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Showing posts with label Entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Entertainment. Show all posts

Don’t compare Naira Marley to Fela – Mabiaku

Veteran Musician and producer, Dede Mabiaku has described the comparison between Azeez Fashola aka Naira Marley and the legendary Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, as inappropriate.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria report, Mabiaku slammed fans who described Naira Marley as a rising Fela, adding that it trivalised the essence of Fela’s struggles.

He said, “I hear a lot of people comparing that young man to Abami Eda, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Why are you trivialising the essence of your matrys?

“Why are you bringing down Fela Anikulapo Kuti? Why are you rubbishing the essence of him in this corridor of nothingness? The boy, was he right in doing what he did? Ask yourself.

“Because everything he (Fela) did was based on enlightening the people, wake up the minds of the people for the development of the society the right way with respect and regard for our cultures and traditions,” he said.

Mabiaku also addressed the internet fraud menace which Naira Marley was entangled with. In May, the singer was remanded in prison following a police investigation linking him with internet fraud.

According to Mabiaku, internet fraud was not justifiable in any form, even for reparation which fraudsters often refer to as a defence.

He said, “The typical African culture and tradition teaches you not to steal or do tricks to rip off the next man of what is duly his.

“Some people are talking of reparation. You come out and stand up to say ‘this is what my rights are. You denied me of my rights and I want them back and by law and by rights, I am going to fight for it’.

“And you duly fight for it, not sneak through the computer to carry people’s money and do yahoo or 419.

“And you come and relate yourself as the same with Baba? We should be careful the kinds of things we say lest the future holds us for account.

“We must be careful and that young man should now desist from letting his colleagues make him look like he is a Fela wannabe because of the situation he has gone through. No, you are not a Fela.

He also said that fraudsters made no efforts to build the society especially as they claim to seek revenge for the society by ripping off other people.

He said, “How many of the young boys who have done this yahoo thing have invested back into the society the right way.

“If you say it’s because your right you are doing it, then a group of you should come together, invest in a business where you have young researchers and a young team to make agriculture grow, the build a school, a hospital.

Mabiaku also slammed the ‘soapy’ dance as immoral and un-African. He further bemoaned the rate with which culture and regard for values have eroded.

NAN reports that following his prison stint, Naira Marley released ‘Soapy’, song and dance which mirrored male masturbation.

The dance has drawn several criticisms from fans and celebrities alike including Guinness world record holder, Kaffy who described it as ‘appropriate’.

(NAN)

BBNaija: I was raped by popular entertainer, Ifu Ennada reveals

An evicted contestant in the ongoing reality TV show, BBNaija ‘Double Wahala’,  Iheme Faith Uloma, popularly known as Ifu Ennada,  says she was raped and infected with a Sexual Transmitted Infection.

Ifu Ennada, who is also an actress, content producer, TV host and fitness entrepreneur took to her instagram handle, @ifuennada on Tuesday to make the revelation citing an unnamed personality in the entertainment industry as the rapist.

The BBNaija contestant said that she has already documented her ordeal in her latest short story film titled, `Tears of A Broken Virgin.’

According to her, during her stay in the BBNaija House when emotions were raised during a `Truth or Dare game,’ she affirmed that she had not really had sex.

The fashion designer and graduate of Computer Science from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun added that people interpreted that she was claiming to be a Virgin.

“The truth is in 2016, I was raped by someone in the entertainment industry, before then I was a Virgin. This person also infected me with an STI.

“ I was also threatened by this person and was very scared of social media’s bashing with the usual questions of “what was she wearing!’’ “why did she go to his house ?’’

“So in all my sadness and depression, I decided to tell the world what had happened to me using film as a medium.

“I was inspired to write and produce my film `Tears of A Broken Virgin’. I got a lot of help from social media.

“People volunteered to work for me free including my director – Benny Atagame Alli.

“Though some parts of my film are fiction, the bulk of it was inspired by my story. The lead character’s name is Ada which is a short form of my name Adanne- popularly pronounced as Ennada.

“Because of my sad experience I battled depression, developed trust issues and found it hard to connect with people especially men.

