Before now, I used to have an unsolicited take on what Olamide must do to get ahead of his counterparts, especially now that he has one of the most promising acts on the continent under his label. I’ve also been of the school of thought that for the artist and his label to break out of the Nigerian/African stage to a more robust and diverse international audience, he needed to take on international distribution deals. That’s exactly what Olamide has done.
The rapper took to his twitter account yesterday to announce the joint venture deal between his record label ‘Yahoo Boy No Laptop’ YBNL and EMPIRE Distribution, Records and Publishing Inc. Empire is an American distribution company and record label founded in 2010 by Ghazi Shami and headquartered in San Francisco. The label has served the the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Tyga, SZA, Snoop Dogg, Anderson Paak and other notable acts.
Not so much of the partnership details was revealed but it appears the deal will particularly benefit Fireboy, his protégé and Olamide himself as they both work to release new bodies of work later in the year. The music executives at Empire are also excited about the deal, which affords them the opportunity of exporting Nigerian sounds to the rest of the world.
The University of Ghana has suspended Professor Ransford Gyampo and Dr Paul Butakor for six months and four months respectively after their involvement in the #SexForGrades documentary aired on BBC months ago. Both lecturers were accused of soliciting sex from female students in exchange for good grades. A press statement signed by the University’s Director of Public Affairs, Stella A. Amoa, said the suspension “takes effect from January 1, 2020”. Prof Gyampo and Dr. Butakor will also undergo appropriate training on the university’s Sexual Harassment and Misconduct policy as well as the Code of Conduct for its Academic Staff.
A Fact-Finding Committee chaired by Justice Vida Akoto-Bamfo, a retired Supreme Court Judge, had investigated allegations of misconduct against the two. According to the school, while “credible evidence of misconduct” has been found against the lecturers, there is no evidence of sexual misconduct under the school’s Code of Conduct of Senior Members, which states that the victim of the misconduct must be a member of the university. It also assured all students, faculty, staff, other stakeholders and the public of UoG’s commitment to rooting out any acts of misconduct, sexual harassment or any other form of harassment.
Popular messaging app and Facebook company WhatsApp announced via a blog post that it now has over 2 billion users worldwide. This is 500 million additional users since 2018 and a close shot at Facebook’s 2.5 billion users. The company’s CEO Will Cathcart says that the company has no plans to disable encryption on its service. “For all of human history, people have been able to communicate privately with each other, and we don’t think that should go away in a modern society,” he told The Wall Street Journal. However, he noted that WhatsApp will provide metadata when it is useful for an investigation.
New features are also expected to be rolled out soon ahead of the global launch. The long-awaited ‘dark mode‘, ‘disappearing messages‘, ‘ads‘, and ‘reverse image search‘. Both features are already available to some beta testers on Android and iOS.
What makes a good music video? the song, story board, hype atmosphere, the director, or the concept? Indeed, music videos as an art form are as important now as they’ve ever been. They form part of our visual language, a significant part of the culture of our consumption of music, art and entertainment. From a publisher point of view, an artist needs something bigger than social activity to get noticed, they need strong creative visuals to give them a substantial competitive advantage over their peers. They also need to be able to tell stories in way that they’ve never been told….that’s the kill!
“Even if everything is now digital, who doesn’t want to have more than just the track…I would say the track is the burger and the music video is the full meal deal with fries and Coke.”
Simon Cahn.
In November 2019, I joined Lady Donli and Shaun Kalu, a budding film director who was in charge of the artist’s video for Corner on set at a location in Yaba before moving to the University of Lagos and Mushin for more footages. If something was different from all other videos-in-the-making, it definitely had to be the cast. At first glance, it was easy to tell how much thought-process was put into the selection and curation of the elements that revolved around the idea they were trying to juxtapose. According to Shaun, the song gave him a feel of an old Nollywood movie released in the early 2000s, and that inspired his direction. He also wanted to make it more occurrent with patterns that are relevant to us today – gender, inclusion, equality and women. All of this he did whilst taking Donli’s audience into consideration.
The time of the video shoot coincided with the release of Kiki Mordi’s #SexForGrades documentary on BBC and the video was shot in the University of Lagos, where Kiki uncovered sexual predating lecturers. This gave it more essence.
“It felt like we were having our own protest in the middle of the reportage of one of Nigeria’s most groundbreaking documentaries,” Shaun added.
In Shaun’s head, Enjoy Your Life campus was going through dystopian challenges at a time when Lady Donli was leading a student rebellion against Base Boys– a group of hyper masculine bullies over the mistreatment of women and people who were expressing themselves freely.
The Alfa Babes who happened to be strong supporters of Lady Donli is a group of women passionate about creating a safe space for all. The group fought against equality, zero violence, or sexual harassment on the campus. There was the Zee Boys too, a clan of effeminate men who weren’t going to be suppressed by the toxicity from their fellow men. Shaun noted that he scouted for people who were already lending their voice to these issues in real life and assigned roles that they could relate with.
This is why I wanted to do this piece with Morebranches, because it is the hub of young voices today, telling the story as raw as it is. The characters have real life and are doing stuff for the society and young people.
Shaun Kalu said about sharing the idea behind the video with More Branches.
