JESSE JAGZ'S NEW HAIRCUT (PHOTOS)

It's rapper Jesse Jagz!!! Like the new look?...LOL

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? 6 AND A HALF REASONS DON JAZZY WILL NOT LOSE

So I read my colleague’s piece on Don Jazzy being the one to lose in the Mo’ Hits fall out and I had to scoff. As expected, my eyes were subjected to opinions, in agreement or otherwise, from people who believe there’s some form of glory in pretending to be the online version of Simon Cowell to a bunch of people they most likely don’t even know, but that’s not why we’re here.

I would start in the vein of my colleague and state that I am #TeamDonJazzy or #TeamDBanj but I am unabashedly, neither. I’ve never for one second stopped to consider whether D’banj was good or bad at anything although I’ve caught myself a few times thinking how great a beat maker Don Jazzy is.
That said, I find the idea that Don Jazzy will be the loser in this case, highly improbable.

Here’s why:

D Banj has Kanye. Okay, now what?

Sure, Kanye appeared in D’Banj’s latest video. But, excuse me while I ask, “then what”? What has Kanye done for D’Banj so far beyond shouting him out on Twitter? He got him doing back up (to put it nicely) “vocals” on a song by someone called Lil Issue (I mean who is that?) Whoop-de-deoo. As far as the Nigerian public goes, all that “deal” can bring D’banj is hype. Success? That’s not how the American music industry works. The idea of having a Nigerian musician linked to Kanye West will inevitably rouse the interests of any music lover out there. But what happens when the novelty of that wears off? How many Nigerians know or will bother trying to figure out who a “Lil Issue” is?

D’Banj is the performer. So?

Yes, D’Banj is the performer. The same performer accused of being boring at the Koko Concert and Rhythm Unplugged shows last year. Whitney (Houston) and Michael (Jackson) supposedly had the love of the public “through thick and thin”. Really? It’s easy to forget, due to the (unfortunately) largely hypocritical outpourings of affection that trailed their deaths, that they were once the butt of ridicule by the public. In fact, many would say being in the public eye caused many of their problems but that’s neither here nor there at this point. The fact is, certain things are just hard to live down, and the public doesn’t let go that easily. A more recent example would be Chris Brown. Despite the attempts by the media and members of the industry themselves (Rihanna, I’m looking at you) to make us forget “the incident”, people aren’t just going to pretend like it never happened. Even a public endorsement by the woman he beat up isn’t about to wash away his sins; hearing him sing about all the different ways he wants to enjoy a “cake” isn’t going to make me think of him as anything beyond a woman beater (thankfully I have an edit of the song free of his voice so I can continue to enjoy it in all its sexually over the top catchiness). His songs get played on the radio, MTV shoves his videos down our throats, he performed at The Grammys twice, even won one, but his last album, released almost a year ago hasn’t even gone platinum. Despite the attempts by “insiders” to convince us it’s some sort of “comeback”, it hasn’t even sold up to a million copies worldwide. Yes, it’s a flop. And D’Banj, even though he (thankfully) hasn’t beaten a woman to unconsciousness, could very well become a flop in that manner. The public loves to take sides, and hey, it’s clear Don Jazzy is the one receiving all the goodwill in this situation. I mean, the dude shares credit on Twitter, of course people are going to support him! Especially when the other option is to either “mind your own business” (which is pretty much a foreign concept to Nigerians) or support the guy who for a while now has seemed determined to present himself as the most arrogant -(insert preferred word for unpleasant here) person ever.

Don Jazzy’s losing it? Hardly.

Don Jazzy’s biggest power is his mystique? Errr, no. It may play a huge part in his “image”, but I highly doubt people listen to songs produced by him because they think by so doing they can somehow discover a little more about that guy who bizarrely insists on always whispering into D’Banj’s ears.
When people hear a song produced by Don Jazzy is about to be released, anticipation builds. Why? Because, they’re sure that it will be, in no equivocal terms, a jam. MI has made “Short black boy” a very prominent part of his brand, but if 24 hours to the release of Illegal Music 2 he were to suddenly transform into a 6 foot plus light-skinned fellow, would that stop downloads of the mixtape from crashing any site onto which it were hosted?

