STAR TREK: D’banj, M.I, Mr Raw live in Awka

M.I

Friday, June 15, 2012, will go down in the history books as the night superstars shut down the city of Awka in Anambra state using the power of music, as part of the ongoing nationwide Star Trek 2012, tagged Naija Rocks.

Billed to commence at 7pm at the Marble Arch Hotel, the show had hundreds of youths trooping in as early as 6pm.

A slight drizzle came down at about 8:30pm, but the teeming crowd wasn’t deterred. DJ Switch continued to thrill the crowd till 10pm with his impeccable mix of Nigerian gbedu, which kept the crowd excited, and in anticipation of the headlining acts, such as D’banj, MI, Phyno, Mr Raw, Ikechukwu, Sound Sultan and many others.

By 10pm, the host for the night, Gideon Okeke, stepped on stage to keep the crowd occupied. This he did for the next two hours, with mild anecdotes here and there in English and in his native tongue, and with short dance competitions.

He also called out several upcoming acts, who performed for exactly 1 minute each. Among the acts who performed were E-Boy and Sammy Young, Polash, with his unique blend of highlife which the crowd enjoyed, Smile – another female highlife exponent who showed a lot of potential, Bamayie,CJ Kool, Sammy C and many others.

Of particular note was a one legged rapper called Toxic and eclectic singer/rapper BMG, who came all the way from Benin city. ‘Toxic’ quickly caught the attention of the audience due to his handicap, and also with his style of rapping, as he wowed the audience with a freestyle on the popular Lil’ Wayne ‘A Millie’ beat. Meanwhile, BMG came on with a unique style of carrying along the audience, blending various genres of classic old school/new school joints on a contemporary hip hop beat. He spent close to 15 minutes on stage, and by the time he was done, he had won over the entire audience.

At 12am, Gideon Okeke introduced Crystal, the 2012 winners of Star Quest, and they promptly did what they do best, delivering a great performance. The group is made up of Emmanuel (drums), Godwin (Bass), Daniel(Keyboards), Civian & Tinuke (Vocals) and rapper Romeo, who hooked the crowd with his incredible flows and stage charisma.

PHOTOS: 2face, Annie Macaulay, others party with Halima Abubakar

2face, Halima, Annie and Susan Peters

Nollywood actress Halima Abubakar celebrated her birthday with a dinner party at the Chocolate Royal Chinese Restaurant in Victoria Island, Lagos.

Celebs in attendance included Nigerian singer 2face Idibia and wife Annie Macaulay, Nollywood counterparts Susan Peters, Grace Amah and past pageant winners Kenneth Okoli and Sylvia Nduka.

Banky W to lift Olympic torch, as Wizkid confirms Pepsi deal

Banky W has been chosen as one of the distinguished people to carry the 2012 Olympic Torch.
The EME boss will join three other distinguished entertainers including Steve Onu (Yaw), Funke Akindele, and football star, Kanu Nwankwo to lift the Torch in Coventry, U.K on Sunday, July 1, 2012.
This is the second time a Nigerian musician would be selected to feature in the ceremonial initiative. Rapper Eedris Abdulkareem was part of the Nigerians selected to carry the torch in 2001.
Meanwhile, Wizkid has confirmed he’s joining Tiwa Savage as brand ambassador for Pepsi.
The  21 year-old star singer, who returned last week from Beirut where he was shooting Pepsi commercials with Tiwa, says he’s having fun and working hard to make sure ‘doesn’t disappoint’.
Wizkid’s boss, Banky, interestingly, recently fronted a campaign for Coca Cola

VIDEO: ‘Kilon poppin’ – Ms Jaie

By Osagie Alonge

Storm Records‘ Ms Jaie has released the video to her ‘Kilon poppin‘ single. The video is directed by in-house director Bobby Boulders.

Ms Jaie adds to the ever growing competition amongst the female R&B-Pop singers we seem to be having in the Nigerian music industry.

It would have done her better if the visuals were more colourful, interesting and didn’t lack the spontaneous feel a pop video should have.

Watch below…

‘Drake wasn’t involved in Chris Brown brawl’

A rep for US rapper Drake has released a statement saying the rapper wasn’t involved in the reported brawl with pop act Chris Brown at the WIP night club on June 13, 2012.

‘He did not engage in any activity which resulted in injury to person or damage to property’, the statement read.

It was reported that the top artistes and their crew members were involved in a brutal altercation after a verbal confrontation which led to a deep cut to Chris Brown’s chin. A rep for the singer had said Brown and his girlfriend, model Karrueche Tran, were victims of a ‘brutal attack.’

