₦airaland Forum

In today’s world the internet has unarguably become a force to reckon with. The role the internet plays in our lives cannot be overemphasized. The internet is everything to most of us, and a great many of us can’t imagine spending an entire day outside the web.

That said, the internet has not just become a place where people go to get information, it has also become a hub for making money. If you have the right skills.

We trust you have a favorite blog you enjoy visiting for it’s great and informative contents, or an online publication you have saved under your browser’s favorites. Since society relies heavily on information, writers and bloggers can capitalize on that clause to earn a living for themselves by writing articles and creating informative online contents.

At the present, writers and online content developers are in high demand by online media houses, blogs and even the world of Academia. Which elucidates the goldmine status of online writing. Some Nigerian Freelance Writers have been reported to earn as much as $1000 US dollars a month alone from just writing. That’s not to say such achievements came easy anyway.

To excel as an online writer one must first of all be an exceptional writer. You’ll agree with us that no media house or writing agency would want to hire or retain you if you’ve got no good writing skill. Yes you are a writer, but that’s not gonna be enough for you, you’ve got to be a writer’s writer. What we mean by that is, you’ve got to be so good a writer other writers would have no other choice but to look up to and respect.

Self promotion is another factor that shouldn’t be overlooked. Infact it plays such a vital role in landing the gig and excelling in online writing. Create a digital portfolio of your work and begin marketing yourself properly through social media. If you don’t believe your skills and offering are up-to-par or better than your competitors out there, why will other companies?

Freelance online writing and blogging isn’t all that easy a career path but by using resources that are right at your fingertips (websites like E-Lance, Fiverr, Freelancer and ColouredScribes that helps people find writing gigs), and self-promotion, you will get more bites on the hook. Always have in mind that if you believe in yourself and your work, others will too!

Wishing you good success in your Writing Career.

Source:
http://colouredscribes.com/the-dawn-of-a-new-age-for-writers

Wow @OP ur piece is real jare

Karin001:
You really haven't sold yourself properly. All I see here is a young lady who has a first degree and a sense of entitlement. Just because you have acquired a university education doesn't mean that you must be given a job on a platter of gold.

Your approach should rather be an attempt at selling your strongest points and comparative advantage. Even the statement 'nothing is too small' could actually be expressed in a less desperate manner. This is only a recipe for disaster.

Anyway, I know someone who can help you. Send me your c.v immediately and I will forward it to him. I think you could land a customer care position. You will need some guarantors as huge sums of money may be involved. Should I convince him to employ you kindly remember in all your actions and in-actions that you landed the job through someone who doesn't know you but stuck out her neck for you.

Kindly let this guide your decisions.

Take care.

Send c.v to karinebinne@gmail.com as son as possible.

Please Can I send mine too? I'm a second class upper graduate of philosophy and reside in Lagos.

Lawlahdey:
Looool

It's not horrible, you are exaggerating

Like seriously I'm not. Kanye is losing his mind

Lawlahdey:
I ain't

Look well my dear! How can such a look be anything but horrible? He looks crazy. Oh how I miss the old Kanye!!!

Lawlahdey:
He looks sweet.

Are you kidding me?

The Headies may hold the spot of being the most prestigious Music Award in the country, but that’s not to say it's without flaws. Our music industry is where it is today because moulders of the industry like Ayo Animashaun and his band of biased industry experts continually promote a certain set of music artistes and a certain form of music during every award ceremony.

The list of winners of this year's Headies Award only went on to prove what music critics always suspected within the music industry, foul play. I mean why should Darey Art Alade's "Pray for me" win in the categories it was nominated for? A category where it had such fierce contenders as... That's just one by the way, there are so so many other weird winnings as such.

Now that The Headies is dead I wish someone passionate about music and has the fund would be courageous enough to stand up and set up a proper prestigious music award ceremony in Nigeria. The Headies Award is total crap and should now be placed on the backburner.

Source:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/12/23/evaluating-the-headies-award-2/

Let's know what you think.

Beyoncé just got hit with a heavy lawsuit for her use of the Roc-A-Fella logo. Dwayne Walker the guy who claims he designed the Roc-A-Fella chain, has reportedly filed a lawsuit against Queen Bey for using the Roc-A-Fella logo without permission.

Source:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/12/21/beyonce-gets-sued-for-wearing-jay-zs-roc-a-fella-chain/

NCP:
Great job @OP. very inspiring and uplifting work.

Thank you so much

Thepasserby:
it's quite nice to know that someone somewhere wants to share his story so that others Can learn from it. Whoever says there are No jobs is probably a lazy thinking human Who lacks the ability to use his/her brain.

I also write but have not ventured into blogging yet. Thanks for sharing,

You welcome

How do you make use of your smartphone, are your smartphones just tools for taking selfies, sending messages, making and receiving phone calls or connecting with friends on social media platforms? I'm not saying putting your smartphone to such use is lame, all I'm trying to say is that there's so much you can accomplish with just that smartphone in your hand.

A year ago I observed a weird scenerio in a banking hall where a lady who owned a Samsung smartphone was told to launch her phone's browser in order to check her mailbox by the customer care officer. She genuinely opened up and said she didn't know how to go about it. I thought it was quite a shame on her path. I mean, what then was she now doing with the smartphone? Instagram, Whatsapp and Facebook I guess.