“I wanted to tell my story and also pass a strong message to rape victims and rapists…I hope I was able to do that with my film.

“I intend to expand this into a feature-length film. I hope everyone out there is inspired to stand up against rape,’’ Ifu wrote.

As pairs in the BBNaija house, Ifu and Leo won the `Roc Da Mat’ Challenge which earned them VVIP trip to One Africa Festival in London later in the year.

In addition, they were awarded five million naira (N2.5 million each) and one year supply of Pepsi.

They were the fourth pair to be evicted in the 2018 BBNaija reality TV show.

Their eviction came after Ahneeka and Angel were evicted, and two weeks after Bitto and Princess and Vandora and Dee-one were evicted.

Ifu described her 43 days stay in the BBNaija house as `eventful.’

(NAN)

Davido, Wizkid win big at 2017 Future Awards Africa

Nigeria’s ace singer Ayodeji Balogun a.k.a Wizkid has won the ‘Young Person of the Year’ at the 2017 edition of the prestigious Future Awards Africa.

The Future Awards Africa is an award that acknowledges inspiring young people making a difference through social enterprise and creativity.

The 12th edition of the award held on Saturday at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos, is exclusively for young Nigerians between the ages of 18-31’
Wizkid edged out contenders such as Mary Njoku, Amaka Osakwe, Iyin Aboyeji and Adekunle Gold to get the prestigious award.

The Star Boy, as Wizkid is fondly called, was honoured for his landmark achievement in music locally and at the international scene.

Wizkid recently beat a strong field including Jay-Z, Drake, Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar to net the best international artist prize at the Mobo awards in London.

Similarly, David Adeleke a.k.a Davido, won the Future Awards Africa 2017 Musician Of The Year.

Davido, who emerged top in the music category with other artistes such as Tekno Miles, Kiss Daniel, Adekunle Gold and Simi, declared that he held no malice against anyone.

“I no dey fight anybody o,” he said as he received his award.

Speaking at the event, the special guest of honour, Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, called on the youths to endeavour to evolve a new tribe free from ethnicity and corruption.

“A new nation of great value is possible through the new upcoming youths. The youths should rise up and defend themselves against corruption.

“A new tribe can emerge with faith and principle, we need to redefine this nation, they are the future of the country, hence they must stand up for what is right.

“We need not to look back on this, we need a strong youth that are free from corruption,’’ he said.

Other awardees included Olamide Bada, winner in the Professional Service; Kenny Blaq won the comedy award, Ayobami Adebayo in the Arts and Culture category.

Also, the Future Award for Education was won by the trio of Samson Abioye, (Late) Oluyemi Oluwaseun and Gideon Akanji while the Future Awards Africa in Sports was won by British-Nigerian boxer, Anthony Joshua and Adetola Adeleke won the Future Awards Africa Prize for Agriculture.

(NAN)

Buhari congratulates Wizkid, Davido on awards

President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday congratulated renowned hip-hop artistes, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (WizKid) and David Adedeji Adeleke (Davido), on their awards at the Music of Black Origin.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President joined the teeming fans of the artistes in Nigeria and all over the world in celebrating the recognition, which saw WizKid winning “International Best Artiste’’ award, while Davido picked the “Best African Act’’.

The statement read in part, “The President affirms that both singers have showcased the rich talents in the country, and brought pride to the nation through their many songs and performances, commending their dedication, hard work and charity works.

“President Buhari also calls on the upwardly mobile artistes to be cautious and mindful of likely distractions to their careers, urging WizKid and Davido to serve as ambassadors of the country and role models to upcoming musicians.”


(Punch)


MOBO Awards: Cardi B hails Davido, says his music amazing


American hip hop recording artist, Cardi B on Thursday congratulated Nigerian singer ,David Adeleke, ‘Davido’ on his award as best African act at MOBO Awards.

The rapper described ‘OBO crooner’s songs as amazing.

She tweeted, “Your music is amazing !!

“Congrats on your win @davido!!!

This was after Davido shared a picture of both of them at the award ceremony at Leeds, the First Direct Arena.