Tell us about your cast?
Shaun: It was very intentional. Vivrella does a lot of empowerment work for women and outreach programmes for kids, prison inmates. So she played the role of a sex worker fighting for the rights of women. Chris and Fola are very expressive folks, effeminate and exotic with their lifestyle too. It was great to see Chris add so much life to the video. Enkay was confident with her body despite public opinions. She recently led a #NoBodyShaming movement on twitter. For Bammy, I found her via Instagram alway putting up posts about her parents conservativeness, she happened to be a fashion forward person but still struggles with her mum. We wanted the video to mean so much more for everyone that was watching.
What was Lady Donli’s reaction to the idea?
Shaun: Donli was very open to highlighting such messages in her work, unlike most people she was so down with it the moment I shared with her. Before now, she has used her art and social channels to speak on these issues so it was easy to get her approval.
WITH THE CAST.
We discussed their roles, in contrast to their real lives; how they are able to navigate a conservative society or family in the pursuit of being their true selves. They also had plenty of advice to give.
People call me the BIG CHIEF. I am a plus size model and body positivity advocate. In Donli’s Corner video, I was a member of ALFA BABES. I specifically walked up to the group of cultists who were fond of bullying others they considered as weak. We ordered for their beating as a show of vengeance. I’m not a bully or into violence in real life but I stand to fight against oppression. When I evolved into the person I am and still becoming, it was kinda hard for my family to understand what I was doing at the beginning, but they had no choice but to grasp it along the line.
What we are doing today is for the kids, for a better future, for them to be exposed to the realities of their life and the structures that stand against them.
My advice for women is to get involved in destroying the patriarchy. It doesn’t matter the privilege you have, consider the billions of other women going through all sorts of abuse everyday. Men need to understand feminism better too.
BAMMY
I played the role of Liz – a fire dresser, head breaker and patriarchy smasher. I was the babe who went with Lady Donli to rescue another girl from a sexual predating lecturer. In real life, I’m not that violent because I don’t even have the energy but when it comes to speaking against mistreatment of women, I’m very vocal, especially with my social media. Despite all odds and limitations enabled by my parents, I see my family as the first society so it makes it hard to turn my back from them because I’m also dependent on them for some things so I have to be well behaved.
Liz and I are more alike or like two sides of a coin. I’m into full expressionist fashion but I’m not in my full form yet because of family but I also make sure that I am still giving myself space to breathe and not tone down my freedom. I just tweeted ‘there’s always a way out’ and that came from the understanding that no matter what circumstances or box society puts you in, your role is to scheme well and get out of it.
Be true to you fxcking self – you’re your own protagonist so write your story how you want it to be written.
(If my mum ever sees me in Corner video, my head is going to get broken).
CHRIS BILL
I played myself (literally) in corner video. I was part of Zee boys, a group of femme boys on Enjoy Your Life campus. It was amazing because I enjoyed being my natural self while acting. From the very beginning, I fell in love with the concept, it was a story worth being part of. Of course I love Lady Donli and my group was in support of her government and what she stood for. She spoke for women and the oppressed, she was such a progressive and inclusive leader. You’ve to follow good leaders and that’s what I did.
The role was a little bit similar to my real life because you’ll usually find me among women. I love everything about them and I’m a feminist concerned about female empowerment and seeing women play the same roles as their counterparts on the global stage.
I wasn’t swayed by the antics of the Base Boys. Our mission was to destroy the group and make other students on campus feel free to be who they want to be. I particularly loved the styling by Hexafae and AAA3StudiosLagos, it was brilliant how they were able to pull up clothes that portrayed our real selves.
As for dealing with family, we all come fro different backgrounds. My family has been very supportive, in fact I don’t even know how I managed to get them play in my court, but it’s more than a blessing to have loved ones that don’t judge you. My advice to anyone is to keep your joy. When you’re non conformist, people will try may try to make you feel less but stand up for yourself. I feel like the world is opening up people are beginning to understand that all we want to do is live and enjoy the moment. Keep on pushing and strive for greatness cos that’s what we were made for. Enjoy your life!
FOLA FRANCIS
I was one of the effeminate boys on campus – the Zee boys. Lady Donli had been going around fighting against inequality, so my group and I got liberated and joined the movement. In real life I am a feminist and i’m aware people hate to see anything different. It hasn’t been easy as an effeminate male but I’m just glad I have really thoughtful and caring people around me. Regardless of my sexual orientation, they have chosen to see past what they see first.
My family also allows me to be my true self, they have never discriminated me or say ‘oh tone it down’. I’ve been so blessed to have genuine friends around me who appreciate and celebrate my entity.
One advice – be true to yourself, never suppress yourself for the contentment of others. Those that matter don’t mind and those that mind don’t matter.
VIVRELLA
In corner video, I played the role of a prostitute and member of the Alfa babes. It was fun doing that because even if I’m not into sex work in real life, it put me in a position to speak for women who were trampled upon by the same society that patronises their services. I’m a feminist and very much into outreach programs for women, kids and vulnerable people, so doing this felt like channelling my energy in more creative and interesting ways. It doesn’t stop here, I don’t intend to back down in the movement of making the world a better place for women and I was more than happy to portray that.