The sole purpose of this post is basically to inspire every Nigerian to make the best use of their smartphones.

Well, here is my story:

I kicked off blogging on the 11th day of June, 2016 at around 6:00pm with just my smartphone as I had no money to get me a laptop, ever since then it’s really been an interesting journey, not saying it’s been smooth all the way. By the way, my blog is of the music niche. I made my first blog post on that same day, the day I launched the blog, and it was a news on the shooting of Teenage music star Christina Alum while she was in a concert. Being a new blog on the block I wasn’t expecting much backlink traffic on that post. As time went by my blog began building itself an audience, very little in number though, but an audience anyway. At least at that point I could comfortably look at my blog’s stats at the end of each blessed day and flash that sought of smile broad enough to convey 10 persons across the Niger River.

My blog’s first major breakthrough in terms of being indexed by Google came around August. The blog post that fetched me such staggering amount of traffic was an article I published on my blog and submitted here on Nairaland, with the aim of building quality backlinks to the said post’s original source. (Links that go from another site to yours are called backlinks because they point back to your pages.) I had no idea Nigerian bloggers around every nook and cranny of the world would be interested in such an article. I later understood why. The post was quite informative and bloggers most especially from the Nigerian community could empathize with everything I wrote, because it was basically about the struggle of a newbie blogger. It quite resonated with the struggles they had during their early stages of blogging too.

I recall waking up on a Friday morning to check my blog’s stats, what I saw almost knocked me out. Thousands of folks from Nairaland had flooded this very blog just to read the blog post. As one would expect I got reviews, good and bad. I wasn’t too concerned with the positive reviews and feedbacks i got as much as I was with the negative reviews. I enjoyed reading every criticism because it opened my eyes to my many shortcomings as a blogger and made me realize there still was more than enough work to be done. First of all, my Writing Style was heavily criticized, Was I even writing in accordance with SEO? Maybe, I wasn’t. Now that was something I had to work on; Secondly, my blog’s theme was frowned at. I was told to work on that. Did I just hear you ask if Your Blog Design Matters? Well it does.

“Put your best foot forward.”

“First impressions count.”

“Are you wearing clean underwear? What happens if you get hit by a bus and have to be taken to the hospital?”

Aside from the fact that your mother most likely uttered all of these to you at some point in your life, what else are these phrases telling us? Simply put, Your blog is an extension of you. It’s your most powerful personal branding tool (short of yourself.) It says a ton about who you are, what you’re passionate about, what you believe in, etc. In the world of blogging, content might be king, but design is at least the court jester. And we all know the court jester is really the one keeping things together. My blog’s theme aint perfect yet, but I’m currently working on bringing it close to perfection; Lastly, I was scolded for launching my blog on a free hosted platform. Some even said I wasn’t a serious individual for making such a move. But it was wisdom on my path, as initially launching this blog on a free hosted platform was more like initiating a test drive.

My blog’s success in terms of traffic and publicity ever since I launched the blog six months ago has been in the style of a Merry-Go-Round, Up and Down, Round and Round. You know. Some months are just exceedingly great while other months see me struggling to accept the fact that all the hard work I put into researching, writing and publishing numerous blog posts could earn me just a handful of readers and visitors. I should be in despair during such times, right? But I’m not.

My blog might fall short of being inducted into the Hall of Thriving Blogs, but it did get me a job in 2016. A freelance writing job where I only have to sit back at home, write, publish articles and get paid weekly. Within the span of four months my blog has fetched me three job offers. Imagine achieving such feat with just your smartphone. I’ve been offered jobs on three huge blogs. Two of which are Nigerian, the other being a foreign blog. I could only take one so I wisely chose the best. The act of juggling both tasks, I mean minding my blog and the blog that pays me has negatively affected the growth and productivity of my blog, but that would be fixed in 2017. There’s so much I plan on executing come next year: Like purchasing a domain and setting up a proper music blog.

Thank you so much for reading through.

See Original Post:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/12/20/a-quick-look-at-how-my-blog-fared-in-2016/

It’s that time of the year when most individuals and cooperate bodies take a break to reflect on the quality of their achievements in the outgoing year, Good or Bad? I really think that’s what motivates individuals and cooperate bodies to make resolutions and targets for every new year at the opening of a new year. A year-end review of accomplishment can afterall help you set goals for the year ahead.

I kicked off blogging on the 11th day of June, 2016 at around 6:00pm, ever since then it’s really been an interesting journey, not saying it’s been smooth all the way. By the way, my blog is of the music niche. I made my first blog post on that same day, the day I launched the blog, and it was a news on the shooting of Teenage music star Christina Alum while she was in a concert. Being a new blog on the block I wasn’t expecting much backlink traffic on that post. As time went by my blog began building itself an audience, very little in number though, but an audience anyway. At least at that point I could comfortably look at my blog’s stats at the end of each blessed day and flash that sought of smile broad enough to convey 10 persons across the Niger River.