Music Video: Heavenlies by God"N"I Ft. Kalia from California

The great rap artist God"N"I from  west africa Nigeria dropping his new single called Heavenlies ft Kalia from California,In this song God"N"I gave a piece of advice to Jay-z consciencing his statement in the song {FREE MERCY} by Rick ross ft Jay-z saying JESUS PEACE FLOP,God"N"I says the song Heavenlies is about us turning from our wrongs to do the right thing and make HEAVEN, CHECK IT OUT FRIENDS.

To download this video, follow these steps 

Music: Heavenlies by GOD"N"I

Thompson, popularly known as God “N”I is not a new comer in the entertainment industry, the 30 years old Delta State born motivational rapper is highly experienced and talented, with the ability of casting a music spell over the audience. Musically talented performer with strong lyrical vocals.

His passion does not end in music alone, his soft spot for the less privileged in the society has made him have a life of commitment for the humanitarian activities with strong bias for the orphans and widows.

Download and listen to his latest song titled 'Heavenlies'. Enjoy!

Yvonne Okoro’s Ghana Must Go wins big at Golden Movie Awards

It was a day of joy for award-winning Ghanaian/Nigerian actress, Yvonne Okoro as her romantic comedy, ‘Ghana Must Go’, won multiple awards at the Golden Movie Awards which took place at The Kempinski Hotel, Accra, Ghana over the weekend.

The Golden Movie Awards is the biggest annual award ceremony honouring outstanding achievements in African Television and Digital media. The prestigious awards are administered by experts in Cinema and Television in Ghana. ‘Ghana Must Go’ won 4 accolades including Best Actor (Kofi Adjorlolo); Best Actress (Yvonne Okoro); Best Supporting Actress (Doris Sackitey), and Best Comedy of the Year.

Delighted Okoro who appreciated all the other cast and crew members who made her dream a reality, dedicated the awards to her teeming fans in Ghana and Nigeria.

‘Ghana Must Go’ tells the interesting story of two young lovers who are of Nigerian and Ghanaian origin. Yvonne Okoro plays the role of Ama, a London-based Ghanaian woman who brings her Nigerian boyfriend, Chuks (Blossom Chukwujekwu), home to meet her parents, much to the displeasure of her wealthy father. Ama’s parents refuse to give their blessing to their union, citing historical happenings between the neighbouring nations as reasons for their refusal. The series of events tests the love of the young couple in the most hilarious and unexpected fashion.

The movie was released earlier in 2016 and has already enjoyed Box Office Success in Ghana. It is currently in Nigerian cinemas until August 2016.

The 2016 Oscars winners list

Here's the list of nominees for the 88th Academy Awards. Winners are noted in bold.

Best picture

"The Big Short"

"Bridge of Spies"

"Brooklyn"

"Mad Max: Fury Road"

"The Martian"

"The Revenant"

"Room"

"Spotlight" (WINNER)

Best actor

Bryan Cranston, "Trumbo"

Matt Damon, "The Martian"

Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Revenant" (WINNER)

Michael Fassbender, "Steve Jobs"

Eddie Redmayne, "The Danish Girl"

Best actress

Cate Blanchett, "Carol"

Brie Larson, "Room" (WINNER)

Jennifer Lawrence, "Joy"

Charlotte Rampling, "45 Years"

Saoirse Ronan, "Brooklyn"

Best supporting actor

Christian Bale, "The Big Short"

Tom Hardy, "The Revenant"

Mark Ruffalo, "Spotlight"

Mark Rylance, "Bridge of Spies" (WINNER)

Sylvester Stallone, "Creed"

Best supporting actress

Jennifer Jason Leigh, "The Hateful Eight"

Rooney Mara, "Carol"

Rachel McAdams, "Spotlight"

Alicia Vikander, "The Danish Girl" (WINNER)

Kate Winslet, "Steve Jobs"

Best director

"The Big Short," Adam McKay

"Mad Max: Fury Road," George Miller

"The Revenant," Alejandro G. Iñárritu (WINNER)

