9ice and Wande Coal at D’Yard
To commemorate
Valentine’s Day, D’Yard Entertainment, an events center, is organizing
a concert tagged “Rock D’Yard”. The event, which will feature two of
Nigeria’s hip-hop artists 9ice and Wande Coal, takes place on Friday,
February 11 at D’Yard Complex, Surulere, Lagos. Speaking about the
concert, the chief executive officer of D’Yard Entertainment, Gbolahan
Lawanson said, the idea behind the event is to create an avenue for
Nigerians to relax and enjoy good music.
“Valentine is a
season of love and we thought it wise to bring these two artistes for
our customers and guests. It’s going to be a loaded night of music and
entertainment and we’ve done everything possible to make it a
hitch-free event.”
Besides hosting the
concert, Lawanson said, D’Yard Entertainment will unveil the finalist
for the D’Yard Music Talent Hunt, an initiative aimed at grooming young
talent into the Nigerian music industry. Though the date for the grand
finale of the talent hunt is yet to be disclosed, the winner is
expected to walk away with a car and a recording contract.
“We’ve been through
the preliminary stages and we will be presenting the finalists during
the concert. It has not been easy trimming down the number from the
hundreds to what we have now, but it has also been an interesting
experience for us. The truth is that Nigeria is blessed with raw
talents; all we need do is harness them. At D’Yard, we are concerned
with talent development and we are doing everything possible to make
meaningful contributions towards that.” Lawanson said.
Work begins on Dagrin movie
As a way of
immortalizing the late award-winning rapper, Dagrin, Stingomania
Records has decided to begin filming the a movie based on the late
rapper’s life titled “Ghetto Dreamz”. Auditions for all roles have been
scheduled to hold on Saturday, February 5 while shooting will commence
on February 9 at the former Kingsize Restaurant, Ikeja, Lagos. The
movie will feature the life and times of the rapper and is expected to
hit the cinemas in April 2011 to celebrate Dagrin’s first anniversary
memorial project.
“Ghetto Dreamz”
will now be directed by Daniel Ademinokan. Revealing the reason behind
the movie, the chief executive officer of Stingomania Records, Ope
Banwo said, “Dagrin was an emerging star in the Nigerian music scene,
it is only imperative for stakeholders in the industry to do something
about memorializing his name in a constructive and enduring manner.
There is need for something to be done to keep his hopes and dreams
alive for the next generation of struggling and upcoming artistes.”
Nnena and Friends Launches Fan Club
Popular children’s
brand Nnena Friends has launched its fan club in schools within
Lagos State. The fan club, which was launched earlier this week with
representatives of Wale Adenuga Productions moving from school to
school, was set up with the aim of providing edutainment programs for
children. Speaking on the development, Wale Adenuga, said, “We have
decided to take Nnena Friends to schools because, there are more
talents out there that need to be honed and that is the sole aim of
Nnena Friends to hone talents and help the children have fun
while also learning.”
Nnena Friends
began after Yinka Olukunga, the face of the brand, played Nnena in the
Wale Adenuga-produced television soap Superstory. Since its debut,
Nnena Friends has hosted children to several events during
festive periods like Valentine’s Day, Easter, Children’s Day,
Independence Day and an end-of-year show.
Airtel One8 collaboration voted 2011 best bet by Billboard International
The all-African group, Airtel One8, has been named “Best Bet of 2011” by Billboard International.
The Billboard ‘Best
Bet List’ is an annual forecast for upcoming artists or groups that are
destined for success in the new year. This year’s list includes
American country pop singer and Grammy award-winner Taylor Swift.
Speaking on the endorsement, chief marketing officer, Airtel Africa, Andre Beyers said,
“This exciting
recognition has demonstrated both the potential impact African music
and local artists can have on the international music scene, as well as
the benefits of diversity in music. The Airtel One8 super group is a
living and breathing example of the diversity and cultural mix of
Africa. It expresses the spirit, talent and rhythm of Africa.”
Airtel One8 made
its debut in November 2010 with the global hit single “Hands Across the
World”. Airtel One8 features eight of Africa’s top acts — Nigerian
RB singer 2Face, Tanzanian crooner Ali Kiba, singer Fally Ipupa of
the Democratic Republic of Congo, hip hop trio 4X4 from Ghana, rapper
Movazhaleine of Gabon,
Zambian singer JK,
Ugandan rapper, Navio, and Kenyan RB singer Amani and the
hip-hop’s Pied Piper, R Kelly — who wrote and produced the debut
single. According to Billboard, the group and R-Kelly connection, “no
less, is poised to build a sustainable global audience for the
continent’s music industry.”
With their single climbing the top 10 charts, the Airtel One8 album is due for release in the first quarter of this year.
