Showbiz

Cardi B Gave Nigeria More During her Visit

Published

5 years ago

12/12/2019

By Ighoyota Samuel

Last week, the entertainment industry in Nigeria was agog with presence of American hip-hop artiste, Cardi B. She is the acclaimed best female rap artiste in the world.

Cardi B, who is in a relationship with Offset (one of the guys from the group called MIGOS), who has his roots in the Africa, took the opportunity to explore all she could lay her hands on during the visit.

Although, it must have cost a fortune inviting her for a show in Nigeria, but Nigerians saw a different scenario compare with what they were used to especially when foreign artistes are invited to the country (the norm was from the airport to the show and back to the airport), but Cardi B gave Nigeria more.

Firstly, Cardi B, being a world music icon, commands millions of followers on social media and also, she is a major influencer in the music industry worldwide. The first thing she did was to do a cover of one of the best songs that has ever come of Nigeria by a local act, Davido’s Fall.

She released a remix of the song on all of her social media handles, telling the world of the abundance of talents in Nigeria. This was not part of the plans by the organisers, but she did that absolutely free.

The importance of this is, it will open a new market for the Nigerian music market internationally as many international artistes will be interested in featuring the Nigerian artistes, thereby further showcasing the Nigerian Afro beat to the world

Secondly, Cardi B went on to give a thumb up to the different delicacies in Nigeria. She was very interested in tasting the Nigerian jollof rice, which is mostly compared with its Ghanaian counterpart despite originating from Senegal. The American rapper uploaded a live video of the local food on her social media handles.

This has a lot of impact on our tourism industry as most foreign tourists, who are scared of visiting the many tourist centres in Nigeria, because of the kind of food and other reasons, will be rest assured that the country’s food is one of the best as attested to by Cardi B.

Also, she visited an orphanage home in Nigeria and was amazed by the philanthropic nature of Nigerians that she wouldn’t have believed if she was told because the world has a different perception about Nigerians and the country, no thanks to the media analogy of the country.

She quickly debunked the misconception as she claims Nigerians have been good to her. Also, she was taken on a tour of the country’s centre of excellence (Lagos State) where she was amazed by the different designs by Zenith Bank of Nigeria. She was so pleased that she took and uploaded pictures of the designs of Zenith Bank, giving the financial institution a dose of free publicity.

She also went clubbing at one of the best clubs in the city where she was so impressed that she started spraying cash on the dancers. One of the eyewitnesses said the money she spent that night should be over N5 million. The most interesting thing about the clubbing was the fact that as the Disk Jockey was playing the best of Nigerian songs, she was seen dancing with the Nigerian artistes and uploading their photos which is a way of showcasing them to the world.

One of the greatest surprises was when Davido gifted her champagne, she thanked the music act, but she insisted that she’s okay with the Nigerian Guinness stout (free advertisement for Guinness Nigeria). She, however, attested to the fact the Nigerian stout was good as she only took one bottle and that got her knocked (intoxicated) her.

In summary, Cardi B did well in showcasing our cultural heritage to the world and this will help the tourism industry as she did more of publicity for the country than what the organisers of the show bargained for.

Showbiz

Husband of Late Gospel Singer Osinachi Nwachukwu to Die by Hanging

Published

2 days ago

28/04/2025

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

Mr Peter Nwachukwu, the husband of the late popular gospel musician, Osinachi Nwachukwu, has been sentenced to death by hanging.

Recall that in April 2022, the singer was said to have died from a domestic violence in the hands of her husband.

Mr Nwachukwu was taken to court on a 23-count charge bordering on culpable homicide punishable with death, criminal intimidation, cruelty to children, criminal intimidation of children, and spousal battery, among others.

It was reported that while in alive, their spiritual father intervened in the marital crisis between the couple, but the late singer was advised to endure, especially because of her status.

However, things degenerated and she died in the marriage, leaving their children devastated.

At an FCT High Court in Abuja on Monday, April 28, 2025, Justice Nwosu-Iheme found Mr Nwachukwu culpable of killing his wife.

According to the judge, the prosecuting team proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Nwachukwu was responsible for the death of the late musician.

The case could still head to the Appeal and Supreme Courts.

Showbiz

Popular Artist Terry Apala in Ikoyi Prison for Naira Abuse

Published

5 days ago

25/04/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

A popular music act, Mr Terry Alexander Ejeh, otherwise known as Terry Apala, has been remanded in a correctional centre in Lagos for alleged mutilation of the Naira notes in January 2025.

He was arraigned on Friday, April 25, 2025, by the Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) on a single-count charge bordering on mutilating the Naira notes.

The musician was accused of committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.

“That you, Terry Alexander Ejeh, on January 5, 2025, at La Madison Place, Oniru, within the jurisdiction of this court, whilst dancing during a social event, tampered with Naira notes issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by marching on the same and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007,” the count read to Terry Apala today at a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, read.

However, he pleaded not guilty to the offence when it was read to him, which prompted the prosecution counsel, S.I. Suleiman, to ask for a trial date, urging the court to remand him in a correctional centre.

The defence counsel, Mr Felix Nwabuda, informed the court of a bail application dated April 23, 2025, and prayed the court for a short date for the hearing of the application.

“Whilst praying the court for a short date for the hearing of the bail application, I will be craving the indulgence of the court to release the defendant to the defence.

“We undertake to produce him in court. He will not evade hearing. He came in from the United Kingdom on April 23, 2025; and on the invitation of the EFCC, he came on his own,” he stated

But the prosecution counsel opposed the application, saying, “The application is alien and unheard of.”

“I urge the court to afford us the opportunity to look at the application and respond properly so that the court can make a well -informed ruling,” he said.

In a short ruling, Justice Akintayo Aluko refused the application of the defence, ordering the remand of the defendant in the Ikoyi Correctional Centre pending the determination of the bail application. The matter was, thereafter, adjourned till May 5, 2025.

Showbiz

Spotify’s AI Playlist Now Available in Nigeria

Published

5 days ago

25/04/2025

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Global streaming platform, Spotify, has announced the availability of its Artificial Intelligence (AI) playlist in Nigeria.

In a statement on Friday, it said the AI Playlist in beta is for its premium users in more than 40 markets, including Nigeria.

This feature can be found via the search tab of Spotify by simply typing AI Playlist and selecting one of the suggestions.

With AI Playlist, Spotify will curate a personalized playlist made just for users based on the tracks, artists, genres and more. This is easy to revise and refine as users only have to ask for what they want – like “more upbeat,” “more new releases,” or “happier songs.”

The most successful playlists are generated through “genre”, “mood” or “artist” prompts. But animals, activities, movie characters, colours – and even emojis – are all fair game too.

Some fun prompts the platform suggests users to try out include Afrobeat tracks for the dance floor, Trending K-Pop hits I need to know, Reggaeton for hanging out at the beach, Songs to hype me up for a football match, and Latin songs from my top genre, among others.

Since launching last year, premium users have created millions of playlists with the goal of finding music that fits any mood or moment in an instant.

Now, Spotify is making it even easier for users around the globe to create the perfect playlist and find their next favorite artist.

The company has promised that this feature would expand to markets across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.