"Room," Lenny Abrahamson

"Spotlight," Tom McCarthy

Best original screenplay

"Bridge of Spies," by Matt Charman and Ethan Coen & Joel Coen

"Ex Machina," by Alex Garland

"Inside Out," by Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley; original story by Pete Docter and Ronnie del Carmen

"Spotlight," by Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy (WINNER)

"Straight Outta Compton," by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff; story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff

Best adapted screenplay

"The Big Short," Charles Randolph and Adam McKay (WINNER)

"Brooklyn," Nick Hornby

"Carol," Phyllis Nagy

"The Martian," Drew Goddard

"Room," Emma Donoghue

Best costume design

"Carol," Sandy Powell

"Cinderella," Sandy Powell

"The Danish Girl," Paco Delgado

"Mad Max: Fury Road," Jenny Beavan (WINNER)

"The Revenant," Jacqueline West

Best production design

"Bridge of Spies," production design by Adam Stockhausen; set decoration by Rena DeAngelo and Bernhard Henrich

"The Danish Girl," production design by Eve Stewart; set decoration by Michael Standish

"Mad Max: Fury Road," production design by Colin Gibson; set decoration by Lisa Thompson (WINNER)

"The Martian," production design by Arthur Max; set decoration by Celia Bobak

"The Revenant," production design by Jack Fisk; set decoration by Hamish Purdy

Best makeup and hairstyling

"Mad Max: Fury Road," Lesley Vanderwalt, Elka Wardega and Damian Martin (WINNER)

"The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared," Love Larson and Eva von Bahr

"The Revenant," Siân Grigg, Duncan Jarman and Robert Pandini

Best cinematography

"Carol," Ed Lachman

"The Hateful Eight," Robert Richardson

"Mad Max: Fury Road," John Seale

"The Revenant," Emmanuel Lubezki (WINNER)

"Sicario," Roger Deakins

Best film editing

"The Big Short," Hank Corwin

"Mad Max: Fury Road," Margaret Sixel (WINNER)

"The Revenant," Stephen Mirrione

"Spotlight," Tom McArdle

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens," Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey

Best sound editing

"Mad Max: Fury Road," Mark Mangini and David White (WINNER)

"The Martian," Oliver Tarney

"The Revenant," Martin Hernandez and Lon Bender

"Sicario," Alan Robert Murray

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens," Matthew Wood and David Acord

Best sound mixing

"Bridge of Spies," Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom and Drew Kunin

"Mad Max: Fury Road," Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo (WINNER)

"The Martian," Paul Massey, Mark Taylor and Mac Ruth

"The Revenant," Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Randy Thom and Chris Duesterdiek

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens," Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson

Best visual effects

"Ex Machina," Andrew Whitehurst, Paul Norris, Mark Ardington and Sara Bennett (WINNER)

"Mad Max: Fury Road," Andrew Jackson, Tom Wood, Dan Oliver and Andy Williams

"The Martian," Richard Stammers, Anders Langlands, Chris Lawrence and Steven Warner

"The Revenant," Rich McBride, Matthew Shumway, Jason Smith and Cameron Waldbauer

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens," Roger Guyett, Patrick Tubach, Neal Scanlan and Chris Corbould

Best animated short film

"Bear Story," Gabriel Osorio and Pato Escala (WINNER)

"Prologue," Richard Williams and Imogen Sutton

"Sanjay's Super Team," Sanjay Patel and Nicole Grindle

"We Can't Live without Cosmos," Konstantin Bronzit

"World of Tomorrow," Don Hertzfeldt

Best animated feature film

"Anomalisa," Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson and Rosa Tran

"Boy and the World," Alê Abreu

"Inside Out," Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera (WINNER)

"Shaun the Sheep Movie," Mark Burton and Richard Starzak

"When Marnie Was There," Hiromasa Yonebayashi and Yoshiaki Nishimura

Best documentary, short subject

"Body Team 12," David Darg and Bryn Mooser

"Chau, Beyond the Lines," Courtney Marsh and Jerry Franck

"Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah," Adam Benzine

"A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness," Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (WINNER)

"Last Day of Freedom," Dee Hibbert-Jones and Nomi Talisman

Best documentary feature

"Amy," Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees (WINNER)

