but the real reason why it’s done is for people to enjoy, and when you do get nominations that mean people are really enjoying it. Making the videos is very interesting, my team at Soul Muzik, and the normal directors that we work with. So ourselves and Mark Hofmeyr, our video director, he’s South African. Sometimes we shoot in South Africa. ‘The Way You Are’ for example was shot in the U.K. I was just trying to look for many exotic places. We’ve shot at home many a time. It’s all about variety at the end of the day so we came out here, we shot the video. The trick to it is really taking our time. And it will take about one, two or three months to just vibe with ideas back and forth. The music is ready, so you keep listening, you keep developing on the idea, you write some scripts down. Do some illustrations, and eventually you pick a date to shoot, and you try to make sure everything is there. And when you’re editing every little aspect is very important, from the costuming to the shots, the quality of the camera, the lights, and the location. It takes a long time. Some people try to do it over night, and you can see from the end result.

When are we going to be expecting a tour by Darey in the U.K?

A tour is in the works, obviously if the album is released, there’s definitely going to be a tour after that. Building up to that, I’m going to be back in a month or so, the carnival is around the corner. We’re going to come back heavy on that one and do some performances. And we’re going to take it to a few other Nigerian clubs. Make some appearances in Calabar, different places. Possible just do Jazz Café one day and invite a lot of people, from there we could try the Indigo, the O2 Arena, and just trying to fill more spaces. For now, we need the fans, we need you guys to join the train, and we need all the support we can get.

Before you go, where can people follow you; Twitter, Facebook?

Check out my website. Brand new tear rubber, you know that kain’ thing. www.darey.com. From there you can link me up on Facebook, Twitter. Everything is there. So just check my website. Videos, everything is on there.

Nigerian Musician Others For NotjustOk Music Concert

As announced earlier, the first ever Notjustok Music Concert will be taking place on Saturday, December 17, 2011 and organizers of the music concert recently unveiled the artistes billed to perform as well as hosts for the event.

Over 30 artistes according to show organizers will be gracing the stage to thrill their fans as they render their popular hit songs. They include The Mo’Hits Crew, Choc Boiz (M.I, Jesse Jagz, Ice Prince and Brymo), EME’s Banky W, Wizkid, Skales, Kennis Music all stars, eLDee da Don, Waje and Tiwa Savage.

Others are Lami, Mo’cheddah, SauceKid,  Sound Sultan, Timaya,Chidinma, Myke, Iyanya, Eva, RuggedMan, Ikechukwu, Kelly Hansome,Show Dem Camp, Iceberg Slim, Kefee, Dammy Krane, Yung6ix, Davido,  Flavour, Samklef, Bracket, YQ, Vector, Olamide, ILLBliss, Tha Suspect and SolidStar.

Organizers say the show will be anchored by five hosts – TV host Andre Blaze, Model and Africa Allstars Winner Uti, BEAT FM OAP Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi, Industry Nite host Mc Larry D and Soundcity TV host Moet Abebe.

Disc Jockey for the night include DJ Jimmy Jatt, DJ Neptune, DJ Humility, DJ Spinall, DJ Atte, Dj Vinnie, DJ Tee and DJ Xclusive.

The event is billed to hold at The GET Arena, Lekki, Lagos.

We’re Surprised Embarrassed By GTBank’s Actions

The management of popular record label Empire Mates Entertainment (EME) have finally made an official response to the on-going controversy surrounding whether or not their act, pop singer Wizkid  was billed to perform at the GTCrea8 eSavers Campus Concert  which took place at the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (UNAAB) and was organized by GTBank.

EME in a press statement released today Friday, November 25, 2011 said that they are ‘surprised, shocked and embarrassed by the unlawful exploitation of the name, image, goodwill and personae of the artist Wizkid without their permission’.

Nigerian Entertainment Today had reported that GTBank, organizers of the campus show had earlier announced on Monday November 19, via Twitter, that the pop act would be performing at the convocation grounds of the school’s campus on November 23. The show as announced was to take place from 3PM to 6PM. Wizkid never turned up.

‘The flagrant misrepresentation and unlawful exploitation of Wizkid’s name and image by Guaranty Trust Bank has caused significant distress to Wizkid and EME as the artist has been accused by various fans, of not honouring a show for which he was purportedly paid millions of naira’, Wizkid’s management, who claim he was never contacted for the event, say.

