TheNewsGuru

Tag: Music

  • We are fast losing our value system- Foluke Daramola

     

    Outspoken Nollywood actress, Foluke Daramola has reacted to the news that Nigeria Broadcasting Commission has barred ‘If and Fall’ by Davido, ‘Wo and Wavy level’ by Olamide and ‘Living Things’ by 9ice from being transmitted.

    Daramola opines that whether banned or not, people need to know the impact of the artistes songs to the society, and whether their children can learn from what they are singing.

    Hear her:”As much as I love these fantastic talented artists and I don’t have anything against them but 1we are Africans though our now has been taken care of, but what’s going to happen to our kids and the ones yet unborn, our future?

     

    “I don’t believe technological advancement should make us drop what we stand for. Whatever we do today we should always consider our tomorrow when doing them. ..Can your children relate with what you do now, what values are those songs impacting to our society?

     

    “When I was of a marriageable age and I brought a man home to my mum, she would ask me who he is, what he does for a living (even when it’s obvious he has money)what family he comes from and so on

     

    “We are fast losing our value system, We complain about our leaders and how corrupt they are but we also forget in a hurry that our leaders are a representation of what a society is and it starts with the mind”she said.

  • Sad! Segun Bucknor passes on

    Afropop music maestro Betram Olusegun Bucknor better known as Segun Bucknor died in the early hours of Friday , August 11th.The jazz and afrosoul icon breathed his last at the age of 71

     

     

    Bucknor was one of the pioneers of the early Nigerian music sound, having being an apprentice to highlife legend Roy Chicago. He carved his own niche in the 60’s and 70’s, leading a highlife/afrobeat band called the Hot Four and later rechristened as Segun Bucknor and the Soul Assembly.

     

     

    The band recorded a couple of soul songs such as Lord Give Me Soul and I Will Love You No Matter How. Gradually the groups drifted from soul songs to a style of afrobeat, in their performance, a dancing trio called the Sweet Things were included.

     

    He was a world-class musician (pianist/keyboardist, guitarist, singer, recording artiste and bandleader). As a journalist, he wrote for LAGOS LIFE newspaper from the Guardian stable) . He was also a contributing editor for Photo News Magazine

     

     

    His death was confirmed by his daughter Funke Bucknor-Obruthe.

    She wrote on Facebook:”Wow my condolence my brother , I just lost my dad today as well . May God comfort us all” Funke wrote on the Facebook post of a friend Abiola Olatunde Aloba, whose mother recently passed away.

     

     

    Strut Records, an international record label based in London, Berlin and Brooklyn also tweeted on the passing of Segun Bucknor.

     

    His artistic genes did not elude his daughters Tosyn who is an all-round entertainer, singer, songwriter and media personality; as well as elder sister Funke Bucknor-Obruthe, one of Nigeria’s renowned event management entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

     

    His sad death came as a shock to many. Bucknor’s musical ingenuity will be indelible in years to come

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Don’t listen to my music, If you are not my fan- Burna Boy

    Don’t listen to my music, If you are not my fan- Burna Boy

    Damini Ogulu a.k.a Burna Boy has declared that anyone who is not his fan should not listen to his music.

    Burna Boy who has been embroiled in several controversies is one singer known to be temperamental. The Like to party singer took to his Twitter page stating that he only makes music for himself and his fans and nobody else..

    According to him:”Remember, I only make music for myself, My fans and no one else. All others, please don’t even bother listening “.

     

    Recall that the dance-hall singer’s 15 year- UK ban was lifted after five years .Burna had an opportunity to perform in the UK June 2016.

  • Focus on my music, don’t criticize me- HumbleSmith

    Ekenedichukwu Ejemba a.k.a Humblesmith has a message for his critics who condemn him for featuring artistes in his songs. He urges such people to focus on his music and not criticize him.

    Humbesmith made this known while being quizzed by newsmen.

    According to him:” My message for everyone out there who believes I cannot make a hit song without featuring anyone is that forget about whether I feature anyone or not. Enjoy my music. I am here to stay. Music is what I am born to do”.