"Cartel Land," Matthew Heineman and Tom Yellin

"The Look of Silence," Joshua Oppenheimer and Signe Byrge Sørensen

"What Happened, Miss Simone?" Liz Garbus, Amy Hobby and Justin Wilkes

"Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom," Evgeny Afineevsky and Den Tolmor

Best live-action short film

"Ave Maria," Basil Khalil and Eric Dupont

"Day One," Henry Hughes

"Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)," Patrick Vollrath

"Shok," Jamie Donoughue

"Stutterer," Benjamin Cleary and Serena Armitage (WINNER)

Best foreign-language film

"Embrace of the Serpent," Colombia

"Mustang," France

"Son of Saul," Hungary (WINNER)

"Theeb," Jordan

"A War," Denmark

Best original song

"Earned It" from "Fifty Shades of Grey"

Music and lyric by Abel Tesfaye, Ahmad Balshe, Jason Daheala Quenneville and Stephan Moccio

"Manta Ray" from "Racing Extinction"

Music by J. Ralph and lyric by Antony Hegarty

"Simple Song #3" from "Youth"

Music and lyric by David Lang

"Til It Happens To You" from "The Hunting Ground"

Music and lyric by Diane Warren and Lady Gaga

"Writing's on the Wall" from "Spectre"

Music and lyric by Jimmy Napes and Sam Smith

Best original score

"Bridge of Spies," Thomas Newman

"Carol," Carter Burwell

"The Hateful Eight," Ennio Morricone

"Sicario," Jóhann Jóhannsson

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens," John Williams

Channing Tatum reveals what Beyonce texted him after their ‘Lip Sync Battle’ performance

Remember when Channing Tatum participated in the always-insane “Lip Sync Battle” with an internet-breaking rendition of Beyonce’s “Run the World (Girls)?” The actor went balls to the wall with his divalicious performance, dressing in full Bey drag and twerking his windblown-wigged heart out before Beyonce herself manifested onstage for a fleeting but epic finale.

Well, to hear Channing relive the experience, coming face-to-drag-face with Queen B was utterly “terrifying.”

“That is the first time I ever met her, right there,” the actor said during an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” airing Thursday. 

“I won’t even tell you what I had to do to essentially get her assistance.”

Turns out, Channing only contacted Beyonce’s camp to ask if he could perform with a cardboard cutout of her majesty’s likeness. But one thing led to the next and soon enough, he was graced with her evanescent presence.

“She’s like Keyser Söze,” he said, referring to Kevin Spacey’s character in “The Usual Suspects.” “You never see her until all of sudden you’re just like, ‘It happened! Wait… that was her, right?’ And then you always know she’s somewhere in the world that can reach out and touch you.”

The best part about Channing’s story is that Beyonce texted him after the show and apparently said, “Hey, I would love to meet you [and Jenna Dewan-Tatum] and hang out when you’re not looking like me… it’s so terrifying.”

(MTV)

Wizkid stole 'Ojuelegba' from me- Blackface

Veteran dancehall act and a former member of the defunct Afro-pop singing trio, Plantashun Boyz, Blackface, has called on fellow musician, Wizkid, to “stop stealing” his songs.

Blackface who spoke exclusively to Saturday Beats , said Wizkid had been copying many of his songs for a long time...


“I never really wanted to talk about it all this while but after people started checking out my new song, Killa, many felt Blackface sounded like Wizkid, which I didn’t like.

“If you check properly, you would realise that Wizkid’s hit, Ojuelegba, sounds exactly the same as the track 13 on my dancehall album released as far back as 2010.
You need to listen to that album to know what I am talking about. The song is so similar that I think it shouldn’t be that way.
“Well, in Killa, I sang that “they tried to copy my melody,” and the bloggers got a hint of the gist and put their reports out. What I said is the truth and I am going to get to the root of this matter because I deserve justice.

