Deola S. and Rapper. M.I. at the event

At the ‘Just before Christmas’ event in December 2010, Deola Sagoe introduced her new denim line and polos with rapper M.I. signing copies of his CDs. Singer Nneka and rapper M.I provided the music.
Sagoe  introduced her new denim line GIDA as well as sign on her Jeans and her ‘Se Bi Na Deola’ Polos.

A Shot of DS jean from behind…

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Sir Shina Peters is Back! The Hennessey’s Electrifying Halo Concert Report.

November 30, 2010 1 Comment

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Those with a healthy entertainment palate that made it down to the GET Arena on November 27th for the Hennessy Artistry Halo Concert 2010, were not disappointed. Excitement, elation, fun and pleasure are some modest words that describe the experience of the night.

From the red carpet where celebrities like Olu Maintain, Caroline Ekanem, Olisa Adibua and DJ Humility strutted, to the stellar performances by living legend, Sir Shina Peters, Nneka, MI, Ice Prince and Bez, the Hennessy Halo Concert stands out as an event with exceptionally well-thought planning.

To set the ball rolling, popular TV personality, Andre Blaze, came up stage to announce the reason for the gathering. He thereafter introduced DJ Tony Blaze and DJ Rexy, and the two DJs took to their turn tables, engaging in a mild competition much to the delight of guests. If the competition between the DJs was fun, then the next performance gave even more, with talk-of-the-moment producer, Kas, taking to the stage with his popular ‘Fi mi le’ track. That got the audience on their feet, and followed suit with ‘If you wind for me’.

Kas’ performance was followed by soulful guitarist Bez, who took to the stage with members of his band. Though not the regular dance hall musician, guests couldn’t help but ask for more during his engaging set. He performed songs off his new album and also did a remix of Fela Anikulapo’s ‘Water’. Bez wasn’t done yet, not until he gave guests a glint of his forthcoming album, performing his yet-to-be-released song, ‘Supersun’.

Andre Blaze, the MC of the night, came back on stage and asked guests what Nigerian song they would they like the DJs to play. Many answers came from different quarters but the shouts for ‘Oleku’ were the most dominant. To this end, Blaze told the DJs to thrill the fans for a while, and not long after, he called Ice Prince onto the stage. Wild applause greeted the Chocolate City artist who took the concert to another level with his tracks ‘Rewind’ and ‘Nobody test me’, which he performed with M.I and Jesse Jagz. He rounded off with the chart buster, ‘Oleku’, which he performed with Brymo.

Next, Nneka emerged on stage in simple jeans and a t-shirt, and showed guests why her unique talent has made her loved the world over. Performing songs like ‘Conversation’, amongst others, international act, Nneka was on point all through the night. The dexterity of her performance matched with the message of her songs was a plus for her that night.

Nneka soon made way for Mr Incredible who came in and did his thing. M.I, being the crowd-puller that he is, got a wild ovation that heralded his entrance on stage. The audience couldn’t have asked for more as the rapper turned the audience on to his tracks, performing hit songs like ‘Anoti’, ‘Superman’, ‘African rapper No.1′ and ‘Gold digger’. MI got proof that he was the crowd favourite when he asked the audience who the number 1 rapper was, to which the guests chorused “M.I”.

Not finished with the concert yet, all six artists that had featured on the ‘Like A Bottle’ track came upstage to perform the title song.

Like the proverbial big masquerade that caps every festival, Afro-Juju inventor, Sir Shina Peters re-emerged on stage with members of his band to wrap up the event. He performed songs that had made him the toast of the young, old and middle-aged in his heyday. He however proved that he still knew how to interact with the youth, sending the audience wild with his sensational drumbeats.

Nneka

The Nigerian singer, Nneka is really working hard to put her country on the world map. Not long ago, she caught the attention of the huge American media like Rollingstone, Billboard, Spin (who ticked her as the next rated), BET and many more. And now, she got Nas to lay two hearty verses on her ‘heartbeat’, a heartwarming collaboration!. Can we call it a reward from Nas to Nneka following her supports at the distant relatives tour. The song which is referred to as the heart of the album “concrete jungle” has gained her new fans in America and also heartened the old fans. Both nneka and nas had a heart-to-heart on the heartbeat remix which was released 3 days ago. The lyrics of the song entails a strong feeling for humanitarian aid and the desire for liberty in Africa as it addresses humanity.

Download Nneka ft. Nas – Heartbreak
by Sonde Jimmy

This month’s edition of Soundcity Blast is with a cover story on singer Nneka – The interview is said to be in depth.The Cover girl Nneka would be performing at the Glastonbury festival tomorrow, the 25th of June. Also performing at the festival taking place at Worthy Farm Pilton in Somerset are Gorillaz, Dizzee Rascal, Vampire Weekend, Snoop Dogg, Willie Nelson, Corinne Bailey Rae, Femi Kuti to mention a few.