    The Osinachi crooner has been enjoying massive airplay for his song Focus which is becoming a must-have on music playlists.

  • Adekunle Gold redefines what hit song means

    Adekunle Gold redefines what hit song means

    At a time when pop stars are deploying lewd lyrics to make their music more appealing, Orente Singer, Adekunle Gold has vowed not to change his style of lyrics. He affirms that his music is message driven and he isn’t ready to deviate from this style anytime soon.

    According to him:”It is my personal resolve to keep making clean music. I am not under any pressure whatsoever to change the type of lyrics I sing. I like to pass across messages with my songs. Music is supposed to be a vehicle for social change. If you notice, my songs often dwell on topical issues that people can relate with and learn from. A true hit song is one that people can still enjoy many years after it was recorded. But some songs that were released just last year are no longer relevant or appealing, and that is because they are shallow and not in tune with the times” .

  • I won’t drop my music career, graduate potato seller declares

    ….How a phone call changed her story

    The dream of every graduate is to get a lucrative job that pays their bills and makes them happy. However, some university graduates don’t have such stories to tell.

    Louis Bewarang, a young Nigerian lady became a viral sensation after sharing pictures of herself on social media, selling potatoes. Her picture spread like wild fire and she became the subject of discussions on most social media platforms.

    Bewarang, a Theatre Arts graduate of the University of Jos in an exclusive chat with TheNewsGuru.com narrated how idleness and her search for a white collar job that wasn’t forthcoming made her venture into potato business.

    In her words: “I graduated this year from the University of Jos. I got tired of being idle at home. I tried applying for some jobs but because I did not have the required certificates (Degree & NYSC) I couldn’t get one so this got me frustrated.”

    The budding entrepreneur said her mother ignited the passion in her to do business. According to her, she (her mother) came home one day, telling her potatoes are now cheap and advising her to venture into selling it.

    Hear her: “Oh well! My mother just came home one day and said potatoes are now cheap in the market, why not sell them? Sell them to people who don’t live in Jos”. It made sense to me. I reflected on it and decided to give it a try. I just thought a lot of people will be interested. So I decided to post on my social media handles, Whatsapp, and Instagram. I wasn’t serious about it until days later a guy called me saying a friend of his, was in need of it. He sent the money across and I got them for him” She revealed

    According to Bewarang, the phone call changed her story, becoming her turning point. She realized that there is a pot of gold in potato business.

    “That phone call made me believe in the business. I felt that for a person to make orders that means there is a market for the business. I became more hopeful and motivated. I got more potatoes and made more sales.

    When TheNewsGuru.com quizzed her further on how the use of social media has helped transformed her business, a fulfilled Bewarang noted: “People are really calling to get the potatoes. I do shipping to Lagos and mass shipping during the weekend to other parts of the country” she said.

    However, aside her business acumen, one distinct feature that many don’t know about this rare entrepreneur is her passion for music.

    Bewarang who is already turning a pro in the business noted that selling potatoes is much easier than succeeding in the Nigerian music Industry.

    “It is not easy to succeed in the Nigerian music industry. You know how music is in this country, it’s very competitive. I still record and sing. I want to succeed and blossom in the music industry.

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  • My goal is to build the African music scene- Akon

    Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam better known as Akon is an American-born Senegalese singer, rapper, songwriter, businessman, record producer and actor. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of “Locked Up” featuring Styles P, the first single from his debut album Trouble.

    The Konvict Muzik boss says his goal right now is to build the African music scene. The 44-year old award winning singer made it known in a recent chat. According to him:” My goal now is to build the African music scene that is what I have been able to do in the last five six years. We are making headway now because everyone in the US is branching into Afro-pop”

     

    Akon who is also working on a movie centred around the African continent says: “Africa is often being defined by ways people don’t understand because they never took their time to come here. So we want to brand Africa in a different way showing the bright side of Africa. We have visited a lot of countries but we shot only in Nigeria and Senegal”.