Earlier today, our reporter paid a visit to the corporate Headquarters of GTBank and was met by an official who says the bank is yet to release an official press statement but will do so in matter of days.

A manager who pleaded for anonymity told us the bank’s position will be made public ‘soon’.

Meanwhile, we’re told EME may be pressing charges, depending on the outcome of talks with the bank.

The statement, signed by Wizkid’s manager Osagie Osarenkhoe mentions that the label has contacted their lawyers L & A- Legal Consultants who are in talks already with the GTBank.

EME PRESS RELEASE 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24TH 2011

The artist “Wizkid” and the management of Empire Mates Entertainment Limited (EME) are surprised, shocked and embarrassed by the unlawful exploitation of the name, image, goodwill and personae of the artist “Wizkid” without their permission through Guaranty Trust Bank’s unlawfully misrepresentation to the general public that “Wizkid” was billed to perform at the GTCREA8 ESAVERS CONCERT which was slated  for  Wednesday, 23rd November 2011 at the Convocation Grounds, University of Abeokuta, (UNAAB) Abeokuta, Ogun State.

The management of EME wishes to state clearly and categorically that it was never consulted or informed of the occurrence of the concert and “Wizkid” was not billed to perform at the said concert. 

Investigation has revealed that the concert was repeatedly tweeted, advertised and posted from and on Guaranty Trust Bank’s official Twitter wall, official Facebook page and the GT Community page of its Official website. This flagrant misrepresentation and unlawful exploitation of “Wizkid’s” name and image by Guaranty Trust Bank has caused significant distress to “Wizkid” and EME as the artist has been accused by various fans, of not honoring a show for which he was purportedly paid millions of naira. EME has briefed its lawyers L & A- Legal Consultants who have brought the matter to the attention of Guaranty Trust Bank.

EME, “BankyW”, “Wizkid” and “Skales” remain committed to providing the best music and entertainment to their numerous loyal fans and friends across the campuses in Nigeria and particularly to the fans at the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Signed

Osagie Osarenkhoe

For: Empire Mates Entertainment Limited.

Nigerian Idol presents the Season II movie premiere.

On December 27, all roads will lead to the Genesis Deluxe Cinemas for an exclusive movie-premiere styled screening of the first episode of the continent’s biggest music reality show, Nigerian Idol, Season II.

The Nigerian Idol blue carpet will stretch out by 3pm at Genesis Deluxe Cinemas to welcome guests as they head into the cinema hall for a dramatic 90 minute premiere of the first episode of this season’s show.

The episode will show guests a special sneak preview of what Nigerians will see on the action packed music show from December to April. Yeka Onka, winner of the first season will also serenade guests at a cocktail party after the screening.

This premiere is strictly by invitation but you can get an opportunity to be one of the guests by www.nigerianidol.com for more details.

Nigerian Idol is brought to you by Etisalat in association with Pepsi and Sony. Its official airline partner is Air Nigeria. Nigerian Idol will begin airing on December 4 across the country.

MI AND TERRY G TWITTER BEEF

There is war on Twitter between chocolate city's MI Abaga and the self acclaimed akpako master terry G.
MI had tweeted innocently wanting to know the meaning of Akpako. MI's curiosity did not go down well with terry G who resorted to insulting
Mr Incredible. See picture of Terry G's tweet below.

P SQUARE CLOCKS 27

The duo of Peter and Paul of the P.spuare fame clocked 27 years on friday Nov 18. Watchout for pictures on your darling Naija Whistle. What do you think of the replay of their celebration?








History
The story of P-Square began in St. Murumba secondary school, a small Catholic  school in Jos, Nigeria. Identical twins Peter and Paul joined their school music and drama club where they began singing, dancing, and miming songs by MC Hammer, Bobby Brown and Michael Jackson.

They later formed an acappella quartet called "MMMPP" (M Clef a.k.a Itemoh, Michael, Melvin, Peter and Paul). Drawing inspiration from their music idol Michael Jackson, they began break dancing, formed the group called "Smooth Criminals" in 1997. They droped M Clef from the group "MMMPP" which later was changed to "MMPP". Their artistic talent and precise dance routine soon made them household names in the city of Jos, where they performed at school functions and other occasions.

Later in 1999, Peter and Paul returned to music school to develop their skills on keyboard, drums, bass and rhythm guitar. Their work includes the soundtracks for a number of films like Tobi, Mama Sunday, Moment of Bitterness and Evas River.