Nigeria needs to harness the potential of its burgeoning youth population in order to bolster the economy and reduce widespread poverty. Years of economic mismanagement, flawed and inconsistent public policies by successive administrations, coupled with neglect of the agricultural sector, rural-urban migration, and a slow business environment have driven the economy to the precipice. There is also a lack of new and vibrant industries to absorb competent graduates and skilled labour. This obstacle was partly caused by an infrastructural deficit and a debilitating Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) implemented by Nigeria in the 1980s, which led to the closure of many industries and from which the country is yet to fully recover.
Indeed, Nigeria is full of promises and young people are its most valuable asset not crude oil, Africa’s biggest economy boasts of entrepreneurs, innovators, farmers, students and scholars, athletes, entertainers and future leaders that are eager to transform and change the narrative. The current administration is convinced that one of the fastest ways to pull the country out of this plunge is by empowering Nigerians, especially the women and youths.
Buhari-Osinbajo’s government says it is committed to laying the foundation that will raise 100 million Nigerians out of poverty over the next ten years; with financial inclusion programmes tailored to meet needs of specific regions and demographics nationwide. According to the President ‘This outcome will fundamentally shift Nigeria’s trajectory and place us among the World’s Great Nations.” The National Social Investments Programme (NSIP) targets the poor and vulnerable members of the population by tackling and addressing the root causes of poverty at all levels of households that exists in the country. Over the last four years, the initiatives have positively impacted 40 million Nigerians, directly and indirectly.
The government isn’t slowing down its efforts any time soon, it sees the endemic consequences of what a poverty capital title can turn out to be, so it is taking a big bet on its future – the youths. Unlike previous administrations, a lot of result oriented schemes and policies have been put in place to bridge this gap. The expected outcomes aren’t visibly glaring for now, however, this impending youth explosion in Nigeria presents a great opportunity for economic development. It could improve productivity and engender innovation and that’s what its present government is banking on.
Entrepreneurship is a key player in ending poverty by reversing the cycle of dependency with a cycle of self-sufficiency and employment. Thus, the consensus of opinion of experts is that the surest way to guarantee jobs, boost the economy, create wealth and escape from poverty is by creating an enabling environment for establishing new and scalable businesses. In the World Bank’s 2020 ease of doing business index, Nigeria moved up 15 places from its 2019 spot, a testament of the efforts of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC).
But Nigeria still needs more significant Investments in education, health, and job creation. Sectors such as ICT, sports, entertainment, hospitality and agriculture possess the potential to provide massive economic opportunities for young people; infrastructural development, provision of credit facilities and removal of institutional and regulatory constraints and other factors that could enhance entrepreneurship are crucial. Buhari’s administration has taken proactive measures to set up a new ministry of humanitarian, disaster management and social development that affects people directly. It believes increasing financial access and opportunities for these groups in rural communities especially, and advancing technological innovation is key to creating wealth. One of the government’s tactics may be to dole out money to women, traders and farmers but for youths, it is taking a completely different approach.
Government initiatives are investing more than money, they’re helping them dream bigger and set up themselves for employment or starting their own businesses. There are various programmes reaching different individuals and market needs of these young people.
There’s N-Power, a job creation and empowerment initiative of the Social Investment Programme, designed to drastically reduce youth empowerment in Nigeria. The focus is to provide young graduates and non-graduates with the skills, tools and livelihood to enable them advance from empowerment to empowerment, entrepreneurship and innovation. N-Power is such a versatile project, it has other divisions in Agriculture, Health, Teach and Knowledge programmes and addresses the challenge of youth unemployment by providing a structure for large scale and relevant work skills acquisition and development, while linking its core and outcomes to fixing inadequate public services and stimulating the larger economy. So far, they have deployed over 500,000 graduate trainees and pay a monthly stipend of N30,000 each.
The Presidential Youth Empowerment Scheme is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative designed to fight and reduce unemployment among Nigerian youth by creating at least 774,000 empowerment opportunities. The programme trains selected candidates in multiple vocations such as agriculture, Information technology, fashion, catering, technology acquisition and many other strategic vocations. Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) MarketMoni scheme has also empowered 350,000 MSMEs across 36 states of the Federation. President Buhari’s administration has established 8 Innovation hubs to promote youth entrepreneurship and innovation, two ICT innovation Hubs in Abuja and Lagos.
The Bank of Industry has launched various creative, agricultural and manufacturing initiatives to help young business owners too. The federal government has extended support to other organisations including Young Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (YEN), Youth Initiative for Sustainable Agriculture (YISA), Youth Entrepreneurship Support Programme (YES-P) and others.
The government is also unlocking private-sector partnerships through incentives and social impact bonds as well as boosting entrepreneurial ecosystems with grants and policies that will support whatever sizes of business. There’s still so much to be done but it’s great to see that the President and his deputy, regardless of the political climate, are determined to build frameworks that will enable a more robust economy, lead to the creations of millions of job and move as many Nigerians as possible from the bottom of the pyramid to middle class. If we get it right with the youth, the largest demography in our history, it means the future is a place with bigger and better opportunities for all Nigerians.
