Nollywood actress, Laide Bakare took to social media to show off her adorable kids.

Laide is blessed with three kids, two boys and a girl. Her first child is a girl.

The actress has moved into the music business. Few weeks back, Laide showed off her record label acts.

According to the actress, her artistes are lyrically wicked and they will be releasing new materials soon.

http://nexthop.com.ng/meet-actress-laide-bakares-kids/

Nollywood actress, Ronke Oshodi-Oke in a recent interview with Saturday Beats said she knows her husband’s weak spot.

The actress said whenever her hubby is mad at her, she knows how to make it up to him in the bedroom.

In her words, “Sometimes when I have spent so much time on set and my husband misses me, he does not make a big fuss about it because he knows it is my job. He would just call me to come home. And whenever I know I am wrong or I have been away from him for too long, I apologise. Most times, even before he calls me to tell me that I have not been home for too long, I caution myself and go to spend some weeks with him. If I find out that he is very mad at me, I know how to calm him down. Every man has a weak spot and every woman knows how to make her man happy. Whenever he is really upset with me, I cook his favourite meal and I also make it up to him in the bedroom,”

On why she and her hubby live separately, the actress replied saying,

“Personally, I don’t like places that are noisy. If you live in certain places in Lagos, everybody would know your movement. I don’t like such places. I try to keep my life private. I don’t want people to know where my children school or any other private information about me. But my husband works in Surulere and he loves the area a lot. I don’t like the area. We have a family house there, so he stays there on weekdays and during the weekend, he comes home to meet me at Abule-Egba. I have been in that area for a very long time and it is very quiet. That is why we live separately.”

http://nexthop.com.ng/i-make-it-up-to-him-in-the-bedroom-ronke-oshodi-oke/

Music stars, D’banj and Banky W are the cover stars for Tu.sh Magazine’s latest edition.

In this edition, the Ciroc ambassadors talked about music, lifestyles and more.

This edition also features stars like DJ Spinall, Falz, DJ Cuppy and more.

See more cover photos below.

http://nexthop.com.ng/dbanj-banky-w-stun-for-Behind-magazine/

Nollywood actor and producer, Kunle Afolayan who won big at the 2015 AMAA awards said he’s not a fan of submitting his films for awards because they come with politics.

Kunle also said he’s grateful for the awards he grabbed at the AMAA and he’s looking forward for his crew to benefit from it.

In his words,

“I feel great, I feel good that these awards are coming but what I’m looking forward to is for my crew and cast to benefit from these awards. I have had enough of awards, now, for me, it’s about making films for the people. Yes, reasonably, the awards add to the marketing and publicity of the film but my technical crew put a lot into the productions.”

Speaking further, “If I have my way, I won’t go out to submit my films for awards, because whether we like it or not, awards come with a lot of politics. So, if you can’t handle the shock, don’t go there. Today, I’m excited. Sadiq Daba was overwhelmed to get the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and I want to commend the organizers of the AMAA for a beautiful outing here in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. No doubt, it’s a better edition and with the partnership with Facebook, the mileage was good and the experience spectacular. It’s a unique experience.” Afolayan said.

http://nexthop.com.ng/awards-come-with-a-lot-of-politics-kunle-afolayan/

more

Nigerian-American singer, Jidenna stuns in new photoshoot. The aim of the photoshoot is to promote the Official Nigeria Independence Ball in Maryland, USA.

The photoshoot tagged ‘Coming to America/Ankara’ also features Nigerian model, Jessica Chibueze.

Jidenna who looked like a French Renaissance/African prince rocked a uniform jacket with green Ankara prints, while Jessica rocked a green print ball gown.

See the photos below.

http://nexthop.com.ng/jidenna-looks-dapper-for-all-things-ankara/

more

Ghanaian superstar actress, Nadia Buari gifted a remote community with water systems, by commissioning two boreholes in the Eastern Region of the country.

The mother of two carried out the project named Suhum-Abisim Water Extension Project through her Nadia Buari Foundation. The gesture was made to cater to the problem natives and pupils of the Suhum-Abisim LA School face with drinking water.

Speaking at the commissioning, Nadia said, “I remember calling my aid an early morning asking him to immediately visit the community to find out exactly how or what could be done to help them. Upon his return, I was even heartbroken by the visuals he presented me. Even clean water was unavailable! Even though it cost me millions to complete these projects, nothing can be compared to this heartfelt fulfillment I feel now knowing the people of Suhum-Abisim have clean portable water for the kids in school and household activities. It is my eternal wish the water running through these tanks serve the purpose for which they were constructed. God bless the people of Suhum-Abisim. Thank you.”

http://nexthop.com.ng/actress-nadia-buari-commissions-water-system-in-remote-ghanaian-community/

Top pop star 2face Idibia who celebrated his 40th birthday in grand style yesterday September 18, 2015, opened up to Stephanie Coker on this week’s MTV Real Talk show on why he dumped his former record label.

2face said he left the label because his contract expired and no bad blood between himself and Kenny Ogungbe.

In his words, “My contract with Kennis Music expired and that was why I left, but before it did, I fulfilled all my obligations. I left because I wanted to start something on my own. There was no beef, it was just the end of my contract.”