Later in 1999, they applied to the University of Abuja to study Business Administration. The Smooth Criminals disbanded when its members left to various other universities. Subsequently Peter and Paul formed their own group, variously called "Double P", "P&P", and "Da Pees", until they eventually settled on "P Square". They are managed by Bayo Odusami aka Howie T, a seasoned concert promoter and the CEO of Adrot Nigeria Limited.

In 2001, "P-Square" won the "Grab Da Mic" competition, and hence Benson & Hedges sponsored their debut album, titled Last Nite, which was released under Timbuk2 music label. P-Square was also nominated as "Most Promising African Group" in the Kora Awards three months after the release of their debut album. They eventually won the 2003 Amen Award for "Best R&B Group".

In 2005, P Square released their second album, Get Squared under their own label, Square Records. This album was marketed nationwide by TJoe Enterprises, although they were still managed by Howie T of Adrot Nigeria Limited. The video for the second album held the #1 position on the MTV Base chart for four straight weeks.

They have an ever growing fan base across South Africa with a particular stronghold of die-hard fans in Cape Town.

The group has performed alongside the following international artists like Ginuwine, Sean Paul, Akon and Busola Keshiro. The members of P Square are now located in Lagos.

Late in 2007, they released their best selling album so far, Game Over. It has sold 8 million copies worldwide.

In 2009, P-Square released their fourth studio album, Danger. The album features collaborations with 2face Idibia, J Martins and Frenzy. The first single called "Danger" is a hip hop song with cutting synths and a frog bass baseline similar to an Eminem song. The video affirms this with the presence of clowns and staggered movements in front of the camera reminiscent of comical videos by Eminem. They are also known for the close resemblance which the twins have to American R&B Superstar, Usher Raymond.

On 4 April 2010, P-Square was named the Artist of the Year at the KORA All Africa Music Awards in Ouagadougou, Burkina-Faso while they were in London for a Concert at the Troxy, and they will receive a whopping sum of $1 Million Dollars as the Award Winners, in Ebebiyin City.


Controversies
The duo are reported to handle most of their production/beat making in house. The band has been faced with many controversies for their habit of sampling western songs and popular hits in their records. They have addressed the issue many times in interviews as well as in the lyrics of their songs.[2] Technically speaking, P Square does more in the line of reconstructing the drum patterns, chord progressions or lyrics of the sampled songs as against actually cutting parts of the song and directly sampling into their production. This accounts for the largely electronic feel of their sound.

Some of the songs which have been called up on this account include "Get Squared", "Game Over", "Danger" and others.

P-Square attracted headlines when they reportedly turned irate when they were notified in the middle of their at the Guinness Show performance by the organisers about some change in plans which would affect the length of their performance, and that of the next act, 2face.

As reported by a news site vanguardngr.com, the info apparently stirred up resentment as Peter immediately said "I don’t know why, anytime a foreign artiste comes to Nigeria, they (show organizers) wanna treat us like slaves in our country". Although initially they continued their performance but midway through, they threw their microphones to the ground and angrily stormed out of the stage saying, "We are leaving; they don’t want 2face to come on stage" They were said to have immediately left the premises of the show, but after intervention of the show organisers, they came on stage later with 2face for a performance, but later on were apologised to.

Sossick Reminisces Dagrin In ‘I Git It’

If there was one word that could describe Sossick career, it would be ‘Process’.
Coming out of the shadows of his elder brother Gino (Soss’ produced the entire ‘Pain Plus Work‘ album by Gino), the producer/rapper/singer hooked up with the late Dagrin to drop ‘Pon pon pon‘, one of the most grimy songs in the history of Nigerian Hip-hop and subsequently produce 65 percent of Dagrin’s album ‘C.E.O’.

Sossick is doing more than sticking around though. Producing for the likes of Naeto C, Sasha, Tiwa Savage and a bag of up comers has kept him in the loop.
But he isn’t stopping there, once in a while he steps into the recording booth to fulfill his other duties as an artiste. ‘I git it‘ is a certified street banger. The video traces elements of his lost friend as he connects with the streets. Brilliant work.

Review - BET Hip Hop Awards Nigerian Cypher 2011

So here we finally have it, after Nigerians watched Black Entertainment Television (BET) introduce Ghana to the highly respected BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher last year, most Nigerians were bitter – envisaging that Nigeria boasts of better and more eloquent rappers, some even claimed Nigeria has the best rappers in the African continent.