     

    When asked what triggered his decision to shoot a movie, he says:”God didn’t bless you to hold on to it. He always blesses those he knows will continue to bless others with the blessings he has blessed them with”.

  • How I channeled my fears into music- Brymo

    Olawale Ashimi a.k.a Brymo is no doubt one of Nigeria’s highly talented singers.

    The musician who was ensnared in a legal tussle with his former record label, Chocolate City, has opened up on how he leveraged on that cloudy part of his career to make good music.

    Many naysayers thought it was over for him till he resurfaced with new sounds

     

    Speaking in a recent episode of Culture Diaries, he said:”In 2013, when I decided to sort of evolve my sound, I knew it was going to be difficult to be accepted because at that point in time, everyone was leaning toward making contents that were more commercially acceptable”.

     

    “Infusing poetry into all of that melody was going to be tough, and fortunately I had a scandal to ride on, so I feel like without all of that drama, it would have been more difficult to sell the sound”.

    When asked how he was able to cope with the fear and apprehension he experienced during the legal tussle, he said:“Fear is the tool you need to grow, at some point, I just took all of that fear and whenever the anxiety was at its peak, I would just pick up a pen and write down some lyrics.

     

    “It felt like the longer I lived with the fear, the more I got used to it. At some point, everything just started to wear off.

     

    “Fortunately, the very first album I made independently, I could not release on time. It took up to 4 or 5 months before Alaba could release it.

     

    “We were getting petitions from iTunes to put the album down, so all of that, I think as soon as I passed that phase, nothing could stop me again.”

     

     

  • I left Lagos because of the existence of cliques- Jeremiah Gyang

    Former Chocolate City artiste, Jeremiah Gyang has opened up on the reasons why he left Lagos where his music career was thriving for Jos.

    The singer, whose hit song Na Ba Ka ruled the airwaves for several years said: “I have been living and working in Jos these past years. As you can see, I am quite busy doing my thing around the North. I had to leave the entertainment scene in Lagos and return to the North because I was tired of trying to seek favour from some of the key players in the music industry.”

     

    Explaining further, he said a lot of musicians in Lagos are getting attached to the cliques within the entertainment industry.

    Hear him:”It seems as if a lot of musicians in Lagos are getting attached to cliques within the entertainment industry and if you do not belong to such groups, you won’t get far. Since I came to the show business terrain there with my brothers from the North and I fell out with them.

     

    “Of course, nobody would admit me into their camp. There was no need for me to continue to stay in Lagos because I felt that I was wasting my time. I had to go to somewhere else that I would be relevant. Eventually I found relevance here in the North,” he said.

     

     

  • What you should know about World Music Day

    “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” ― Plato

    Fete de la Musique or World Music Day 2017 is being celebrated all over the world today, June 21. Lovers of music celebrate music in all its forms and the impact it’s had on the world and the human spirit.

     

    There’s nothing in the world like the sound of your favorite song coming on, it sets you ablaze and makes you radiate in joy. It may also take you on a journey to a faraway place and time, where you languish in a memory of times gone by and people who are no longer present. Some of our favorite songs can boost us out of depression and make an otherwise horrible day suddenly seem like it’s not so bad.

     

    The concept of a united day for musicians was first proposed by American artiste Joel Cohen back in 1976.But it was France that first incorporated World Music Day as a day of national importance, which was later adopted by many countries. In October 1981, French Minister of Culture Jack Lang appointed Maurice Fleuret as the director of music and dance. The duo conceived an event that will allow all musicians – amateur and experienced – to express themselves. The first World Music Day or Fete de la Musique took place on June 21, 1982 – the year’s summer solstice in the North hemisphere. Thousands of citizens came out to part in the initiative all across France, till late at night. It later became a (part) national holiday.

     

    Over the years, World Music Day has grown to explore new musical trends and music from across the world, and revives traditional music.

    How you can celebrate World Music Day

    You can spend today listening to your all-time favourite song. In addition you can also dig deep into what inspired some of these songs and how the songs were created. Don’t allow today go by without you experiencing the power of music.

     

    I love how Confucius describes music:” Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without”.