Entertainment
Obama, Stevie Wonder, Snoop Dogg Pay Tribute to Rapper Nipsey Hussle
Former US President Barack Obama, legendary singer, Stevie Wonder and rapper, Snoop Dogg eulogised slain rapper, Nipsey Hussle in a very emotional memorial in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Obama wrote a letter to the family, which was read by Karen Civil, Hussle’s friend and business partner, where he praised Hussle’s attempts to revitalise the gang-plagued neighbourhood where he was raised, and where he was gunned down in March.
“While most folks look at the Crenshaw neighbourhood where he grew up and see only gangs, bullets and despair, Nipsey saw potential. He saw hope,” Obama’s letter said, referencing his efforts to build a skills-training centre and a co-working space.
The memorial was held at the 21,000-capacity Staples Center, a sports and pop concert venue, which was packed with fans wearing white and blue for the three-hour memorial.
The ceremony was followed by a 25-mile (40-km) procession through the streets of south Los Angeles.
Fellow California rapper, Snoop Dogg, recalled Hussle’s former connections with the notorious Crips gang that the musician later parlayed into efforts to combat gang violence.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave us a good Crip, the late great neighbourhood Nip. Rest in peace,” Snoop Dogg said.
He called the Grammy-nominated singer “a peace advocate” because of his work with all members of the community.
Wonder played his 1980 hit Rocket Love and a version of Eric Clapton’s Tears in Heaven to pay respects to Hussle.
Also, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan said Hussle has become “to hip hop and rap what Bob Marley was to reggae.”
“He lived the gang life but he didn’t stay there. He lived the life of the ‘hood but he rose above the pull of gravity,” Farrakhan said in a speech.
Hussle’s two-year-old son, dressed in a blue suit, was brought on stage in the arms of the musician’s girlfriend, model Lauren London.
Hussle, 33, was shot on March 31 outside a clothing store he owned in south Los Angeles. Shortly after, a stampede erupted at a local vigil for Hussle after reports of a gunman in the crowd.
A 29-year-old man on April 9 pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
Police said Hussle’s shooting was motivated by a personal dispute, although it took place in a surge of gang-related violence in south Los Angeles in March.
Hussle, whose real name was Ermias Asghedom, was Grammy-nominated earlier this year for his debut studio album Victory Lap.
(NAN/Reuters)
The highbrow Banana Island in Ikoyi, Lagos, was literally transformed on Saturday night as Globacom joined the community to mark the commencement of the Yuletide season.
The company sponsored the community’s Starlight Night organized by the Banana Island Property Owners and Residents Association Lagos (BIPORAL).
The 2024 Starlight Night, which was the fifth in the series, was an evening to usher in the Yuletide season with families and friends as well as “a day to reflect on how the year has been, and be thankful for where we are under a beautiful weather”.
Globacom, in a statement, expressed delight in sponsoring the celebration to spread the festive cheer as well as the lighting of a Christmas tree and street light boxes across key locations around Banana Island.
“Christmas is a time for unity, joy, and togetherness, and as a company, we believe in contributing to the communities where we operate. This is our way of giving back and spreading joy and hope to our fellow Nigerians, especially as we prepare to enter the new year”, the company disclosed.
The special event brought together local residents, friends, community leaders, and corporate partners, and witnessed electrifying performances by entertainment groups, Art Afrique and SPAN.
Starlight night ended with Christmas fireworks which lit up the sky with dazzling bursts of colour and sparkle, adding a vibrant and festive glow to the celebrations.
The event will culminate in the illumination of street light boxes which will be strategically placed throughout the island’s key streets.
Globacom’s sponsorship of the Starlight Night has added a touch of festive season to the Banana Island neighbourhood, reinforcing the company’s commitment to bringing joy to Nigerian communities during the festive season.
Quincy Jones, the multi-talented music titan whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s historic “Thriller” album to writing prize-winning film and television scores and collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other recording artists, has died at 91.
Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, says he died Sunday night at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles, surrounded by his family.
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” the family said in a statement. “And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.”
Jones rose from running with gangs on the South Side of Chicago to the very heights of show business, becoming one of the first Black executives to thrive in Hollywood and amassing an extraordinary musical catalog that includes some of the richest moments of American rhythm and song. For years, it was unlikely to find a music lover who did not own at least one record with his name on it, or a leader in the entertainment industry and beyond who did not have some connection to him.
Jones kept company with presidents and foreign leaders, movie stars and musicians, philanthropists and business leaders. He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, composed the soundtracks for “Roots” and “In the Heat of the Night,” organized President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural celebration and oversaw the all-star recording of “We Are the World,” the 1985 charity record for famine relief in Africa.
Lionel Richie, who co-wrote “We Are the World” and was among the featured singers, would call Jones “the master orchestrator.”
In a career which began when records were still played on vinyl at 78 rpm, top honors likely go to his productions with Jackson: “Off the Wall,” “Thriller” and “Bad” were albums near-universal in their style and appeal. Jones’ versatility and imagination helped set off the explosive talents of Jackson as he transformed from child star to the “King of Pop.” On such classic tracks as “Billie Jean” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” Jones and Jackson fashioned a global soundscape out of disco, funk, rock, pop, R&B and jazz and African chants. For “Thriller,” some of the most memorable touches originated with Jones, who recruited Eddie Van Halen for a guitar solo on the genre-fusing “Beat It” and brought in Vincent Price for a ghoulish voiceover on the title track.