My blog’s first major breakthrough in terms of being indexed by Google came around August. The blog post that fetched me such staggering amount of traffic was an article I published on my blog and went about submitting on a high page ranking site in Nigeria known as Nairaland, with the aim of building quality backlinks to the said post’s original source. (Links that go from another site to yours are called backlinks because they point back to your pages.) I had no idea Nigerian bloggers around every nook and cranny of the world would be interested in such an article. I later understood why. The post was quite informative and bloggers most especially from the Nigerian community could empathize with everything I wrote, because it was basically about the struggle of a newbie blogger. It quite resonated with the struggles they had during their early stages of blogging too.

I recall waking up on a Friday morning to check my blog’s stats, what I saw almost knocked me out. Thousands of folks from Nairaland had flooded my blog just to read the blog post. As one would expect I got reviews, good and bad. I wasn’t too concerned with the positive reviews and feedbacks i got as much as I was with the negative reviews. I enjoyed reading every criticism because it opened my eyes to my many shortcomings as a blogger and made me realize there still was more than enough work to be done. First of all, my Writing Style was heavily criticized, Was I even writing in accordance with SEO? Maybe, I wasn’t. Now that was something I had to work on; Secondly, my blog’s theme was frowned at. I was told to work on that. Did I just hear you ask if Your Blog Design Matters? Well it does.

“Put your best foot forward.”

“First impressions count.”

“Are you wearing clean underwear? What happens if you get hit by a bus and have to be taken to the hospital?”

Aside from the fact that your mother most likely uttered all of these to you at some point in your life, what else are these phrases telling us? Simply put, Your blog is an extension of you. It’s your most powerful personal branding tool (short of yourself.) It says a ton about who you are, what you’re passionate about, what you believe in, etc. In the world of blogging, content might be king, but design is at least the court jester. And we all know the court jester is really the one keeping things together. My blog’s theme aint perfect yet, but I’m currently working on bringing it close to perfection; Lastly, I was scolded for launching my blog on a free hosted platform. Some even said I wasn’t a serious individual for making such a move. But it was wisdom on my path, as initially launching this blog on a free hosted platform was more like initiating a test drive.

My blog’s success in terms of traffic and publicity ever since I launched the blog six months ago has been in the style of a Merry-Go-Round, Up and Down, Round and Round. You know. Some months are just exceedingly great while other months see me struggling to accept the fact that all the hard work I put into researching, writing and publishing numerous blog posts could earn me just a handful of readers and visitors. I should be in despair during such times, right? But I’m not.

My blog might fall short of being inducted into the Hall of Thriving Blogs, but it did get me a job in 2016. A freelance writing job where I only have to sit back at home, write, publish articles and get paid weekly. Within the span of four months my blog has fetched me three job offers. I’ve been offered jobs on three huge blogs. Two of which are Nigerian, the other being a foreign blog. I could only take one so I wisely chose the best. The act of juggling both tasks, I mean minding my blog and the blog that pays me has negatively affected the growth and productivity of my, but that would be fixed in 2017. There’s so much I plan on executing come next year: Like purchasing a domain and setting up a proper music blog.

I also want to use this medium to shout out and shower appreciation to all my readers from Nairaland. And most importantly I would also like to reach out to fellow bloggers from whichever platform your blog operates on WordPress or Blogger. Iron sharpeneth Iron, one way or another you guys have inspired and enlightened me with some of your blog posts. I sincerely appreciate everyone of you guys out there. Some of y’all might be struggling in terms of driving readers to your blog like me but not too worry there’s light at the end of the tunnel for all of us. Don’t ever give in to the temptation of being someone else. The fact your blogging niche isn’t as lucrative as some other blogger’s niche doesn’t mean you should try and be like that other blogger and blog on what he/she blogs on. Months ago if anyone had told me someone could have so much potential for success as a blogger with a blog from the Creative Writing Niche, precisely Poetry I would have doubted. Until I discovered a blog of that nature by a young Nigerian.

Regardless of your blogging niche, be it beauty, fashion, short stories, religion, food, movie, lifestyle, football, sports, photography, games, music, dance, poetry, radio, television, crafts, blogging, internet marketing, programming, finance, etc. I strongly believe you can succeed and standout if and only if you work hard enough, write captivating posts and promote each of your posts on adequate channels where you’re sure your blog’s niche isn’t lacking in audience. Plus please don’t expect success to come overnight!!!

Never blog about something you’re not passionate about. If you don’t love the topic, if you don’t feel passionate about it, eventually you’ll want to chew off your own foot to escape the boredom. You can’t sustain that amount of work around a subject that doesn’t make you froth at the mouth with enthusiasm.

Thank you so much for reading through.

Source:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/12/20/a-quick-look-at-how-my-blog-fared-in-2016/

It’s that time of the year when most individuals and cooperate bodies take a break to reflect on the quality of their achievements in the outgoing year, Good or Bad? I really think that’s what motivates individuals and cooperate bodies to make resolutions and targets for every new year at the opening of a new year. A year-end review of accomplishment can afterall help you set goals for the year ahead.

I kicked off blogging on the 11th day of June, 2016 at around 6:00pm, ever since then it’s really been an interesting journey, not saying it’s been smooth all the way. By the way, my blog is of the music niche. I made my first blog post on that same day, the day I launched the blog, and it was a news on the shooting of Teenage music star Christina Alum while she was in a concert. Being a new blog on the block I wasn’t expecting much backlink traffic on that post. As time went by my blog began building itself an audience, very little in number though, but an audience anyway. At least at that point I could comfortably look at my blog’s stats at the end of each blessed day and flash that sought of smile broad enough to convey 10 persons across the Niger River.