Admit it, we all need a break from ‘Assistant Madams,’ RedTV’s sequel of The Men’s club. A little bit of hope is the reason I haven’t penned down a review of the hyperrealistic portrayal of billionaires and love in Lagos. There’s not a lot of series in our local YouTube space, so most times viewers have to stick with what they get. Nigeria’s most successful YouTube series, ‘Skinny Girl In Transit‘ is back for a sixth season. NdaniTV released the season’s trailer a couple of days ago and it got viewers hyped. The series stars Abimbola Craig,Ngozi Nwosu, Sharon Ooja as Shalewa, Bisola Aiyeola,Ini Dima-Okojie, Chioma Okoli, Beverly Naya, Timini Egbuson, Sophie Alakija and other notable Nollywood faces.
The Fondation pour le Développement de la Culture Contemporaine Africaine (FDCCA) is putting together the continent’s first traveling exhibition. “Prête-moi ton rêve” (Lend me Your Dream) will bring together 30 of the world’s famous African artists from around 20 countries and seven African cities: Casablanca, Dakar, Abidjan, Lagos, Addis Ababa, Cape Town and Marrakech. The year-long exhibition displays works of various forms including paintings, sculpture, photography, fabric installations and more. The continental exhibition placed under the sign of South-South collaboration was inaugurated in Casablanca on 18 June 2019.
Some of the artists include Jane Alexander, Soly Cissé, Abdoulaye Konaté, Jems Koko Bi, William Kentridge, Chéri Samba, Barthélémy Toguo, Nnenna Okoré, Ouattara Watts.
According to QZ, one of the most anticipated works to see in Dakar’s Museum of Black Civilizations would be the giant matchsticks by Senegalese artist, Mansour Ciss Kanakassy. The matchsticks, some of them lit, others yet to be ignited represent the Berlin conference of 1884-1885 and the eventual scramble for Africa. The Museum is opening a dialogue between the new and the old by incorporating older artifacts from its collection e.g. 200-year old bronze sculptures from Benin, side by side with similar pieces from the contemporary artists. Altogether, this merges the idea of pan-Africanism and a collective history and origin of Africans —a concept that the borders drawn after the Berlin Conference came to disrupt.
Ighalo won’t be playing his first Manchester United game any time soon, until the end of his 14-day incubation period. The 30 year-old Nigerian striker has been asked to stay away from the AON complex in Carrington amid fears of coronavirus. However, the club manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, said he will be travelling with the squad ahead of Monday’s game against Chelsea.
The player recently returned to the English Premier League on a loan that extends until the end of the season. He is now under a specialist conditioning plan alongside a personal trainer at the National Taekwondo Centre near Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium. He will be able to join up with the squad for the first time on Friday, February 14.
BBC reports that the death toll in China from the virus is now more than 1,350, with almost 60,000 infections in total. Numerous sporting events have been cancelled in China and the Far East, including the Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix.
February 11 (Rome) – several heads of state, ministers, development leaders, and celebrities conveyed at the 43rd Session of the Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The initiative is a brainchild of the United Nations set up to fund small agricultural businesses in the world’s poorest countries. It kickstarted by partnering with financial institutions to fund government projects but it is now diverting interests to the private sector.
A man that don’t take care his family can’t be rich’. It doesn’t just mean your immediate family …he actually means your community.
Oluwatosin Ajibade, Mr Eazi.
28-year-old Afrobeat artist and Nigerian entrepreneur Mr Eazi was present to share his thoughts on farming in Africa, as he recently ventured into the business. He plans to transform a Ghanaian coastal community of more than 60,000 people through coconut farming and more advocacy. The business will employ young people in the area, offer trainings and create the first database of farmers in the community before the end of the first quarter, a move he says will help inform better business decisions.
At the UN 🇺🇳 @ifadnews Governing Council. My key takeaway: Young rural entrepreneurs need their governments & the private sector to step up and create an enabling environment to encourage entrepreneurship & create agricultural jobs for rural youth in Africa and around the 🌍 pic.twitter.com/U5LD9wNN3M
The singer said he was inspired after a woman narrated her coconut oil business and how it helped her send her kids through school. He is now on a mission to urge more young Africans to see agriculture as a massive employment scheme and wealth creation opportunity. The business will employ young people in the area, offer trainings and create the first database of farmers in the community before the end of the first quarter, a move he says will help inform better business decisions.
In 2019, Stormzy’s #MerkyBooks announced a prize for new writers aged 16-30 to ‘promote the stories that aren’t being heard’, including fiction, non-fiction and poetry. “Taking Up Space: The Black Girls’ Manifesto for Change”, a book by Chelsea Kwakye and Ore Ogunbiyi was one of the beneficiaries of the fund. An excellent book on black women undergraduate students’ experience of university in Britain, Cambridge in particular. From pre-application anxiety, the years of study and post-graduation expectations, the chronology of this collection of essays perfectly captures and articulates the challenges of black women throughout their studies and how the actors they meet along the way may help or hinder. The book not only champions taking up space, whether in society or on a shelf, as an act of resistance, but also as an absolute necessity as opposed to a passing trend.
