Producer sues Jay Z, Kanye West over song sample on ‘Watch The Throne’

Legendary Chicago US Blues & Soul singer and music producer Syl Johnson has filed a lawsuit against rappers Kanye West and Jay-Z for allegedly sampling a decade-old song on their collaborative album ‘Watch the Throne’.

Syl Johnson, 75, claims Kanye and Jay-Z never at any point obtained permission from his Syl-Zel Music Company to use his 1967 song, ‘Different Strokes’ which has been sampled by other artistes such as the late pop king Michael Jackson, 2Pac and Kid Rock on as an excerpt in the track ‘The Joy’off ‘Watch the Throne’.

Syl, real name Sylvester Thompson told NBC Chicago in a video interview that it was his grandson that discovered his (Johnson) song was sampled on the ‘Watch the Throne’ album. He also said that he felt more disappointed with Kanye West who has worked previously with his daughter Syleena Johnson. Syleena featured on Kanye’s ‘All falls down’ off his 2004 debut ‘College Dropout’.

‘He knew me, he knew my daughter, Mr. West should have come to me’, Johnson who has released 14 albums in his career said. A call placed by us through to the Roc-A-Fella Records official contact number wasn’t answered. Jay and Kanye West released ‘Watch the Throne‘ on August 8, 2011. In October, the album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Nollywood actor Fred Amata dragged to court house rent

One time toast of Nollywood Fred Amata has been dragged to court by his landlord for allegedly owing a year’s rent, Nollywoodgossip is reporting. Amata, who was once one of the biggest names in the Nigerian film industry, was on Thursday in Lagos brought before a Surulere Magistrates’ Court.

Mr I. F. Fadoyebo, the landlord, was said to have told the court that the actor owed him N600, 000, being the annual rent for his apartment. The landlord also said Amata had occupied his four-bedroom bungalow at 8, Razaq Balogun St., Surulere illegally as he had failed to pay the rent.

He said his lawyers had served the actor with a notice to quit but he failed to comply. Amata, however, did not show up in court on Thursday when the case was mentioned.

But Amata’s lawyer, Mr Chris Okoh, told the court that the actor was indisposed and therefore, could not appear in court. The Senior Magistrate, Mr M.K.O. Fadeyi fixed 18^th of October 2011 for further hearing.

Papers: Chelsea 'spend £2m on 14-year-old'

After spending a British record £50m on Fernando Torres in January, Chelsea are set to smash another transfer record with the biggest fee for a 14-year-old in history.

The Daily Mail report that the Blues have agreed a fee of £2m for MK Dons youth-team starlet Oluwaseyi Ojo.

Midfielder Ojo is also a England Under-16 international - and the paper claims that Chelsea moved for him in the middle of a cameo the youngster made for the national side against Northern Ireland in midweek.
Ojo came on at half-time in that game, and within two minutes he laid on an assist for Mason Bennett to help England to a 3-1 victory.

With the midfielder being watched by scouts from every other top club, Chelsea felt compelled to make an immediate offer, lodging three bids before the end of the match.

Ojo's club MK Dons are believed to have agreed to the third of those offers, worth an initial £1.5m and potentially worth an extra £500,000 in add-ons.

Tiwa Savage Is Nigeria’s Hottest Female Act

She’s hot, even your mama knows it. It’s just been a year and she’s taken the number one spot as Nigeria’s hottest female act. Her name is Tiwa Savage and frankly speaking, she’s not playing games. I bet when she left the shores of Nigeria at the early age of 10, she never thought she would come back in grand style.

A lot of her fans including you, you and you don’t even know where she emerged from, but her sultry, sexy and sassy style has got us hooked like an 8-year-old with a sweet tooth in a candy store. Tiwa carries an aura of sensuality around her – something her counterparts have not been able to do for years. Maybe it’s just the right time a new diva emerges, taking a completely different approach from the divas of the older generation who one can say were more graceful and conservative (think Onyeka Onwenu, Christy Essien-Igbokwe, Evi Edna Ogoli).