My blog’s first major breakthrough in terms of being indexed by Google came around August. The blog post that fetched me such staggering amount of traffic was an article I published here and went about submitting on a high page ranking site in Nigeria known as Nairaland, with the aim of building quality backlinks to the said post’s original source. (Links that go from another site to yours are called backlinks because they point back to your pages.) I had no idea Nigerian bloggers around every nook and cranny of the world would be interested in such an article. I later understood why. The post was quite informative and bloggers most especially from the Nigerian community could empathize with everything I wrote, because it was basically about the struggle of a newbie blogger. It quite resonated with the struggles they had during their early stages of blogging too.

I recall waking up on a Friday morning to check my blog’s stats, what I saw almost knocked me out. Thousands of folks from Nairaland had flooded this very blog just to read the blog post. As one would expect I got reviews, good and bad. I wasn’t too concerned with the positive reviews and feedbacks i got as much as I was with the negative reviews. I enjoyed reading every criticism because it opened my eyes to my many shortcomings as a blogger and made me realize there still was more than enough work to be done. First of all, my Writing Style was heavily criticized, Was I even writing in accordance with SEO? Maybe, I wasn’t. Now that was something I had to work on; Secondly, my blog’s theme was frowned at. I was told to work on that. Did I just hear you ask if Your Blog Design Matters? Well it does.

“Put your best foot forward.”

“First impressions count.”

“Are you wearing clean underwear? What happens if you get hit by a bus and have to be taken to the hospital?”

Aside from the fact that your mother most likely uttered all of these to you at some point in your life, what else are these phrases telling us? Simply put, Your blog is an extension of you. It’s your most powerful personal branding tool (short of yourself.) It says a ton about who you are, what you’re passionate about, what you believe in, etc. In the world of blogging, content might be king, but design is at least the court jester. And we all know the court jester is really the one keeping things together. My blog’s theme aint perfect yet, but I’m currently working on bringing it close to perfection; Lastly, I was scolded for launching my blog on a free hosted platform. Some even said I wasn’t a serious individual for making such a move. But it was wisdom on my path, as initially launching this blog on a free hosted platform was more like initiating a test drive.

My blog’s success in terms of traffic and publicity ever since I launched the blog six months ago has been in the style of a Merry-Go-Round, Up and Down, Round and Round. You know. Some months are just exceedingly great while other months see me struggling to accept the fact that all the hard work I put into researching, writing and publishing numerous blog posts could earn me just a handful of readers and visitors. I should be in despair during such times, right? But I’m not.

My blog might fall short of being inducted into the Hall of Thriving Blogs, but it did get me a job in 2016. A freelance writing job where I only have to sit back at home, write, publish articles and get paid weekly. Within the span of four months my blog has fetched me three job offers. I’ve been offered jobs on three huge blogs. Two of which are Nigerian, the other being a foreign blog. I could only take one so I wisely chose the best. The act of juggling both tasks, I mean minding my blog and the blog that pays me has negatively affected the growth and productivity of my blog, but that would be fixed in 2017. There’s so much I plan on executing come next year: Like purchasing a domain and setting up a proper music blog.

I also want to use this medium to shout out and shower appreciation to all my readers from Nairaland. And most importantly I would also like to reach out to fellow bloggers from whichever platform your blog operates on WordPress or Blogger. Iron sharpeneth Iron, one way or another you guys have inspired and enlightened me with some of your blog posts. I sincerely appreciate everyone of you guys out there. Some of y’all might be struggling in terms of driving readers to your blog like me but not too worry there’s light at the end of the tunnel for all of us. Don’t ever give in to the temptation of being someone else. The fact your blogging niche isn’t as lucrative as some other blogger’s niche doesn’t mean you should try and be like that other blogger and blog on what he/she blogs on. Months ago if anyone had told me someone could have so much potential for success as a blogger with a blog from the Creative Writing Niche, precisely Poetry I would have doubted. Until I discovered a blog of that nature by a young Nigerian.

Regardless of your blogging niche, be it beauty, fashion, short stories, religion, food, movie, lifestyle, football, sports, photography, games, music, dance, poetry, radio, television, crafts, blogging, internet marketing, programming, finance, etc. I strongly believe you can succeed and standout if and only if you work hard enough, write captivating posts and promote each of your posts on adequate channels where you’re sure your blog’s niche isn’t lacking in audience. Plus please don’t expect success to come overnight!!!

Never blog about something you’re not passionate about. If you don’t love the topic, if you don’t feel passionate about it, eventually you’ll want to chew off your own foot to escape the boredom. You can’t sustain that amount of work around a subject that doesn’t make you froth at the mouth with enthusiasm.

Thank you so much for reading through.

Source:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/12/20/a-quick-look-at-how-my-blog-fared-in-2016/

Beyoncé had one of the biggest album releases of the year so it’s no surprise that Lemonade’s lead single “Formation” was the most-Googled song of 2016 as reported by Billboard.