Bookseller reported that Sid Gentle Films, producers of “Killing Eve” won the TV rights to Taking Up Space. The deal was done by Emily Hayward Whitlock at the Artists Partnership on behalf of Carrie Plitt at Felicity Bryan Associates. “We are delighted to be working on this extraordinary manifesto for hope with Chelsea and Ore. The world they illuminate is full of potential for creating bold and breakthrough characters in a setting few have seen. This is really exciting.”, the production house put in their statement.
According to the authors, Ore and Chelsea: “We are so incredibly excited to be working with Sid Gentle Films. They have a strong understanding of the core themes of Taking Up Space and are committed to bringing them to life on screen. This is a real dream come true”.
Black History Month (also known as National African American History Month) was created in 1926 by Carter G. Woodson, an African American historian, scholar, educator, and publisher. It began as “Negro History Week” and February was chosen to coincide with Frederick Douglass’ and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays. , the Post-War I generation with rising racial pride and consciousness.
Black History Month became a national month-long celebration in 1976 and a part of the United States Bicentennial. President Gerald Ford spoke in regards to this that year, urging Americans to “seize the opportunity to honour the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavour throughout our history’. Canada celebrates Black History Month in February and The U.K. celebrates it in October.
Shirley Chisholm (D-NY), right, is talks with her voters on the street in Brooklyn, New York, Nov. 6, 1968. (AP Photo)Shirley Chisholm (D-NY), right, is talks with her voters on the street in Brooklyn, New York, Nov. 6, 1968. (AP Photo).
African American history is about much more than chronicling a series of ‘firsts’. The time and place of a breakthrough reflects not only remarkable individual achievement but is itself an indication of the progress or lack of progress of black people in realising the centuries-old intertwined goals of freedom, equality, and justice. We don’t have a list of all the first blacks because while compiling, we found out Africans are such badass and have to been making history since forever.
The List:
First Professional Black Baseball Player: Jackie Robinson, 1947. F
Oscar Winner: Hattie McDaniel, 1940.
Self-Made Millionaire: Madam C.J. Walker.
First Woman Representative: Shirley Chisholm, 1968.
First Senator: Hiram Rhodes Revels, 1870.
Eminent Scientist & Inventor: George Washington Carver, 1864 – 1943.
George Washington Carver developed 300 derivative products from peanuts among them cheese, milk, coffee, flour, ink, dyes, plastics, wood stains, soap, linoleum, medicinal oils and cosmetics.
Supreme Court Justice: Thurgood Marshall, 1967.
Heavyweight Champ: Jack Johnson, 1908.
First Lawyer: John Mercer Langston, 1854.
Woman Secretary of State: Condoleezza Rice, 2005.
From January 2005 to 2009, she served as the 66th secretary of state of the United States. Before serving as America’s chief diplomat, she served as assistant to the president for national security affairs (national security adviser) from January 2001 to 2005.
Nobel Peace Prize winner: Ralph J. Bunche, 1950.
Woman patent holder: Judy Reed, 1884.
Woman astronaut: Mae Jemison, 1992.
Pulitzer prize winner: Gwendolyn Brooks, 1950.
Pulitzer prize winner in Drama: Charles Gordone, 1970
Graduate of an Ivy League School: Theodore Sedgewick Wright, 1828
Count Basie led one of the most important jazz institutions of the 20th century, in the process forging a distinctive sound that changed the jazz landscape.
Theatrical company: The African Company, 1821.
Male Grammy Award winner: Count Basie, 1958.
Woman Grammy Award winner: Ella Fitzgerald, 1958.
Woman director for a major Hollywood Studio: Julie Dash, 1991.
Oscar, Best Actress: Halle Berry, 2001.
In 1989, Berry started acting on a television series, and in 1991, Berry received her claim to fame in the Spike Lee film entitled Jungle Fever.
First President of The Oscars: Cheryl Boone Isaacs, 2013.
Film director: Oscar Micheaux, 1919.
First Oscar winner: Hattie McDaniel, 1940.
Black-owned television station: WGPR-TV, 1975
Woman television show host: Oprah Winfrey, 1986.
While best known for her award-winning talk show, Winfrey has also been involved in films, television series, and plays. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1985 drama “The Color Purple.”
Star of a network television show: Bill Cosby, 1965.
Black-owned radio station: WERD, 1949.
Professional Golfer: John Matthew Shippen, Jr., 1896.
Golf champion: Tiger Woods, 1997.
NFL quarterback: Willie Thrower, 1953.
Wimbledon tennis champion: Althea Gibson, 1957.
Black-owned Bank: True Reformers Bank, 1889.
RecordCompany: Black Swan Records, 1921.
Black-owned metropolitan newspaper: Robert Maynard and the Oakland Tribune, 1983.
In 2000, Viacom announced plans to purchase BET. The sale was finalized the following year and Johnson’s majority stake earned him more than $1 billion, making him the richest African American in the United States at that time as well as the first African-American billionaire.
Billionaire: Robert Johnson, 0wner of Black Entertainment Television, 2001.
A common question among people who use drugs, marijuana specifically— is “How long will this drug stay in my body?” heroin, LSD and alcohol are all out of your system in a couple of days but it’s different for broccolis. The exact amount of time marijuana stays in the body will vary according to factors like the dose, the person’s age, weight, and sex, physical health, presence of other drugs in the body and even ethnicity.