“Thriller” sold more than 20 million copies in 1983 alone and has contended with the Eagles’ “Greatest Hits 1971-1975” among others as the best-selling album of all time.
“If an album doesn’t do well, everyone says ‘it was the producers fault’; so if it does well, it should be your ‘fault,’ too,” Jones said in an interview with the Library of Congress in 2016. “The tracks don’t just all of a sudden appear. The producer has to have the skill, experience and ability to guide the vision to completion.”
The list of his honors and awards fills 18 pages in his 2001 autobiography “Q”, including 27 Grammys at the time (now 28), an honorary Academy Award (now two) and an Emmy for “Roots.” He also received France’s Legion d’Honneur, the Rudolph Valentino Award from the Republic of Italy and a Kennedy Center tribute for his contributions to American culture. He was the subject of a 1990 documentary, “Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones” and a 2018 film by daughter Rashida Jones. His memoir made him a best-selling author.
Born in Chicago in 1933, Jones would cite the hymns his mother sang around the house as the first music he could remember. But he looked back sadly on his childhood, once telling Oprah Winfrey that “There are two kinds of people: those who have nurturing parents or caretakers, and those who don’t. Nothing’s in between.” Jones’ mother suffered from emotional problems and was eventually institutionalized, a loss that made the world seem “senseless” for Quincy. He spent much of his time in Chicago on the streets, with gangs, stealing and fighting.
“They nailed my hand to a fence with a switchblade, man,” he told the AP in 2018, showing a scar from his childhood.
Music saved him. As a boy, he learned that a Chicago neighbor owned a piano and he soon played it constantly himself. His father moved to Washington state when Quincy was 10 and his world changed at a neighborhood recreation center. Jones and some friends had broken into the kitchen and helped themselves to lemon meringue pie when Jones noticed a small room nearby with a stage. On the stage was a piano.
“I went up there, paused, stared, and then tinkled on it for a moment,” he wrote in his autobiography. “That’s where I began to find peace. I was 11. I knew this was it for me. Forever.”
Source: APnews
Digital solutions provider, Globacom, has announced an entertainment tour for its youth-centric product, My-G. The show will be hosted across major cities in Nigeria.
Globacom disclosed at a press briefing on Thursday that the youth-focused entertainment tour is geared towards highlighting the huge benefits of My-G, a product which addresses the entertainment and connectivity needs of young Nigerians.
Globacom’s Director of Creativity, Mr. Chuka Obi, explained that My-G offers unique data bundles which enable customers to access their favourite entertainment sites, social media platforms, and streaming services at affordable rates.
According to him, “With My-G, Glo customers are able to enjoy WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat, BoomPlay, Audiomack, Instagram and GloTV without sweating on data cost”.
He added further that, “My-G package is awesome, and customers are assured of getting the best data deals to spend more time on entertainment sites that they love to surf. That necessarily means they won’t get their pockets emptied just because they want to have fun”.
Obi also added that the experiential engagements in these cities will be garnished with undiluted entertainment, while “the pass to enjoy this, will surely be their uptake of My-G data bundles”.
Youth leaders who graced the unveiling of the entertainment tour gave thumbs up to the initiative from Globacom saying that “it would create a great opportunity for young people to engage with the brand that has remained focused at connecting young people to their passions and empowering them at affordable costs”.
President, Students Union Government (SUG), Yaba College of Technology, Morakinyo Olaolu, noted that, “This is a good initiative for youth development. We thank Glo for My-G which is for us the Youth.”.
In the same vein, Adebobola Ayomide, SUG President, Lagos State University, opined that “My-G will help the youth to stay more active online. It will be useful to us in both academic and social activities. We are happy with the plan and we also call on Glo to provide other packages that will help improve student lives on campus. We appreciate the company at all times”.
Adekanye Ibukunoluwa,who represented the University of Lagos SUG, said, “Thanks to Glo for putting the Youth into consideration. Online is where we do most of our academic work and My-G will help us greatly with affordable data. We hope Glo will start bringing more activities to the campus so that the students can benefit from them from time to time”.
Globacom also seized the opportunity to reintroduce its competitive tariff plan, Berekete, which has now been reloaded as Berekete 10X, and offers more benefits including ten times the value of every recharge, double data value, and amazing benefits on voice calls.
The company also highlighted the benefits of Glo Café app, a one-stop shop for all digital services and other Glo products and services. Glo Café is available for download on the Google App Store where customers can get 100 GB Bonus Data which includes instant 75GB and 5GB data installments for the next 5 months.
In addition to these, an app exclusive recharge offer of 100 per cent and app exclusive data bonus of 10 per cent are also available on Glo Café. Similarly, the app offers an in-App exclusive digital data bundles on special data.
Glo Café was launched to offer users self-services like Data Purchase, Data Gifting & Sharing with utmost ease. The app also addresses self-care needs like balance checks, Recharge, Borrow, Credit/Data, PUK code, NIN number details.