The song and video arrived the first week of February on the eve of her anticipated Super Bowl 50 halftime performance. The video was Beyoncé on a sinking police car, Beyoncé hanging out a car window, Beyoncé slaying choreography in an abandoned pool, Beyoncé giving her fans everything she had in one cinematic flex.

“Formation” only got more attention the next day when Bey took the field to perform the song during the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, some started to drag the singer for her performance with complaints, misguided blame , and even some attempted protests . All of the scrutiny only added to “Formation” being googled a shit ton of times.

Check out the full list of 2016’s top 10 most-Googled songs below:

1. Beyoncé – “Formation”
2. Prince -“Purple Rain”
3. Rae Sremmurd – “Black Beatles”
4. Desiigner – “Panda”
5. Drake – “One Dance”
6. DNCE – “Cake by the Ocean”
7. Adele – “Hello”
8. Ruth B – “Lost Boy”
9. Disturbed – “Sound of Silence”
10. Mike Posner – “I Took a Pill in Ibiza”

Source:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/12/15/beyonces-formation-was-the-most-googled-song-of-2016/

In his rare down moments between masterminding an acclaimed album, groundbreaking tour and controversial fashion show, Kanye West somehow found time to opine on everything and anything. On Twitter, TV, and on STAGE during his recently canceled 'Saint Pablo Tour'.

TWITTER:
I have no interest in working with anyone who is too important or too good or too traditional to take a call at 3am. Jan. 10 • This is not album of the year. This is album of the life Jan. 26 • [Wiz Khalifa] you stole your whole shit from Cudi Jan. 27 • Second, your first single was corny as f— and most there after Jan. 27 • You have distracted from my creative process Jan. 27 • I went to look at your twitter and you were wearing cool pants. I screen grabbed those pants and sent it to my style team #Wizwearscoolpants. Jan. 27 • (8th) I made it so we could wear tight jeans Jan. 27 • (17th) I think you dress cool I wish I was skinny and tall. maybe I couldn’t be skinny and tall but I’ll settle for being the greatest artist of all time as a consolation Jan. 27 • Exes can be mad but just know I never let them play with my ass… I don’t do that… I stay away from that area all together. Jan. 29 • 1000% there will never be a Kylie Puma anything. Feb. 9 • I’m sorry Michael Jordan I love and respect you. Feb. 9 • BILL COSBY INNOCENT !!!!!!!!!! Feb. 9 • Please no one text me or ask me for anything till Monday. Feb. 10 • I did not diss Taylor Swift and I’ve never dissed her… Stop trying to demonize real artist Stop trying to compromise art… That’s why music is so fucking watered down right now I miss that DMX feeling… Feb. 12 • I want to be the creative director of Hermes Feb. 12 • NO MORE RULES… MAKE YOUR OWN RULES… Feb. 13 • I will have over 100 Grammys before I die. Feb. 14 • I’m practicing my Grammy Speech. I’m not going to the Grammys unless they promise me the Album of the Year!!! Feb. 14
I am the Jordan and Steph Curry of music, meaning I’m the best of 2 generations. Feb. 14 • Bars are worth more than money because it’s something the people can use everyday to feel inspired. Feb. 14 • All you dudes in San Fran play rap music in your homes but never help the real artists… you’d rather open up one school in Africa Feb. 15 • Yes I am personally rich and I can buy furs and houses for my family but I need access to more money in order to bring more beautiful ideas to the world. Feb. 15 • Pitchfork, the album is a 30 out of 10 Feb. 15 • Puff Daddy is the most important cultural figure in my life. Feb. 15 • To Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, New York Times, and any other white publication. Please do not comment on black music anymore… Don’t tell me Lebron had a bad game. What yo jump shot look like Shut the f— up and enjoy the greatness. Feb. 15 • Education puts Americans into debt before they even get a chance to get started… We have to lower the price of textbooks… Feb. 16
My number one enemy has been my ego… there is only one throne and that’s God’s… Feb. 17 • If you are an entrepreneur you may have debt and lawsuits #facts Feb. 23 • I’m tired of old people that have no connection with anything trying to comment on music! Rock and Roll was stolen… Rap was exploited… Feb. 23 • Hi Grammys this is the most important living artist talking. Has anyone at the Grammys ever heard March Madness … We the people need to see Future at the Grammys. We need to see Young Thug at the Grammys. Not just me and Jay in a suit. Feb. 24 • I’m not crazy I’m free. Feb. 24 • I’m not even gon lie to you. I love me so much right now. Feb. 24 • The world needs a guy like me… I’m woke! Feb. 24 • I just thought of the craziest idea of all … I’m going to sell winter coats in the winter!!! Feb. 24 • I’m not a rapper. Feb. 24 • Will Ferrell has reached walking living breathing god status! Feb. 27 • I promised Obama Ima do beats on NAS’ next album… March 4 • No more CDs from me. March 7
Please avoid trying to talk me out of being me in the future...

Get the full gist:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/12/14/an-edited-but-very-long-list-of-things-kanye-west-said-in-2016-during-his-many-rants/

The Hampton Inn in Sandy, Utah may have gotten more than it bargained for when it tweeted a joke about J. Cole’s new album 4 Your Eyez Only being boring.

Since the playful Friday tweet, which offered beds for those being “put to sleep” by Cole’s new record, the Hampton Inn Twitter account has been inundated with responses — some of which are playing along, but some of which are dishing out a roasting of their own...