When you smoke, your lungs absorb THC within 10-15 minutes. This is why smoking hits faster than edibles. The next hour, “THC is metabolized in the liver by microsomal hydroxylation and oxidation catalyzed by enzymes of cytochrome P450 (CYP) complex” (Sharma, Murthy and Bharath, 2012). When professionals mention metabolism in this context, they really mean the break down of cannabis in the bloodstream, they don’t mean the metabolism that keeps you looking fit. For instance, I have a pretty fast metabolism, but that won’t help my body metabolize any THC.
More than 65% of cannabis is excreted in the faeces and approximately 20% is passed in urine. The majority of THC in your body is eliminated in about five days, without you ever lifting a finger but there is still a small trace amount in the body. This trace amount is the real issue. Cannabinoids can be detected in saliva, blood, urine, hair and nail using various analytical techniques, including immunoassays. Apparently urine is the preferred sample because of higher concentration and longer detection time of metabolites in it.
It’s important to note that the only way to ensure a 100% negative test is to abstain from drugs; but if you think you’re an outlier, here are a few tips and counter-myths to help you before an expert at beating drug tests.
Get same day detox products like Toxin Rid, Mega Clean, Xxtra cleanand Aloe Rid. All of these are products that can throw off the sensitivity of the test, when diluted with urine. But you still have to be careful not to buy outdated adulterants; overtime the drug testing industry becomes aware of what these diluters are, and they either begin to screen for them, or they check some sort of composition of the urine that they anticipate will be altered when an adulterant is used.
Take 50 to 100 mg of vitamin B2, B12, or B complex to increase the chance of negative results.
Schedule your testing around the afternoon.
They lied to you. Going to the sauna won’t work, because THC adheres to fat, not water weight. Sorry, you have to burn fat to pass a test.
Burn fat. Unfortunately, the more fat cells you have the longer THC lingers in your system. It’s a no brainer, people with less body fat will be able to pass a drug test faster. If you’re applying to jobs or trying to be smarter than your parents/guardians, begin by cutting your body weight preemptively so that THC has less fat to adhere to.
The important thing to remember is to drink a ton of water and try to pee it out beforehand. You don’t want to give them concentrated morning piss so get that sh*t diluted.
If you’re a heavy smoker and you want to be sure beforehand, get a powered urine kit.
The only method of cheating a drug test with consistent rate of success is by substituting urine, but that isn’t what we all advice you to do. Not today.
One year ago, Nigerian songwriter, singer and producer, Dami Oniru debuted her first studio EP ‘Bri’s Lounge‘. A body of work inspired by her love for RnB, pop and her obsession with creating sounds pleasing to the mind, body and soul. The 7 track EP featured Producer & Singer, Remy Baggins who also contributed additional vocals. But this isn’t the reason we’ve been drooling all day.
Dami’s new visual, which happens to be her first signals a looming takeover and why the artist is a must watch for 2020. It is true that music videos can be a powerful medium for artists to introduce us to their creative world, unveil a new aesthetic and offer an emotional short story. This is exactly what Dami Oniru did with ‘5 Shades of Bri‘ where she mashed up Alive, Higher and Ready, blessing her fans with an infectious and compassionate ode (to her ex-lover) with colorful and campy-as-hell clips. The video unrolls one eyeball-searingly perfect image after another, and the cinematography and direction, by Ebuka Nwobu and Ademola Falomo respectively, tease us with enough rhyming gestures. It is a 5 star recommendation.
American rapper and record executive Lil Wayne was recently a guest on RevoltTV’s Drink Champ. He shared stories that span from the early days of Cash Money Records, to recording his classic mixtapes and evolving into a CEO and skateboarding. In his chat with hosts N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN, Dwayne Carter revealed that he once took an ancestry test conducted by a web based genealogy company and it turned out he is 53% Nigerian. It didn’t seem like new truth to him, back in 2018, the rapper in his hit record ‘A Millie,’ said he he was ‘tougher than Nigerian hair’. A few weeks ago, while playing “Never Ever Have I”, he was asked about the one place in the world that he would love to visit and he mentioned Nigeria and Egypt.
As expected, the news has pumped adrenaline levels up amongst Nigerians. While some are excited about the euphoria that comes with it, some are bothered about the validity of the Lil wayne’s claims. It’s not like the truth matters anyway, if one of the greatest rappers ever says he’s more Nigerian than American, so be it! But if we are keeping it one hunnid, I think this could just be part of the promotion for his new album ‘funeral’. I mean, everyone knows Africa is the new cool, and one of the surest ways to spark a buzz is by associating with Nigeria.
How authentic is an ancestral DNA test?
When it comes to ancestry, DNA is very good at determining close family relations such as siblings or parents, and dozens of stories are emerging that reunite or identify lost close family members (or indeed criminals). For deeper family roots, these tests do not really tell you where your ancestors came from. They say where DNA like yours can be found on Earth today. By inference, we are to assume that significant proportions of our deep family came from those places. But to say that you are 20 percent Irish, 4 percent Native American or 12 percent Scandinavian is fun, trivial and has very little scientific meaning. We all have thousands of ancestors, and our family trees become matted webs as we go back in time, which means that before long, our ancestors become everyone’s ancestors. Humankind is fascinatingly closely related, and DNA will tell you little about your culture, history and identity.