So this year, in commemoration of the BET Hip-Hop Awards 2011, the production team found their way to Lagos to pick a team of six male and five female Nigerian rappers to represent the rest of the country on a global platform.

However, the Nigerian cypher wasn’t aired at the awards show in the US that night making it look like a somewhat wasteful effort, but then again, we could only be thankful for the opportunity for some of the rappers to do us proud. Here’s a thorough breakdown of each rappers cypher, rated on a scale of 10.

FYI: A Cypher or Cipher is the act of freestyle rapping through acapella or on instrumental beats. The rap is ‘free of style’, and can be improvised or previously written.

Going in…

MALE CYPHER

X.O Senavoe - 
X.O has made his rounds in the online circuit but was he worthy of making the list? The rapper throws off charisma with little experience with his flow as he attempts to outshine his peers. Not a bad attempt but the problem is he overdoes it and leaves everyone perplexed with nothing concrete to hang on to. He would probably have championed the Ghanaian cypher. Rating: 5/10

Ice Prince:
Being as basic as possible is probably the best bet when on a cypher (ask Royce da 5’9; ‘Hi Rihanna‘) and that’s what Mr. Zamani probably tried doing but he ironically brings the heat on himself. You can’t kill a cypher with watery lyrics like ‘I’m sitting on their heads, I’m like a basin‘. His vocal confidence is high but content was quite poor. Ice Prince’s rhyme pattern is too elementary and borrowing lyrics from a track on his debut album (check ‘End of story’ ft. Samklef) doesn’t help matters – ‘Life is fair, so I’m thinking of how to bleach‘.Rating: 4.5

Sauce kid: 
Oluwasaucekibaba made it clear from the get go that he wasn’t on the cypher for jokes. With a starting line like ‘If you expect the unexpected then it becomes expected/so I expect respect or get disrespected ’, the rapper who is well known for his freestyles came through with his delivery and wordplay. We basically didn’t expect less. No Over-the-head’ lines though but the former Storm Records rapper proved his worth just at a time when his rap career was nose-diving.  Rating: 6.5

Naeto C: 
Firstly, whoever picked Naeto C for the cypher must have been biting a finger or two while watching the cypher. The Storm Records rapper clearly couldn’t make a mark leaving his Fulani cap the only memorable thing about his freestyle. The rapper clearly could not hit the nail on the head and any attempt he made sounded ridiculous. ‘By the time I made my first six million, you were riding Jincheng‘, was the kind of ‘P’ Naeto could offer on a cypher. In no way was this a 10/10 performance. Rating: 2/10

Modenine: 
If anybody thought Modenine wouldn’t come through, he/she would have to wait another century to see that. Nigel Benn dominated the cypher with intricate, mind-bending, mind-blowing and straight up bully-type of lyrics. It just shows his years of experience as a lyricist and not just a rapper, surpassing his peers.  And to think he was almost not included on the list. ‘My wordplay is incredible fam/to get into my rhyme book you’ll need a retinal scan‘ Rating: 8.5/10

M.I: 
Mister Incredible stuck to his guns and delivered some of the ‘wittiest lines in the cypher. His styling was impeccable. Mutli-syllabic rhyming and straight up bragging is how M.I planned his style. Delivery- check, versatility – check. The short black boy made sure coming last wouldn’t weigh him down. M.I kept it simple enough for a hip-hop newbie to decipher yet matured enough for ‘hip-hop heads’ to nod to. Brilliant.
Rating: 8/10

FEMALE CYPHER

Muna:
One word for her – diffidence. Just back from the Def Jam Records auditions in the US, Muna sounded like a nervous young 15-year-old who was sitting for an oral exam. Her lyrics were barely pronounced well and rhyming didn’t hit the average mark. It comes as a surprise judging from her previous works, you would think she would have killed it. Rating: 3/10

Zee:
The youngest of them all, Zee didn’t bring it on the cypher. Should we blame it on her inexperience? Maybe. The confidence in her voice was present but articulation was poor, leaving us to grab her lines while she has moved to the next one. However, her lyrics gives her extra points; with lines like ‘I’m triggered with lines like bullets, let’s call the girl a shooting star’. Rating: 4/10