Blast – Nneka

The 45 stage Festival is said to be currently sold out. ALso available to buyers of Soundcity Blast is a mixtape CD from rap artiste Teeto titled ‘Da Freshness’ courtesy Freshboy Entertainment.
Listen to ‘you’re not my girl’ off the mixtape feat. Beazy

Teeto – Da Freshness

The mixtape features hit bound singles like ‘I’m Ill’ ,’You are not my girl Ft Beazy’, ‘Finest ft Vector’,'I Got This’ ft Ghetto P.  Sound city Blast would be available for purchase on Monday the 28th

Listen to ‘you’re not my girl’ off the mixtape feat. Beazy

Nneka

This interview was conducted before Nneka set off on tour with Nas and Damien Marley.

- Where do you consider home and why? Where I feel comfortable and happy.

- What’s the furthest you’ve been from home? The furthest..when I am not myself, when I drift away from reality, lie to myself , lie to the music..this has happened many a times.

- Have you experienced culture shock? Where and when? In Germany, this was when I went there for the first time ever, the cold, the mentality, the people, the language, the food, and the style and standard of living..and of course the different things one experiences, both the good and the bad, meeting people and how they embrace something or someone who is different..

- You’ve just been on tour (in the States and Europe), what are your 3 travel essentials? Sweater, Bible, bag.

- Where have you visited in West Africa and where would you like to explore next? Benin, Ivory Coast ..like to explore; Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea

- Any travel tips/advice/suggestions for visitors to West Africa/Nigeria? Be open, not all of Africa is just negative, corrupt and full of aids and HIV, it might be part of reality, but there is more than that..culture, tradition, good people and talent.

- Hidden treasure – what’s your favourite discovery so far? Your go-to place to eat/shop/hang out/escape to? It’s hidden it has to remain hidden, I am sorry can’t share?  And your favourite city in Nigeria/West Africa? My favourite city, for now, is Warri, because it is where I used to live and still is my hometown..place to visit is Abeokuta and Ife the origin of mankind.

- What are the last couple souvenirs you’ve picked up on your travels? A piece of cloth in Ivory Coast and a chain in Mauritius.

- Who/what is your favourite West African artist/group/track and why? Don’t really have one, but I like Keziah Jones and Fela Kuti.

- Inspiration – what have you drawn from your experiences of West Africa/Nigeria? We evolve, change is constant.. it is up to us what we make of it.

- What are your hopes for West Africa/Nigeria? There is hope in the youth and the conscious ones, Africa will stand for itself. What would you like to see more of? (and less of?) In Nigeria, definitely more light and better roads, less cocaine addicts and happy children.

- What’s your favourite comfort food? When food is cooked with love and passion you taste it..when it is done well with dedication it always is good no matter where you eat it..one of the places where I had really good food was in Kokodi in Ivory Coast.

- Where has been your favourite place to perform so far? My favourite place to perform was Port Harcourt where my crew and I almost got arrested for performing a song that had to do with the oil exploitation and present plight of the people living in the Niger Delta, and the corruption practised by our governing leaders and high class elites. You could feel and see the people singing their heart desire.
- Any upcoming things we should look out for? I’m on tour with Damian Marley and Nas on the Distant Relatives tour and will be touring Africa soon..coming to Ghana as well this year.

Courtesy – ITK WestAfrica

Iyeoka (middle) and the Rock by Funk Tribe

Shine Like The Lights (Super Eagles version)

It is the world cup season and the character of releasing a track to celebrate this is expected becuase The World Cup is coming to Africa for the first time. M.I., ELdee the don, Banky W remixed K’naan’s Wavin’ Flag, Tuface recorded a track with Kelly Rowland and a long list of several other acts across Africa, MOBO winner Nneka made out time from touring with Damian Marley and Nas to record Viva Africa not forgetting Akon and keri Hilson duet with Africa.

This is yet another and probably the most patriotic, crossing genres and classic. Iyeoka Ivie Okoawo is the vocalist of the Rock by The Funk Tribe signed to Boston,US based Underground Sun Records. Iyeoka is a Nigerian RnB, spoken word and poetry warrior. She did a cover song of U2′s 1099 hit song ‘Desire’ which made it to the U2 covers compilation which also featured an All-Star Grammy Award winning African artists with proceeds benefiting the Global Fund and One of her singles “The Yellow Brick Road Song” was used in the third episode of the new HBO series “How To Make It In America”.

Iyeoka gave out her a limited release EP album Yellow Brick Road to those who pledged their support for Iyeoka’s movement on kickstarter

Iyeoka’s new world cup song Shine Like The lights open with the spoken word/RnB singer screaming the ‘na wa o’ common with indigene Nigerians and doesn’t shy from screaming ‘naija’ all over the track as she calls for the Super eagles/Nigerian football team to shine like the lights, Considering the amount of time they put into preparation – we would just enjoy the music and pray for a fair outing for the Super eagles at the World Cup. A good blend of R&B crooning, Funk music fast paced drums and jazzy trumpets just as the drum rolls and after the chorus, sometimes on it.

Nneka – Viva Africa

Nas and Damian Marley’s Distant Relatives album has been on the 18th of this month, May and on tour with them is Nigerian/German singer Nneka. Both Nas and Marley offer nothing but praise for Nneka and her recent LP concrete jungle, with the Nas being blown away by her “Heartbeat” single. They also comment on how she is connected to the distinctively African-influenced sound heard on Distant Relatives and how it makes her a perfect choice for the album’s tour.

Nas and Damian Marley