On-demand motorbike hailing service, Gokada has announced that it will be pivoting into deliveries and boat services. This development is coming a few days after Lagos state placed a ban on commercial motorcycles and tricycles. Gokada recently announced that it was laying off 80% of its workforce, a move the CEO admits was necessitated by the ban.
But a few public reactions revolve around the pace of Gokada’s overhauling. Some think the move accentuates stories of the company’s struggles and mismanagment, which led to the resignation of former CEO Deji Oduntan. Fahim Saleh tells TechCabal that Gokada’s finances are in place and that the company was headed in the right direction.
According to him, delivery was always in the company’s masterplan.
Gokada CEO, Fahim Saleh.
Saleh noted the startup is still in talks with the government and other stakeholders, but it he is still confident that they can scale a delivery service product soon enough, so their drivers to return to earning money. He also said the boat service will launch sometime in February. “In between government approval and getting investors to back us for scale, there is still a lot of work that has to be done in this regard. I want to get hundreds of these boats in the water,” Saleh said.
This isn’t the first time you will seeing a headline confirming Spotify’s interest in the multi-billion dollar podcast market. But I’m sure this particular acquisition – the fourth podcast deal in the last 12 months stamps the company’s game plan to dominate the streaming industry. The Ringer, a podcast-centric media company founded by Bill Simmons produces over 30 podcasts, covering sports and pop culture and garners over 100 million streams monthly.
Spotify spent over $400 million to acquire Gimlet Media, Anchor FM, and Parcast in 2018. It currently boasts of a catalog of over 700,000 podcasts, and notes that the business grew by over 200% in the last quarter.
We have bought the next ESPN.”
CEO, Daniel Ek.
Next Moves..
Spotify intends to hire Simmons and all of his approximately 90 employees. Most of the team work on The Ringers’ website, which covers sports and culture, and Spotify intends to keep the site up and running. Simmon will specifically focus on putting sports at the centre of the company’s strategy.
“Spotify has the unique ability to truly supercharge both content and creator talent across genres,” said Bill Simmons, The Ringer founder, and podcast host, in his own statement. “We spent the last few years building a world-class sports and pop culture multimedia digital company and believe Spotify can take us to another level. We couldn’t be more excited to unlock Spotify’s power of scale and discovery, introduce The Ringer to a new global audience and build the world’s flagship sports audio network. We’re joining one of the best media companies in the world. It’s an incredible day for us.”
Spotify’s Chief Content Officer is excited about what both companies can do to drive the streaming giant’s global sports traffic. “As we set out to expand our sports and entertainment offerings, we wanted a best-in-class editorial team. Bill Simmons is one of the brightest minds in the game and he has successfully innovated as a writer and content creator across mediums and platforms. The Ringer’s proven track record of creating distinctive cultural content as well as discovering and developing top tier talent will make them a formidable asset for Spotify.” He said in his statement.
Details of the deal are currently undisclosed, as the transaction is expected to close in Q1 2020.
It’s no news that Africa’s most populous city recently put a ban on commercial motorcycles and tricycles in it’s major municipals. The ban also affects bike-hailing startups Max.Ng, ORide, Gokada and others who collectively manage over 14,000 riders spread across the city, easing the struggles of Lagos’ infrastructural crisis and heavy traffic – a toxic trait the metropolis is notoriously famous for.
Bad roads, trading activities, on street parking, poor drainage, narrow road sections, religious activities, menace of area boys and unscrupulous police men, lack of traffic light at major intersections, bad attitude of many Lagos drivers and over dependence on road transportation are some of the reasons why traffic congestion will remain a constant feature of Lagos. For a city with vast aquatic splendour, another option could be the use of waterways, but the government isn’t doing much to convince Lagosians that it’s a viable option. All of the attempts to encourage use of boat-taxis have proven abortive, including the partnership with Gokada and Uber.
Moving in Lagos
Lagos opened the first ever Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system on the African continent in 2008. Today, the system boasts two different lines which cover over 35.5 km of track and transport over 350,000 commuters on a daily basis. There are also 75000 private owned minibuses (Danfo) and more motorcycles, tricycles and taxis all over the metropolis, but it still doesn’t solve the mobility constraints for a city with 21 million residents. The danger lies in the fact that all of the overwhelming Lagos life doesn’t stop the influx of local and foreign visitors into this ‘mega city‘ that its government wants it to be so bad. Hence, in the absence of sufficient cars and buses, Okadas remain the most practical and easily accessible means of transportation which a large percentage of the populace rely on.
To put it in better context, Lagos commuters do spend close to one fourth of their whole day in traffic.