Read more:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/12/12/a-hotel-in-hampton-makes-fun-of-j-coles-new-album/

It would seem like J Cole has had a change of heart about his Kanye West “diss track”. The US rapper has unveiled the tracklist for his forthcoming album 4 Your Eyez Only but controversial song False Prophets is noticeably absent.

Following the surprise announcement his fourth album will arrive on Friday 9 December, J Cole, 31, premiered False Prophets and the accompanying music video. Lyrics are rumoured to be aimed at West, 39, with J Cole making references to an artist with an “ego” and a self-professed “genius."

However, many criticised the poor timing of False Prophets given West’s recent meltdown and ongoing medical treatment for “exhaustion”, which perhaps prompted J Cole to backtrack and remove the song from the album. Others speculate that the No Role Modelz rapper simply used West’s current plight as publicity for his new album.

One wrote on Twitter: “Some people still don’t know J. Cole is using kanye for publicity stunt,” while another weighed in: “I love how j Cole has been irrelevant for years now and all of a sudden just drops an album dissing other rappers…publicity stunt much?” Another commentator said: “It’s hilarious y’all don’t see these publicity stunts J.Cole pulls for what they are.”

Aside from West, J Cole is also accused of throwing digs at Drake over claims the One Dance rapper uses a ghostwriter, while others believe he makes reference to rapper Wale. Lyrics include: “Maybe it’s my fault for idolising n****s based off the words they be rappin/ But come to find out, these n****s don’t even write they s**t/ Hear some new stuff bubblin’ up, then they bite the s**t.

Source:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/12/08/was-j-coles-new-single-false-prophets-a-publicity-stunt/

It would seem like J Cole has had a change of heart about his Kanye West “diss track”. The US rapper has unveiled the tracklist for his forthcoming album 4 Your Eyez Only but controversial song False Prophets is noticeably absent.

Following the surprise announcement his fourth album will arrive on Friday 9 December, J Cole, 31, premiered False Prophets and the accompanying music video. Lyrics are rumoured to be aimed at West, 39, with J Cole making references to an artist with an “ego” and a self-professed “genius."

However, many criticised the poor timing of False Prophets given West’s recent meltdown and ongoing medical treatment for “exhaustion”, which perhaps prompted J Cole to backtrack and remove the song from the album. Others speculate that the No Role Modelz rapper simply used West’s current plight as publicity for his new album.

One wrote on Twitter: “Some people still don’t know J. Cole is using kanye for publicity stunt,” while another weighed in: “I love how j Cole has been irrelevant for years now and all of a sudden just drops an album dissing other rappers…publicity stunt much?” Another commentator said: “It’s hilarious y’all don’t see these publicity stunts J.Cole pulls for what they are.”

Aside from West, J Cole is also accused of throwing digs at Drake over claims the One Dance rapper uses a ghostwriter, while others believe he makes reference to rapper Wale. Lyrics include: “Maybe it’s my fault for idolising n****s based off the words they be rappin/ But come to find out, these n****s don’t even write they s**t/ Hear some new stuff bubblin’ up, then they bite the s**t.

Source:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/12/08/was-j-coles-new-single-false-prophets-a-publicity-stunt/

For music lovers in Nigeria this should bring joy, as transactions on the digital music store can now be made easily with just our local currency.

iTunes was launched in Nigeria in 2012. The company opened up its services first to Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, up until this new change, carried out its transactions in African country, exclusively in dollars. In 2015, Apple launched its streaming service – Apple Music – a subscription-based service which was enabled worldwide.

Subscriptions to this service was paid for in dollars, with individual subscribers coughing as much/low as $4.99 dollars for an individual plan, and $8.99 for a family plan which accommodates up to 6 people.

But all of that is no more. Since the increase in the exchange rate, Nigeria has seen a reduction in online dollar purchases from app stores, content streaming platforms and paid ads. And obviously, iTunes is not left out of the dearth of online patronage from Nigeria.

For local businesses, the effect of the policy has been tough. Unable to pay for raw materials and imports with local currency denominated cards, they’re forced to purchase dollars at a steep price on the parallel market. Jet-setting Nigerians have also had vacation and shopping trips disrupted. But, a silver lining has emerged.

Faced with losing subscribers in Africa’s largest economy, some of the world’s biggest tech companies are beginning to charge for services in naira, Nigeria’s local currency, rather than US dollars. Over the past month, Apple subscribers have taken to social media to complain about being unable to pay for the company’s services.

In changing the transactional currency to naira for Nigerians, iTunes is seemingly towing the same line that Facebook took in October.

These are initial days, and Apple is yet to reveal their conversion rates, but everything has become cheaper in Naira. Previously a song off Beyonce’s Lemonade album should cost $0.99 ($475.2) dollars to purchase. Right now, it is sold for N100. The full album, which previously went for $9.99 (N4,795), is now sold for N900.

So with N900 you can own a Beyonce album, while J.Cole fans can smile to iTunes with N700 for his forthcoming full-length project – “4 Your Eyez Only”.

On Apple music, an individual subscription will cost you N900 as opposed to the earlier $4.99 (N2396). By doing this, Apple has become more accessible to more Nigerians, and will now compete directly with local streaming and download digital stores.