All it took was one song; the pop smash hit ‘Kele Kele’, for the US returnee to grab the ear of the Nigerian listeners. But it was the video (which some would say is a spin off from Rihanna‘s ‘rude boy’ video) that got us more interested. Then when the buzz was at its highest peak, she released her second single ‘Love me, love me, love’, a similar tune with a catchy hook too. She recently released the video to the song – trust her to have flashed some skin here and there.

It played a ripple effect for the singer – the shows started coming in, award nominations and most recently she was chosen to headline the Hennessy Artistry and was also selected to be a co-host at the Nigerian Idol season 2.

The  32-year-old singer has fast risen to the top spot that she now occupies a position of envy in the community of Nigerian divas. Another aspect at which the singer excels over her peers is her energetic and captivating stage performances. Word has it that she now attracts a fee of N800,000 per show.

A few have however raised their noses at Tiwa, suggesting her style is too ‘raunchy’ for Nigerian viewership. But if we can let the foreign videos which pose more ‘threat’ make way to our homes, why not let one of ours follow suit

Jide Kosoko, Papy Luwe, Others Expressed Shock Over Babasuwe Arrest

Following the arrest of Baba Suwe by NDLEA, his colleagues have expressed shock over drug scandal.

They wondered why an actor of his stature could be involved in drug trafficking. Former President of Association of Nigerian Theatre Art Practitioners, Prince Jide Kosoko was full of anger when he spoke to an Online Journal

He said: “Are you sure it is true? If it is, it is madness. It is madness I repeat. I can hardly believe the story. What else does he want in life? This is madness, complete madness I say.”

Sunday Omobolanle aka Papy Luwe who called to confirm the report said he was shocked.

“But I can’t believe that what I am hearing is true. A friend who is in London spoke with me on phone and said that he saw the story in an Online Journal. Sorry I will speak with you later.”

Barrister Tunji Bamishigbin, an actor and a Lawyer, told the Online Journal that if it is true that Baba Suwe is involved in drug peddling, then he does not deserve the position and respect the Nigerian society has accorded him.

“It is also a big shame and it is very disappointing because the society sees us as the mirror through which they watch themselves and if we are found where we are not supposed to be, it is very shameful.”

Star Actress, Remi Oshodi aka Surutu expressed disappointment with Omidina’s shameful act.

“because whoever is not satisfied with whatever he or she has will end up where he is not supposed to be. We are the mirror through which the society mirrors itself and as parents we should live by example. It is a big disgrace to us all,” she said.

A young actor Femi Brainard also condemned the shameful act of the star actor, saying “this shameful act must be stopped because Wunmi was the first victim, and because she was pardoned does not mean that Baba Suwe will go scot free. What he has done is a slap on us and the entire movie industry. This time around he must be made to face the music.”

According to Hon Rotimi Makinde, a member of the House of Representatives, “it is a rude shock. “It’s indeed a disgrace to many of us and the industry I so cherish. I reserve further comments for now until I get details.” He spoke through his media aide, Sanya Ojo.

The incident has generated a huge backlash against the comedian, with some saying it is a comedy of errors!

Sam Klef dumps bachelorhood?

Samuel Oguachuba aka Sam klef is the music producer behind some of the biggest names in the music industry like Soni Neji, Ruggedman, Durella, Vector, D’Prince, Skales, and Wizkid.

He shot to fame and stardom early in the year when he released his debut single Molowo Noni which features Ice Prince, Whiz kid and D’ Prince. It was a massive hit and Sam was left dizzy with cash but that may just not be the only happy news coming from his quarters.

Tale bearers recently took to the streets with the gist that Sam Clef is dumping bachelorhood for good. According to our source, he is will be heading to the altar in a matter of weeks with the love of his life. The gist zeroed in on Lagos as venue of the event but no one has been able to put a date on the ceremony.

It got even more difficult as all efforts to reach Sam Clef or his manager to confirm or refute the story proved abortive. Our sources however maintains “it is the truth: Because of the tight lipped arrangement behind the traditional wedding ceremony of Free madness crooner ,Terry G a lot of people are willing to give this story a listening ear.

Sam Klef is primarily a producer, but also thrives as a recording artist. He’s responsible for producing several hit singles that’s made the career of countless stars. Durella’s My Life was produced by him and Whiz Kid’s Tease Me which had been recorded during a freestyle session had been mixed and mastered by Sam Klef in exactly 30minutes.