In 2012, Babatunde Fashola, a former governor of Lagos put a ban on commercial motorcyclists from major roads and highways in the state but law enforcement agencies slowed down on implementation before the end of his tenure in 2015. Akinwunmi Ambode, his successor, also laid emphasis on the ban in 2017 and as expected, the law was relaxed and their activities continued state-wide. Thanks to the presence of ride sharing apps like Uber and Taxify, Lagosians who couldn’t afford the rates fell back on tricycles ‘Keke Napep‘ and okadas plying mini roads. The comeback of motorcycles to the highway started with the establishment of more delivery companies and then the entry of Max.Ng, Gokada, Oride, Safeboda, providing better bikes and safety options for users. The astronomical rate of unemployment in the nation has also led many young people to embrace riding of okada and other for a living.
Not only are the new okadas relatively affordable, it’s the only option for many residents travelling long distances, trying to beat traffic and they are more convenient than the city’s popular yellow buses Danfo. Millions of rides after and over $200 million dollars worth of investment in these mobility startups, the state government came to a conclusion that it didn’t see motorcycles and trickles in its mega city blueprint so it enforced a tougher ban affecting all types of 2 or 3 three wheeled transport businesses. It didn’t matter the how you commute, whether in a staff bus, or personal cars or the state-run transport system, it just turned out to be a troubling development for people who have had to put up with the torture of living in Lagos.
Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi believes the ban will spike an increase in the rate of unemployment and insecurity.
Since the weekend, February 1 when the ban took effect, Lagosians have rallied online amass to protest the consequences of the unwarranted ban and the hardship they are prone to suffer. Motorcyclists have also come out in troops with the hopes that the government hear their outcry and reverse the decision. There’s also reportage of protests, violence and vandalisation of buses in different parts of the state, but security officials. But Lagos Government says it has alternatives which includes a fleet of 65 buses (550 to come) and 14 new ferries to be commissioned.
Regulators say they are already reaching out to the government to create a regulatory framework as an alternative, but it’s uncertain what the future of commuting will be for Lagos residents. Some experts believe Lagos’ transportation problem is bigger than the government, and an outright ban isn’t the best approach.
Former President Daniel Arap Moi, an autocratic leader who ruled Kenya country for 24 years has died aged 95. His death was announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta in a statement aired by the state broadcaster on Tuesday morning. There’s no information on the cause of his death but reports say he’s been in and out of the hospital for months, treating respiratory problems.
A former schoolteacher, Moi happens to be Kenya’s longest-serving leader, ruling the East African country between 1978 and 2002. Moi enjoyed strong support from many Kenyans but was still dubbed a dictator by his critics. He was seen as a uniting figure when he took over the highest office after the death of his boss, President Jomo Kenyatta who died in office in 1978. Moi also succeeded in keeping Kenya relatively stable and worked towards regional security. However, the economy regressed, poverty and corruption deepened under his watch. He blamed the West for bad publicity and the economic hardships many Kenyans had to endure during his rule.
“Our nation and our continent were immensely blessed by the dedication and service of the Late Mzee Moi; who spent almost his entire adult life serving Kenya and Africa,” Uhuru Kenyatta said in his condolence statement. He also ordered flags to be flown at half-mast until the day of Moi’s state funeral.
Seven months after the May 21 presidential election, Malawi’s constitutional court has annulled the results which saw President Peter Mutharika reelected. This makes it the first election to be legally challenged since Malawi’s independence in 1964. The judges said widespread irregularities in the collation process, such as application of correction fluids to make changes on results, use of duplicate sheets and others reveal that the results are inaccurate. The court also ruled that fresh elections be held in the next five months while Mutharika stays in power until then.
The May 2019 European Union Election Observer Mission report on Malawi elections noted that the electoral process was “well managed, inclusive, transparent and competitive”. Lazarus Chakwera and Saulos Chilima, Mutharika’s contenders however insist that the election wasn’t fair. Chakwera garnered 35.4% of the vote while Chilima, a former ally of the president, got 20.2%. The incumbent president was said to have won with 1.9 million votes representing 38.57%, narrowly ahead of Malawi Congress Party’s Chakwera who came second with 1.8 million votes.
Human Rights Defenders Coalition (HRDC) has demanded Malawi Electoral Commission chairperson Jane Ansah step down following the court judgement for a fresh election. The group says it is ready to hold more protests if the demands are not met.
After three years of political debates, BREXIT is finally happening at 11:01 P.M GMT today. This means that the UK’s 73 members of the European Parliament will lose their seats in Brussels, UK nationals will no longer be no longer be citizens of the EU and there will also be a new coin. Tragic! For now, there will be no much visible changes as the U.K enters an 11 months transition period. Both parties will use this time to determine critical trade agreements and immigration rules.
Until December 31, the U.K will still remain a member state of the EU in all but name. Citizens will be able to travel around the continent with the same freedom as before and UK businesses will have access to Europe’s single market. BBC reports that there will be a series of events including marches, celebrations and candlelit vigils will be held by both Brexiteers and pro-EU demonstrators. The U.K’s Former Prime Minister David Cameron, who led the campaign to remain in the EU during the 2016 referendum, called it a “very big day for our country“, adding that he believed the U.K could “make a success of the choice that we made”.
Meanwhile in Brussels tonight, the Union flag will be removed from all EUinstitutions (one of which will be placed in a museum in Brussels) and senior EU politicians will give their bitter-sweet press briefings. As formal negotiations begin March 3, many believe the UK is more likely to back down than Brussels.