Get off the stage

This is, admittedly, a near faultless point. Let’s face it, Don Jazzy has little business adding his indistinguishable croaks to a track. Granted there’s a certain melodic catchiness to his “lepa on the floor” line from Tiwa Savage’s Without My Heart but overall his feature on that song could have been done without. That said, is that going to ruin his career? I can only laugh as I say, hardly. The notion that this will cause him to lose is, quite frankly, over the top and pointlessly dramatic.

Don Jazzy is boring


Another faultless point. At least as far as I know. But the question is, who cares? Seriously. Don Jazzy splitting from D’Banj doesn’t necessarily mean he needs to now take the spotlight. He can be boring all he wants while remaining in the background, like he always has. Yes, D’banj may possess the uncanny ability to confidently spew out meaningless dribble about “kokolets” and what not, but what happens when the novelty of that wears off and he actually has to answer a question with some semblance of intelligence? Judging by the debacle that was his Sahara Reporter’s interview, the answer to that is a resounding “eh….”
Don Jazzy on the other hand managed to handle the public outcry over his involvement, or lack thereof in the Occupy Nigeria protests, much better. A series of well worded tweets was all it took to get people back on his side. Boring or not, the man knows what he’s doing.


Don Jazzy has magic fingers. Well, duh?

Well, he does. Ikechukwu and Dr Sid/DPrince and whatever the rest of the “crew” are called may effectively be flops now but their only chances at success were due, in no small part, to Don Jazzy.

Yes. Everyone “knew” Ikechukwu before Don Jazzy hooked up with him, how could we not? What with him shrieking “My name is Ikeeeeechukwu” left and right like a sex-starved banshee. But, the only time anyone ever took him or his music seriously, or at least seriously enough to listen to was more than likely with “Wine am well’. And no, D’Banj’s verse and feature in the video were not the reason. People may have danced to D’Prince’s “Omoba” in the club but it sure as hell wasn’t because of anything special he added to the song.

Davido

This is my “half reason”. I’ll admit I’m pulling this out of nowhere in particular. But what if? Yes, Davido is already insanely popular now. He’s managed to achieve a lot without the backing of any popular or already established music industry honchos like Banky or Don Jazzy. So what if he somehow got with Don Jazzy? Sonia debacle aside, how many would be able to resist Davido “nananinanano’-ing on a Don Jazzy beat? He already has the females (and males, apparently) fawning over his dimples so imagine what would come of that pairing? Still think D’Banj is irreplaceable?

'MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN NIGERIA' PAGEANT CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY

Silverbird Entertainment is set to celebrate the 25th edition of the annual ‘Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria‘ pageant. The jubilee celebration is to hold at the Best Western Home Ville Hotel, Etete, GRA, Benin City in Edo state on Saturday, 5 May 2012.

‘This year’s event marks a remarkable one for MBGN, Miss La Casera and Miss Select Pro, as we will be marking our 25 years, 5th and 4th year anniversary respectively, and the Edo state government is partnering with us’, said Group Vice president of Silverbird Group, Guy Murray Bruce at a briefing held on Friday, March, 16 2012 at the Silverbird galleria.

Meanwhile, the representative of the Edo state government, Wilson Osigwe (DG Lagos Liaison) officer said, ‘The Edo State Government is ready for the show. MBGN is so dear to the Governor and the governor is a friend of Silverbird’. ‘We are inviting all Nigerian bodies, international bodies to come to Edo to see – old and new, our culture, development’.

This is the second time the pageant is leaving Lagos. It was held in Imo State in 2008.

The marketing manager of La Casera; Abraham Benson said, ‘this is the 6th year we have been partnering with MBGN and we will be making our 5th Queen this year. N1m and a brand new car will be given to miss La Casera  as we celebrate the 10 years anniversary of La casera’ he said.

Forms are still on sale as the screening process begins in Benin City on Tuesday, March 27, in Port Harcourt on Thursday, March 29, in Abuja on Saturday March 31 and in Lagos on Tuesday , April, 3 2012.

The pageant, which has been held every year since 1986, except for 1995, has had 27 queens since its inception.

We’re told both the Pre event and the event will be transmitted live on television stations across the country.

Organisers say this year’s special edition will feature performances from the best of Nigerian artistes, including 2Face Idibia. The pageant is also expected to bring all ex MBGN beauty Queens together, including Bianca Ojukwu and Agbani Darego will be in attendance.