It is still unclear what happened that night in the club as multiple reports have emanated from the different sources.

Witnesses told police that two men approached Brown’s table and asked him whether he had a problem with Drake, and he replied he did not. Later, as Brown was leaving the club, five men met blocked his way on the dance floor and started taking off their shirts and yelling, police said.

At some point during the face-off, bottles started flying. Chief NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said it’s not clear whether the bottles were tossed by members of either entourage, or if bar patrons eager to egg on a dispute started throwing them.

Other sources say Brown and Drake had been hanging out in the VIP section when Drake began pointing and yelling at Brown. Brown allegedly began yelling back and that’s when members of both entourages rushed in and began shoving each other.

With tensions running high, someone threw a bottle – which set the whole thing off and the shoving turned to punches.

Five bystanders, four women and a man, also suffered cuts during the fight at the club W.I.P. in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, police said. Brown’s bodyguard suffered a more serious cut to the head, but all the victims were released from the hospital later Thursday.

As reported earlier, no arrests were made as Drake and Brown had left the club before the Police arrived the scene. Both acts have however been cooperating with authorities to resolve the matter.

The club suffered some serious damage in the fight – including busted up tables, broken mirrors, shattered lighting and glass scratches all over the floors.

The fight is said to have been over Bajan pop princess Robin ‘Rihanna’ Fenty who both acts have been linked with in the past. It is said that Rihanna had affair with Drake while she was still dating Chris Brown.

NETPod: Omawumi and Waje please ‘Explain’ your duet

By Osagie Alonge

 Though many see them as rivals in the Nigerian music industry, R&B singers Omawumi and Waje are best of friends. Sisters, actually.

Both talented singers have shown us that they are truly worthy to be at the top of the food chain when we talk about great vocalists.

And for the first time ever, they duet on a song produced by a familiar friend Dr Frabz titled ‘Explain‘.

On hearing, the song will however totally disappoint anyone who was hoping for a clash of vocals from both women.

Instead of doing ‘stunts’ with their great voices,  Oma and Waje tend for a pop-themed number, leaving listeners thirsting from start to finish.

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Nigerian DJs unite for special summer edition of Jimmy’s Jump Off

African’s leading Disc Jockey, DJ Jimmy Jatt is back with the summer edition of his annual DJ concert tagged Jimmy’s  Jump Off Live.

According to the iconic DJ,’ This year’s special summer edition promises to be bigger and better with loads of surprises and great performances from top Nigerian artistes and best flight DJ’s from radio to club and concert DJ’s as well’.

JATT tells NET the event will hold at GET arena Lekki on Sunday, July 1, 2012 by 6 pm.

Performers will include Nigeria’s finest DJs including – DJ Humility, DJ Neptune and DJ Waxxy. Others are DJ Xclusive, DJ Spinall, DJ Caise, DJ Sose, DJ Tony Blaze, DJ Snoop Da Damager, DJ Big N and DJ Xgee.

Tickets can be purchased at Delta kitchen, The Hubs, Barceló’s, The Place, Get Arena, Silverbird Galleria, Ouch Couture, Koko Lounge and Mama Cass at N2,000 and N10,000, for regular and VIP respectively.

Eva, Mo’Eazy join KB and Kel for One Mic Naija

Eva and Mo'Eazy

Newly signed Trybes(wo)man Eva and Darey’s protégé Mo Eazy are to perform at this month’s edition of One Mic Naija, a bi-monthly musical event that showcases upcoming talents and artistes.

Unlike the April edition, which was held at GET Arena in Lekki, Brown’s Cafe on Oduduwa crescent in GRA, Ikeja will play host to the show on Sunday, June 24, 2012, at 4pm. According to the organisers of the event, ‘One Mic Naija returns to the mainland as most of the shows for the rest of the year will hold at Brown’s Cafe, the home of the event.’

As usual, the show will be hosted by Kunle Bello, popularly known as KB, and Soulmate ambassador and rapper Kel.

Other artistes due to perform are Makiller- a 300 level student of University of Lagos, Dark poet, Saeon, MAYtronomy and the winners of Top Radio’s Next Top Talent competition. Regular fixtures, such as the Open Mic session by Coldflames production and LG Electronics will not be left out. Tickets will be sold at the venue of the show for N1000.

April’s edition featured the Jabgajantis master Sound Sultan, Project Fame’s 2010 winner Chidinma Ekile, Teeto, Dee Money, GreyC and Phizzle.