Source:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/12/08/music-on-the-itunes-store-and-apple-music-can-now-be-purchased-with-the-naira-currency/

For music lovers in Nigeria this should bring joy, as transactions on the digital music store can now be made easily with just our local currency.

iTunes was launched in Nigeria in 2012. The company opened up its services first to Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, up until this new change, carried out its transactions in African country, exclusively in dollars. In 2015, Apple launched its streaming service – Apple Music – a subscription-based service which was enabled worldwide.

Subscriptions to this service was paid for in dollars, with individual subscribers coughing as much/low as $4.99 dollars for an individual plan, and $8.99 for a family plan which accommodates up to 6 people.

But all of that is no more. Since the increase in the exchange rate, Nigeria has seen a reduction in online dollar purchases from app stores, content streaming platforms and paid ads. And obviously, iTunes is not left out of the dearth of online patronage from Nigeria.

For local businesses, the effect of the policy has been tough. Unable to pay for raw materials and imports with local currency denominated cards, they’re forced to purchase dollars at a steep price on the parallel market. Jet-setting Nigerians have also had vacation and shopping trips disrupted. But, a silver lining has emerged.

Faced with losing subscribers in Africa’s largest economy, some of the world’s biggest tech companies are beginning to charge for services in naira, Nigeria’s local currency, rather than US dollars. Over the past month, Apple subscribers have taken to social media to complain about being unable to pay for the company’s services.

In changing the transactional currency to naira for Nigerians, iTunes is seemingly towing the same line that Facebook took in October.

These are initial days, and Apple is yet to reveal their conversion rates, but everything has become cheaper in Naira. Previously a song off Beyonce’s Lemonade album should cost $0.99 ($475.2) dollars to purchase. Right now, it is sold for N100. The full album, which previously went for $9.99 (N4,795), is now sold for N900.

So with N900 you can own a Beyonce album, while J.Cole fans can smile to iTunes with N700 for his forthcoming full-length project – “4 Your Eyez Only”.

On Apple music, an individual subscription will cost you N900 as opposed to the earlier $4.99 (N2396). By doing this, Apple has become more accessible to more Nigerians, and will now compete directly with local streaming and download digital stores.

Source:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/12/08/music-on-the-itunes-store-and-apple-music-can-now-be-purchased-with-the-naira-currency/

As the year draws to a close music lovers as myself understand what time it is. It’s that time of the year when nominations for the most prestigious Music Award on the planet are collated and announced. Did I hear you ask what music Award? Well, the Grammys Ofcourse.

Don’t get it twisted every category in which Awards are presented at the Grammys is dignified, but just like our fingers are not equal so also the Awards presented in every category is also not equal. In other words, some Awards are just bigger than others.

The four big categories in the Grammys are: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist. Artistes who win from any of these categories are artistes known to have crafted the most outstanding and breath-taking piece of music during the Grammy Award eligibility period.

Who will win Grammys in 2017? The eligibility period ran from October 1, 2015 to this past Friday, September 30, 2016, and you can start predicting nominations now in the top four general field categories: Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist. Tell us who you think will make the cut when nominations are announced on December 6.

Two of the biggest music stories of the year have been Adele and Beyonce . Adele won Album of the Year in 2011 for her blockbuster sophomore album “21” and followed it up last November with another chart-topper, “25” which also spawned the number-one hit “Hello,” which could be a contender for Record and Song of the Year. Meanwhile, Beyonce is still pursuing her first Grammy win for Album of the Year even though she has amassed a remarkable 20 Grammys in other categories. “Lemonade” is her most acclaimed effort yet and its lead single “Formation” could also be her first winner for Record of the Year.

But there’s more to this competition than Beyonce and Adele. There’s also sentimental favorite David Bowie , whose “Blackstar” was released in January just two days before his death. Chart-topper Drake could enter the race for the first time with “Views,” and Radiohead could get their fourth bid with “A Moon Shaped Pool.” And let’s not forget other Grammy-winning stars like Frank Ocean “Blonde” , Bon Iver “22, A Million” , Paul Simon “Stranger to Stranger” , Kanye West “The Life of Pablo” , Bonnie Raitt “Dig in Deep” and many more.

Here’s a few Grammy nomination predictions:

ItsNeto says: Lemonade deserves it. Point. It is the best AND most acclaimed album of the year. Adele just did more of the same thing. Hope that the old and conservative voters won’t snub Queen B this time.

Mocka says: Lemonade to take album of the year its a master piece album of 2016 record and song of the year nomination as well via formation.

sherm says: Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds made a better album, as did Beyonce’s sister Solange. Lemonade is top 5 of the year but it’s not the best.

Joshua says: For me, these are the albums and songs which at least deserve to win or be nominated:
Album of the year: 25 (Adele), Lemonade (Beyoncé), Purpose (Justin Bieber), A Head Full of Dreams (Coldplay), Blurryface (twenty one pilots), This is Acting (Sia)

Record of the year: Hello (Adele), Formation (Beyoncé), Cheap Thrills (Sia), Hymn for the Weekend (Coldplay), Heathens (twenty one pilots)

Song of the year: Send My Love(To Your New Lover) (Adele), Can’t Stop the Feeling (Justin Timberlake), Love Yourself (Justin Bieber), Treat You Better (Shawn Mendes), 7 Years (Lukas Graham)

Adele’s won album of the year before, so it seems possible that she could lose this year including the fact that many say the album was indifferent to 21. Then again, it is the best selling album of last year and this year, so that might give to her.