“The Ojuelegba song has made so much revenue for Wizkid. I am not bothered about that but I want the industry to be in a position whereby people will understand that some of the artistes and the songs they are cheering is someone else’s efforts, especially fellow artistes that they are doing everything to bring down. All they are doing is to bring down Blackface and to say that he is not relevant in the industry. Some people are bent on killing my legacy. I believe there is definitely a gang-up against me in the industry and this has been going on for a long time,” he said.


Asked if he had taken on Wizkid personally on the matter, the dancehall artiste said he did his best in that regard but that the response from the Star Boy act shocked him.

“There was a time Wizkid followed me on twitter and I told him that I don’t want him taking my songs and that if he wants to do any of my rhythm, he should let me know. I told him that because I was just being a big brother to him. I told him that our songs can’t be sounding so similar and that if he wants anything, he should let me know. But after some time, he ‘unfollowed’ me and it was shortly after then that the Ojuelegba song was released. I don’t have any problem with Wizkid or any other person, all I am saying is that they shouldn’t be tampering with my songs because those are my properties.

“Wizkid and I do different kinds of music and he doesn’t have my type of skill. I don’t have a problem with that. I am only bothered when somebody takes my song and tries to turn it around into theirs without giving me due credit,” he said.

MA LERA: Debut hit from DeeDee

Download and listen to DeeDee's debut song, he calls this one "MA LERA"... cool!

Kela and Deo are also on the track by the way.

Download, listen and be on the outlook for more...

Wande Coal drops new album 'Wanted'

Singer Wande Coal aka WC has released his new album "Wanted". He made the release of the 23-track album that feature the likes of
2face, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Falz and AKA today the 26th October, 2015.

(Kayonlineinfo.blogspot.com)

Beyonce and Jay Z sue retailer over knockoffs

Beyonce, Jay Z, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Rihanna have teamed up to sue a clothing retailer which is selling shirts, hats and phone cases featuring their likeness without permission.

The complaint was filed in court in New York after ElevenParis ignored the singers' warnings to stop the sales, including in a store in Manhattan's Soho district and online.

The artists accused ElevenParis and its affiliates of being "habitual, willful intellectual property infringers that, without authorization, usurp the trademarks, copyrights and other rights of A-list celebrities".

ElevenParis has not commented on the lawsuit.

The challenged products include clothing bearing the singers' faces, phrases such as "Kanye is my Homie" and "Pharrell is my Brotha," and Beyonce and Rihanna song lyrics.

ElevenParis' actions "have caused and are causing immediate irreparable harm" to the plaintiffs, who seek to recoup profits and triple damages over the allegations of trademark infringement and violations of their rights of publicity, the complaint said.

Each of the artists also has their own clothing lines or collaborations with apparel manufacturers, the complaint said, generating "hundreds of millions of dollars" in sales.

Earlier this year Rihanna won a legal dispute with Topshop after the store used an unauthorised photo on one of its T-shirts.

(Sky News)

Judge finalizes actor Gary Oldman's divorce from 4th wife

A judge has finalized Oscar-nominated actor Gary Oldman's divorce from his fourth wife after six years of marriage.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maren Nelson finalized the couple's divorce on Tuesday, and the paperwork was publicly released on Thursday.

The actor has agreed to pay singer Alexandra Edenborough $3.3 million, and their judgment divides up numerous assets, with Oldman keeping two homes and several vehicles.

Each will retain rights to their respective entertainment ventures.

Oldman and Edenborough were married on New Year's Eve in 2008. They separated in mid-2014, and Edenborough filed for divorce in January.

The 57-year-old actor was nominated for an Academy Award for 2011's "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." He was previously married to Uma Thurman, and his marriage to his third wife, Donya Fiorentino, ended in 2001.

(AP)

U2 concert in Sweden canceled over security breach

U2 canceled a concert in Sweden's capital after a security breach and police were investigating on Monday whether one of their own was to blame.

Thousands of disappointed concert-goers were evacuated from the sphere-shaped arena because of the security incident late Sunday.

Police declined to comment on Swedish media reports suggesting the incident was triggered by an off-duty police officer wrongly being allowed to enter the venue with a gun.

But police spokesman Kjell Lindgren told The Associated Press that police were investigating a suspected weapons offense and that an internal unit dealing with complaints against police officers had been alerted.