Sasha:
Sasha couldn’t bring the storm on the Cypher. Even as she tried using a Dagrin-memorial theme in her raps, she sounded terrible. She switched from English to Yoruba language which only made matters worse. Her delivery and lyrics were way below the average and worsened when she tried singing. Poor attempt. Rating: 1.5/10

Eva:
The young newbie’s attempt is quite commendable. Known for her high-pitched voice inflection, Eva switched up the flow of the cypher with her rap style. Her laudable delivery was however setback a little by her not-so-memorable lyrics. But hey, a one-eyed man in the land of the blind is a king right? Commendable effort. Rating: 4/10

Blaise:
The veteran rapper must have been having a bad day; Blaise, who is known to slaughter her male counterparts on songs with just a verse kept it too simple with her lines. Yet again, leaving her claim as the number one ‘femcee’ questionable. Her rhyme pattern was just about enough to keep us listening as she didn’t drop potent lyrics to awe us like she is known to do. We’ll forgive you just this once. Rating: 4.5/10

CONCLUSION
The positive thing is that those who weren’t sure about how Hip-hop has grown in Nigeria will be taken back by the Nigerian BET Cypher. Nigeria presented a collage of different rappers who very well represented in the cypher – a mash up of the veteran and the new age.

However, a few flaws are seen in the video – Why is M.I wearing a shirt with the US flag on it? And out of all the other upcoming female rappers in Nigeria, why is R&B singer Retta prancing in the video?

RAPPERS WHO SHOULD HAVE MADE THE CYPHER
Terry Tha Rapman: Mr. Joe Spazm should have been included in the cypher no matter what. Known for his outrageous, over-the-head lyrics, he sure would have added a lot of colour with his style.

Ikechukwu: Known for his spot-on rhyming, Killz would have done a better job than a few of the rappers on the cypher with his braggadocio lyrics and sharp delivery.

Pherowshuz: Phero the great is known for styling too many punchlines and metaphors in a song, this would have been his opportunity to display his brilliant wordplay.

Dark Poet: If there was ever a freshman rapper to be featured, it would have to be Dark Poet, the former MO’BB underground rapper is well known amongst his peers for massacring rappers with words.

Watch Male Cypher



Behinde the Scenes



Watch Female Cypher

D’banj, Tiwa Savage, Psquare Dominate Predictions List For TOP 10 MICS Concert

Much buzz has been made about the forthcoming Top 10 MICS  musical concert daily as the online competition to determine the five artistes that will eventually perform alongside the five artistes previously unveiled by KOGA draws to a close this week.

Organizers of the concert KOGA, have announced that pop star D’banj, Psquare, R&B singers Tiwa Savage, Omawumi, Waje, Rappers Ice Prince, Terry Tha Rapman, Sauce Kid, and Pop acts Terry G, Samklef, BrymO, Wande Coal, Wizkid lead the list of predictions sent in via Twitter and SMS.

According to KOGA, the identities of the remaining five will be unveiled by the organizers at a press conference slated for next week.

As revealed earlier, 2face Idibia, M.I, eLDee, Sir Shina Peters and fuji singer Obesere have been announced to perform live on stage come December 23, 2011 at the Lekki Sun Splash, Lagos.

‘This is an industry event as far as we are concern. It is an event by the people and for the masses. We are striving to bring back live concert and entertainment at a price generality of the people can afford’, a rep from KOGA says.

Tha Suspect – Malaysia

Singer/rapper/producer Tha Suspect doesn’t come off as your conventional music maker. Associating himself with street themes and social topics, the artiste has always found a way to communicate his songs to his listeners.

But Suspect has experimented with his style one too many times, this leaves the problem of switching his fan base from time to time. However, he does good music so it poses little threat.

‘Malaysia’ a satire sung and produced around the Afrobeat genre (I’m guessing Fela’s music played a huge inspiration here) isn’t a bad effort at all. Blaring trumpet sounds and and a sing-along chorus does the right job.

Love In The Air’ – Ijeoma Feat Vector

In the spirit of the upcoming yuletide season, Ijeoma who premiered  her first single Oloomi a while ago, has decided to release a song dedicated to the holiday season.

The title of the song is Love In The Air and it features one of Nigeria’s fast upcoming rappers Vector. It’s not too early to start celebrating is it?

The concept of the video is setting in a homely gathering with friends and family. Something everyone wishes to be part of. Cameo appearances include Terry Tha Rapman, Djinee and Wale Waves.

Click Play to watch