Created by Silverbird, the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) pageant originally began as Miss Universe Nigeria in 1983. It was renamed Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria in 1986. Winners represent Nigeria in the Miss World competition and, until recently, Miss Universe – currently, only the first-runner up participates in Miss Universe.

The current title holder is Sylvia Nduka, who represented Plateau.

Several past winners and participants of MBGN have managed to carve out successful careers in music (Sabina Umeh, Emma Komlosy, Munachi Abii), acting (Regina Askia, Stephanie Okereke, Alex Lopez, Ibinabo Fiberesima), business (Nike Oshinowo-Soleye, Omowunmi Akinnifesi), television (Chika Chikezie, Celia Bissong), and politics (Lynda Chuba Ikpeazu, Bianca Onoh, Omasan Buwa).

MO'HITS RECORDS: END OF AN ERA

 
Saturday March 17, 2012 would have been remembered in Nigeria for the sweltering heat until a certain ace producer got on Twitter.

In a series of obviously belabored tweets, the one-time CEO of Mo’Hits records Don Jazzy validated all the rumors that had been flying around about his split with erstwhile partner D’banj, finally bringing to an end what a lot could easily term the most dynamic partnership contemporary Nigerian music has ever witnessed.

Already a lot of accusatory fingers have been pointed to what could have triggered the split: some tenable – a Kanye West-G.O.O.D Music deal hemorrhaging already bloated egos and increasing the bad blood, others laughable and a little far-fetched – talk of ‘juju’ and rappers hexing Don Jazzy after a Hip-hop World interview where the good don had some rather unsavory things to say about the state of rap music in Nigeria.

Over the next couple of weeks, music columnists, conspiracy theorists, and others alike are sure to have a field day as they give reasons to why a seemingly symbiotic relationship went to the pits as well as proffer directions as to the next steps for the duo and the Mo’hits label home to Dr SID, Wande Coal, D’Prince and K-switch, their collective and singular futures keenly debated as a matter of life and death and the after-life.

Hours after the ‘twitclaration’, Don Jazzy and D’banj were already trending as separate entities; with the imprint they started already taking the first steps towards full blown relegation to the backgrounds of our memories. Whilst this might be in the spirit of the trending topic, a step back might be needed to remember Mo’hits for what it was and why, regardless of their separation now, their names will forever be intertwined when talk of this epoch of Nigerian music comes up.

In an era where even divinely sanctioned unions don’t last forever, D’banj and Don Jazzy have been able to put a lot into a mere decade. What started out as two young men relocating from England with a bunch of songs and a lot of dreams has turned into a cultural behemoth touching on a lot besides music. With Don Jazzy’s sonic direction and D’banj’s electric personality they jointly impacted us in ways that we hadn’t felt  in a while or even known to be humanly possible before them.

They had us dancing to their infectious songs – some of us going as far as imitating the phallic hand move made famous by D’banj. They flexed urban lingo to include koko and all its derivatives, made ‘oseee’ standard form of response to good news and took endowed from the annals of conversational obscurity and made it  common speak.

When it came to performances they equally blazed trails, either shocking us a la a young D’banj strutting his stuff on the stage an the inaugural edition of the Hiphopworld awards in nothing more than a towel – only outdone in audacity by his ambush of the red carpet earlier on with 50-plus kokolettes; or leaving us in sheer awe as to how they pulled it off – live performances that had a mish mash of atilogwu and salsa dancers and what else they could bring on stage as a band gave remix renditions of already hit songs

In business their mark was also felt as they gained an enviable position as Nigeria’s foremost record label churning hit album after hit album, even going on further by trying alternative models to Alaba distribution (the Funk You Up and Mo’hits compilation album – C.V). Not to forget the Koko brand extensions from reality shows to phones, the international collaborations, the Oliver viral video campaign, the corporate endorsements to the eventual G.O.O.D Music deal that many feel broke their union.

Don Jazzy in tweeting about the split also announced that he would be giving away the proceeds of his production catalogue to five charity organizations. Whoever the recipients turn out to be, they are sure to be smiling to the bank. But somehow they won’t still be able to lay exclusive rights to that as we all have been benefactors of the Mo’hits legacy – their story and their rise showing what two people can do with the right amount of resilience, talent and passion.

That it has now come to an end doesn’t taint it for what it is. After all what is that popular saying about all good things (no pun intended)?