He said organizers, in consultation with police, decided to call off the concert after someone "wasn't properly searched" at the security check.

"There are reports that it may have been a police officer," he added.

No one was arrested and no weapon was found during a search of the arena, he said.

Off-duty police officers in Sweden aren't allowed to carry their weapons under normal circumstances.

The concert was rescheduled for Tuesday and ticket-holders who couldn't come back then would be reimbursed, organizers said.

"The organizers apologize for the inconvenience caused and thank the audience for their understanding. Their safety is the priority," they said in a statement on U2's website.

Cecilia Uhler, 45, said she had been waiting inside the arena for the concert to begin for almost an hour when it was evacuated. People then waited for more than two hours outside the arena before they were told the concert had been called off, she said.

"For my own part I can come back on Tuesday," she said. "But I feel really bad for all the people who can't make in then."

(AP)

Fired DJ sues Taylor Swift over groping claim

A radio DJ is suing Taylor Swift after he was accused of groping her during a photo shoot.

David Mueller says he was fired from 98.5 KYGO radio in Denver two days after her bodyguards falsely claimed he grabbed Swift's buttocks at the Pepsi Center in June 2013.

In his lawsuit, filed in the US District Court in Denver, Mueller denies inappropriate contact with Swift.

He also points out he has been snapped with "hundreds" of other celebrities - including Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears and Heidi Klum - without incident.

The suit claims the country music DJ, known on the radio as "Jackson", lost his $150,000 a year job and other business opportunities because of the allegations.

The Denver Post, citing the lawsuit, said Mueller and his girlfriend Shannon Melcher were chatting to the singer backstage when "Swift suddenly announced it was picture time".

She "quickly put her arm" around Ms Melcher, and Mueller jumped in "at the last second". Swift then thanked the couple and they left.

Later, inside the arena, a member of Swift's security team accused Mueller of groping Swift.

Why we stopped airing P-Square music videos – Soundcity TV

Nigerian cable and terrestrial music channel, Soundcity, has cleared the air on why it stopped airing videos by Nigeria’s pop twins, P-Square, since January this year.

The television channel was responding to an outburst by Peter Okoye, one half of the group, to a fan on Twitter who had complained about the lack of P-Square videos on Soundcity TV.

“Don’t waste ur time dear… They will not play them … Pls keep watching Trace TV, Mtvbase, HipTv n Afropop. Thanks,” Peter Okoye had responded to the fan via his Twitter handle on Thursday.

But in a statement titled, “What has Soundcity ever done for P-Square?” the urban music channel said the decision to stop airing the pop duo’s music videos‎ was due to their failure to attend to one of their events, last year.

“For 10 years, @SoundcityTV has been a huge supporter of #PSquare brand, right from their 1st music video to the last video released in 2014. Most of their videos got massive airplay on @SoundcityTV than any other music channel,” the TV station said in the statement published on its website.

The statement noted that the station had assisted the P-Square brand, toured with them all over Africa at their own expense, given them ad-spots for their events as well as prime time slots for their videos.

“We invited #PSquare to one of our annual events last December 2014 and they insisted we pay a certain amount of money,” the statement continued.

“We reasonably asked, what is the least we can offer? This was us foregoing the fact that we had invested a lot in #PSquare’s career as music talents/artistes and entertainers.

“The feedback was ‘What has Soundcity ever done for P-Square? Tell me one thing Soundcity has ever done for PSquare’ (Jude Okoye, Manager).

“While we understand that this is business, there is also room for special consideration. Saying our TV brand has never done anything for #Psquare was quite damning. Clearly, there was no need to argue with their decision.

“We decided to stop doing anything with/for #PSquare, since our 10 years of supporting the group meant nothing to them. We assumed our relationship was a mutually beneficial one, but clearly one-sided.

“Ultimately, #PSquare music videos stopped airing on @SoundcityTV since January 01, 2015. Soundcity reserves the right to air music videos on our cable/satellite or terrestrial platforms.”