Beyoncé usually loses album of the year because there are too many people who work on the album and the academy isn’t ready to give their most prestigious award to so many people. Then again, it is the most critically acclaimed album of 2016 and we all know the Grammys prefer quality. But if so, what happened to the ‘Beyoncé’ album losing to ‘Morning Phase’ when Beyoncé beat him at sales and quality?

Justin Bieber has never been a grammy favourite, though, that might change. It just seems cruel to have Beyoncé and Adele or even David Bowie lose to Justin Bieber but then again the Grammys are unpredictable. But if not, Coldplay might be eligible, they’ve always had food critical reception, sales and just good music in general. twenty one pilots are doing really well, their critically acclaimed million selling album has all the right things for an album of the year win. Besides have you heard their music? Sia, maybe a nomination but not a win. As long as their are artist as big as the ones mentioned before, it seems unpredictable if she got the win. But then AGAIN, THE GRAMMYS ARE UNPREDICTABLE!!!

IRIE says: AOTY: Adele (25), Beyoncé (Lemonade), David Bowie (Blackstar), Drake (Views), Chance the Rapper (Coloring Book)

ROTY: Hello (Adele), Formation (Beyoncé), Cheap Thrills (Sia), Sorry (Justin Bieber), Work (Rihanna) or One Dance (Drake) or Stressed Out (twenty one pilots)

SOTY: Hello (Adele), Formation (Beyoncé), Love Yourself (Justin Bieber), Die a Happy man (Thomas Rhett), Katy Perry (Rise) or 7 years (Lukas Graham)

BNA: Chance the Rapper, Alessia Cara, Maren Morris, Bryson Tiller, Shawn Mendes/The Chainsmokers/Charlie Puth or someone we didn’t see coming !

What's your pick

Source:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/11/13/2017-grammy-awards-nominations-make-your-prediction/

Who said Lamar ain't the greatest

Grammy-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar looks like he’s back in music-making mode. The rap superstar has hooked up with hip-hop mogul Jermaine Dupri. So I guess we should be expecting a bomb shell from the rap god anytime soon.

Earlier this month, Top Dawg Entertainment president Punch spoke on the impact of K. Dot’s now-classic good kid, m.A.A.d city album.

Recently, rap star Eminem detailed the impact K. Dot’s good kid, m.A.A.d city had on him.

In a recent GQ cover feature, Kendrick speaks on the direction of his next solo album in comparison to 2015’s To love-vendor A Butterfly.

“That was me then,” Lamar said in an interview. “Not to say that it wouldn’t be continuous. It’ll always have some type of DNA in my music. But me, as a person, I grow. I’m like a chameleon. You know? That is a gift and a curse for me. But more so a gift, because it never puts me in a box. And my ability to express and still make the connection wherever I go, that is my high point. That’s something I pride myself off of.”

Source:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/11/12/hiphops-greatest-black-artist-kendrick-lamar-hooks-up-with-jermaine-dupri/

You've spoken well bro

The Just like fire crooner recently announced that she is expecting her second child with hubby Carey Hart.

Source:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/11/13/joys-of-motherhood-pink-anticipates-second-child-shares-baby-bump-photo/

While the star hip-hop duo have both released collaborative projects individually (West with 2011’s Watch The Throne alongside Jay Z and Drake teaming with Future for 2015’s What a Time to Be Alive) and have been featured on tracks together (see Drake’s “Pop Style” and “Forever,” as well as Big Sean’s “Blessings,” to name a few), the rap titans have long been hinting at a potential full-length joint project.

As the 6 and beyond eagerly await an avalanche of epic anthems courtesy of the dynamic duo, here’s everything we know so far about the LP.

West first hinted at the possibility of a joint album during an appearance at the Toronto rapper’s OVO Fest in August where he asked the crowd, “I got one question for you… Is y’all ready for this album? I’m not talking about Pablo. I wasn’t talking about Views. I wanna ask y’all right now, y’all ready for this album?” Drake further clarified: “What my brother was asking before was, are you ready if we make an album? That’s what he was asking.”

‘Ye further elaborated on the project during an interview with Vogue during the debut of his Yeezy Season 4 clothing line, noting, “We’re just working on music, working on a bunch of music together, just having fun going into the studio. We’re working on an album, so there’s some exciting things coming up soon.” While the interview was conducted in September, “soon” could now be imminent.

The project would also serve as a treasure trove of thoughts about the gossip and drama that’s been swirling around the two MCs for the past few months. Will Kanye West allude to his wife Kim Kardashian’s robbery in Paris? Will Drake address his on-again, off-again fling with Rihanna? Making things even more interesting: Drake has reportedly been getting chummy with West’s enemy-turned-friend-turned-enemy-again Taylor Swift, as Swift recently attended Drake’s birthday bash.

Source:
https://blarckbillboard./2016/11/13/updates-on-kanye-west-and-drakes-joint-album/