AMAA AWARDS 2012: RITA DOMINIC, NSE IKPE-ETIM, UCHE JOMBO AND YVONNE OKORO CLASH FOR 'BEST ACTRESS' PRIZE

We’ve been waiting for months. Now, the producers have released the list of nominees for this year’s Africa Movie Academy awards.  AMAA, currently the continent’s most prestigious awards for filmmakers, announced the nominees last week in Banjul, the capital of The Gambia, at an exclusive ceremony attended by celebrities, top government officials and captains of industry from The Gambia and other African countries.

This year’s event, to be hosted by Haitian born international actor, Jimmy Jean-Louis will hold in Lagos on April 22.

See the full list of nominees below.

AMAA 2012 BEST SHORT FILM
JAMAA – Uganda
Look Again – Kenya
Maffe Tiga – Guinea
Braids On Bald Head – Nigeria
Hidden Life – South Africa
Mwansa The Great – Zimbabwe
Chumo – Tanzania
The Young Smoker – Nigeria
AMAA 2012 BEST DOCUMENTARY
African Election – Nigeria / Germany
Beyond The Deadly Pit – Rwanda
Awa Ogbe An African Adventure – Algeria
Dear Mandella – South Africa
White & Black, Crime And Colour – Tanzania
The Niger Delta Struggle – Ghana
There Is Nothing Wrong With My Uncle – Nigeria
How Much Is Too Much – Kenya
AMAA 2012 BEST DIASPORA FEATURE
Toussanat Louverture – France
Ghetta Life – Jamaica
High Chicago – Canada
Elza – Guadelupe
Better Must Come – Jamaica
Kinyanrwanda – USA
AMAA 2012 BEST DIASPORA DOCUMENTARY
The Education Of Auma Obama – Germany
White Wash – USA
Almendron Mi Corazon – Guadeloupe
All Me The Life And Times Of Winfred Hubert – USA
AMAA 2012 BEST DIASPORA (SHORT FILM)
John Doe – USA
White Sugar In A Black Pot – USA
The Lost One – USA
AMAA 2012 BEST ANIMATION
The Legend Of Ngog Hills – Kenya
Oba – Nigeria
Climate Change Is Real – Kenya
Egu – South Africa
Chomoka – Kenya
AMAA 2012 BEST FILM BY AN AFRICAN LIVING ABROAD
Mystery Of Birds – USA / Nigeria
Housemates – United Kingdom / Nigeria
Ben Kross – Italy / Nigeria
Paparezzi Eye In The Dark – USA / Nigeria / Ghana
AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN
Somewhere In Africa – Ghana
Phone Swap – Nigeria
Otelo Burning – South Africa
Adesuwa – Nigeria
How To Steal 2 Million – South Africa
AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
The Captain Of Nakara
Adesuwa – Nigeria
Rugged Priest – Kenya
Somewhere In Africa – Ghana
Queens Desire
AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKE-UP
Rugged Priest – Kenya
State Research Bureau – Uganda
Adesuwa – Nigeria
Somewhere in Africa – Ghana
Shattered – Kenya
AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUNDTRACK
Otelo Burning – South Africa
Alero’s Symphony – Nigeria
Adesuwa – Nigeria
How To Steal 2 Million – South Africa
Somewhere In Africa – Ghana
AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
Behind The Mask
Somewhere In Africa – Ghana
Adesuwa – Nigeria
State Research Bureau – Uganda
Otelo Burning – South Africa

AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND
State Of Violence – South Africa
Otelo Burning – South Africa
How To Steal 2 Million – South Africa
Man On Ground – South Africa
Algiers Murder – South Africa
AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
How To Steal 2 Million – South Africa
Otelo Burning – South Africa
Rugged Priest – Kenya
Masquerades – Ghana
Man On Ground – South Africa / Nigeria
AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING
Algiers Murder – South Africa
Man On Ground – South Africa / Nigeria
Unwanted Guest – Nigeria
How To Steal 2 Million – South Africa
Otelo Burning – South Africa
Alero’s Symphony – Nigeria
AMAA 2012 ACHIEVEMENT IN SCREENPLAY
Ties That Bind – Ghana
Mr & Mrs – Nigeria
How To Steal 2 Million – South Africa
Otelo Burning – South Africa
Unwanted Guest – Nigeria
Two Brides And A Baby – Nigeria
AMAA 2012 BEST NIGERIAN FILM
Unwanted Guest
Family On Fire
Alero’s Symphony
Adesuwa
Phone Swap
AMAA 2012 BEST FILM IN AN AFRICAN LANGUAGE
Chumo – Tanzania
State Of Violence – South Africa
Family On Fire – Nigeria
Otelo Burning – South Africa
Asoni – Cameroun
AMAA 2012 BEST CHILD ACTOR
Rahman Junior Bande (Greg) – Behind The Mask
Tsepang Mohlomi (Ntwe) – Otelo Burning
Reginna Danies (Jenny) – Bank Job
Benjamin Abemigisha and Racheal Nduhukire (Derick and Margaret) – JAMAA
Ayinla O Abdulaheem – ZR-7
AMAA 2012 BEST YOUNG / PROMISING ACTOR
Neo Ntatleno (OJ) – State Of Violence
Ivie Okujaye (Alero) – Alero’s Symphony
Iyobosa Olaye (Adesuwa) – Adesuwa
Martha Ankomah – Somewhere In Africa
Thomas Gumede and Sihle Xaba – Otelo Burning
AMAA 2012 BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Rapuldna Seiphemo (Twala) – How To Steal 2 Million
Fano Mokoena – Man On Ground
Hafiz Oyetoro – Phone Swap
Okechukwu Uzoesi – Two Brides And A Baby
Godfrey Theobejane – 48
Lwanda Jawar – Rugged Priest
AMAA 2012 BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Terry Phetto – How To Steal 2 Million
Ebbe Bassey – Ties That Bind
Empress Njamah – Bank Job
Ngozi Ezeonu – Adesuwa
Thelma Okoduwa – Mr & Mrs
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde – Ties That Bind
AMAA 2012 BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Menzi Ngubane – How To Steal 2 Million
Majid Micheal – Somewhere In Africa
Chet Anekwe – Unwanted Guest
Jafta Mamabolo – Otelo Burning
Karabo Lance – 48
Wale Ojo – Phone Swap
Hakeem Kae-Kazim – Man On Ground
AMAA 2012 BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Nse Ikpe Etim – Mr & Mrs
Yvonne Okoro – Single Six
Ama K. Abebrese – Ties That Bind
Rita Dominic – Shattered
Uche Jombo – Damage
Millicent Makheido – 48
Kudzai Sevenzo-Nyarai – Playing Warriors
AMAA 2012 BEST DIRECTOR
Adesuwa – Lancelot Oduwa Imaseun
Ties That Bind – Leila Djansi
Rugged Priest – Bob Nyanja
How To Steal 2 Million – Charlie Vundla
State Of Violence – Khalo Matabane
Man On Ground – Akin Omotoso
Otelo Burning – Sara Bletcher
AMAA 2012 PRIZE FOR BEST FILM
State Of Violence – South Africa
Adesuwa – Nigeria
Otelo Burning – South Africa
Rugged Priest – Kenya
How To Steal 2 Million – South Africa
Ties That Bind – Ghana
Man On Ground – South Africa / Nigeria

MADONNA RELEASES NEW TRACK "I F**KED UP"

Releasing her newest audio track, Madonna has unveiled the single "I F**ked Up," which is part of her upcoming album titled MDNA.

The Queen of Pop uses some very personal lyrics in the song, including, "I'm sorry--I'm not afraid to say--I wish I could take you back but I cant--I'm so ashamed--Your in so much pain--I blamed you when things didn't go my way--If I didn't you'd be here--If I didn't fight back Id have no fear."

You can get your hands on a copy of MDNA when it's released on March 26, or you can also pre-order the deluxe version on iTunes.

Check out the entire "I F**ked Up" track by pressing play in the player below!

MIKE TYSON: FIRST LAS VEGAS, THEN... BROADWAY!!!

Mike Tyson is best known for taking a bite out of a guy's ear, but now he has his sights set on taking a bite of the Big Apple -- he wants to take his one-man Las Vegas show ... to Broadway!

Sources close to the boxing legend tell TMZ that even though the show has yet to open in Sin City, Iron Mike wants to take it on tour and then tackle the Great White Way. We're told Tyson has always wanted to do a show on Broadway, and he feels this could be his chance.

According to our sources, Tyson and his people are waiting to see how the Vegas show sells first before planning a tour of any kind (with NYC being the main stop). We're told the show has sold well so far, but hasn't sold out yet.

"Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth" runs from April 13-18 at the MGM Grand.