I’ve not gone to church in eight years –Jesse Jagz

Even though popular rap artiste, Jesse Jagz, grew up in a church which his father headed, the rapper has said that he has not been in a church in over eight years.

He argued that what really mattered was a person’s relationship with God and not the period of time spent in a religious institution.

He said, “I think every human is spiritual. Prayer is communication with God and there is no definite way of communicating with God. My dad was a pastor so we grew up in church. However, I have not gone to church in eight years. I believe education does not only exist within the four walls of a school the same way God does not only exist in a religious institution. He exists on his own. Growing up in church has made me realise the most important thing is to have a relationship with God. Human beings take religion too seriously.”

The rapper who left his record label for over two years told Saturday Beats why he left. He also expressed his feeling about his brother, MI, being his new boss.

“Coming back to Chocolate City has been wonderful and I am glad about the expansion of the record label. There are more employees and better creative control for the artistes. I left because after I finished recording my album, ‘Thy Nation Come,’ I played it for the record label but for business reasons, they did not want to release it. Actually, if you have listened to the album you would know that it is somehow controversial and you would understand why the label did not want to release it. So I went ahead to release it myself.

I am happy for MI and Ice Prince as they have become the CEO and MD of Chocolate City respectively. I would also want people to understand that MI has always been our president, I have always been the think tank of the trio and Ice prince has always been on the administrative end right from when we were in Jos. I would say those are just titles but everybody has been playing that role. I am a shareholder in Chocolate City and it was so even when I left two years ago,” he said.

(Punch)

Kanye 'West Wing': I'm Running For President

Kanye West has said he would run for president in 2020 as he collected MTV's highest honour at the Video Music Awards.

But the rapper made the announcement in a rambling speech at the ceremony in Los Angeles - and after he admitted smoking something to calm his nerves.

Watched by his pregnant wife Kim Kardashian, he said: "I still don't understand awards shows, I don't understand how they get five people who work their entire life, sold records, sold concert tickets, to stand on a red carpet, to come and for the first time in their life stand on the chopping block and be considered a loser.

"I don't understand it, I'm conflicted bro. I just want people to like me more but f*** that bro.

"I will die for the art, for what I believe in and the art ain't always going to be polite. I bet they are thinking right now if I smoked something before this and the answer is yes, I rolled up a little something to take the edge off."

After holding his head in his hands for an extended period of time, he added: "It's about ideas, people who believe in truth. And yes, as you probably could have guessed, I have decided in 2020 to run for president."

During the ceremony, host Miley Cyrus was verbally attacked by rapper Nicki Minaj.

After scooping the prize for best hip-hop video for her hit Anaconda, Minaj blasted Cyrus over an interview she gave to the New York Times last week.

The 22-year-old singer had suggested in the interview that Minaj had reacted badly over the fact Anaconda had not been nominated for video of the year.

After collecting her award and while she was still on stage she turned to Cyrus and said: "And now back to this b*** that had a lot to say about me a lot in the press. Miley, what's good?".

Cyrus replied: "We're all in this industry. We all do interviews and we all know how they manipulate s***.  Nicki, congratu-f******-lations."

Despite the apparent outburst many who watched the exchange live on MTV took to social media to suggest the confrontation was a staged publicity stunt.

During the awards Cyrus delighted the audience at Los Angeles' Microsoft Theatre, changing outfits several times during the show, each time appearing on stage wearing less than before.

Cyrus was hosting the VMAs two years after she stole the show with a risque, but memorable performance with Robin Thicke, and a year after winning the top prize for Wrecking Ball.

The 22-year-old surprised photographers backstage at the ceremony by passing round what appeared to be a marijuana cigarette.

Grabbing the microphone, she said: "I've been doing this for a really long time, even though I'm not old I've been doing this for a while, and because you're all my friends and my song is sort of about the love of marijuana and the love of humankind, I've brought a blunt if anyone would like some."

Other winners this year included Taylor Swift who won Best Pop Music Video for Blank Space and Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars for Uptown Funk.

The list of celebrities who attended the awards included David Beckham's son Brooklyn, reality television personality Kourtney Kardashian and rapper Tyga.

(Sky News)