On the first big money he made, “The first big money I made was while I was with Plantashun Boiz. It was 300 thousand naira and the first thing I did was to take part of it and send to my parents. I did that before even buying a shirt or a shoe.” he said.

On if he still receives sexual advances from women, Tubaba said “No, not at all, dem just free me.”

http://nexthop.com.ng/heres-why-i-dumped-kennis-music-2face-idibia/

In hip-hop, one hugely sensitive and important aspect of the culture is the ability of a rapper to hold his own against his peers, as competition is one of the most significant parts of the craft.

Sometimes, this competitiveness is sparked by ego and braggadocio, an artiste daring his peers to step to him lyrically, and oftentimes, it is way deeper and personal than just competition.

Rappers are known to use the craft to voice their displeasure at going-ons around them, more so, to vent their anger at a ‘disrespectful’ peer in the form of diss records.

Hundreds of diss records have dominated the scene at certain points, as rappers like 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G, Run DMC, Eazy E, Ice Cube, LL Cool J, Canibus, Jay-Z, Nas, 50 Cent and many more have used the medium to voice their frustrations and lay claim to the ‘throne’.

Pac’s ‘Hit Em Up’ directed at Biggie, Diddy, and a host of others at the height of their highly publicized feud(subsequently leading to their deaths), Jay-Z’s ‘Takeover’ directed at Nas and Mobb Deep, Ice Cube’s ‘No Vaseline’ directed at former N.W.A colleagues, and a host of other songs made blistering impacts on the rap scene upon their releases.

However, one record that had such monumental impact, that it has become a hip-hop language of some sort, was ‘Ether’, a response to Jay-Z and his Rock-a-fella camp, by Nas. Its impact being so much that an outwitted or out-rapped rapper in hip-hop is now considered to be ‘ethered’. Such was the ferociousness, aggression and impact of the 2001 record.

Amid all of these however, is a white boy from Detroit, a carnage of some sort that is notoriously and unapologetically known for his daring demeanor on the mic.

Enter Eminem, a dreaded and respected figure in the rap game, who isn’t the outright best ever rapper but is sure to find a revered spot in many top 5 dead or alive lists by hip-hop purists.

Slim Shady is notoriously known for taking constant jabs -amid homophobic slurs and murder threats- on a sizable number of his records since his breakthrough, even consistently going at his own mother.

He has, by virtue of his controversial nature and association with D12, Dr Dre and G-Unit, had to engage in a flurry of diss records –seriously or halfheartedly.

Since his emergence, he has been a nagging thorn in the flesh of female pop stars such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Jessica Alba and many more, while the late Michael Jackson and Will Smith also suffered some degree of lyrical attack from the blonde-haired genius.

Interestingly, some of these attacks by Marshall were nothing remotely personal, he just does it for sport and fun. When Marshall gets pissed however, not many artistes would definitely want to go there with him as it is his comfort zone, a threat to any rapper’s career.

Eminem attacks anything from the media to his mum, pop stars, ex-wife Kim, Presidents, and even wittily, his own close associates (Dre and D12), while he is also reputably known for stealing the show and outshining his peers as a guest spot on their records.

We take a nostalgic look at some of Marshall’s top attacks, those personal and those he did ‘for fun’. It is excitingly tedious to come up with ten, as he has tons of them.

1. ‘Kim‘ – directed at ex-wife, Kimberly Scott Mathers

What other way to start the list than with an emotionally hurt, angry Eminem going all out- as far as threatening to kill -the mother of his daughter, Hailie. It was widely known the rapper harbored a lot of resentment towards Kim whom he incessantly accused of being a slut on several records, despite marrying her twice(’99 and 2006) and divorcing on both occasions. On the Marshall Mathers LP cut Em ranted, “too bad b!tch, you’re gonna finally hear me out this time”……We bet she did!

2. ‘Nail in the Coffin‘ – directed at Benzino

The origin of this feud with Benzino dated back to the year 2000 when ‘Zino’s co-owned The Source, poorly reviewed Em’s diamond selling album, Marshall Mathers LP. Em played a blind eye until Zino hit out at him on a track, ‘I Don’t Wanna’. Em duly replied with ‘The Sauce’, before things spiraled prompting more releases. On ‘Nail in the Coffin‘, Em rapped “it’s not that we don’t like you/ we hate you period”……Benzino sure knew!

3. ‘Cleaning Out My Closet‘ – directed at his mum, Debbie Mathers

Eminem widely documented his childhood on several of his tracks, and a poignant topic he touches on is his mother’s addiction to drugs and her abuse of him as a child, one he claims she tried to influence him with. He pokes fun at his mum for this on several tracks such as ‘My Mom‘, but none resonated as much as The Eminem Show cut. On ‘Cleaning Out My Closet‘, he rapped “hate you mama/ Imma make you look so ridiculous now”. He has since apologized with ‘Headlights‘…..He sure did clean out his closet!

4. ‘Mosh‘ – directed at former United State’s President, George Bush‘s administration

Marshall is also reputable for baring his opinion on public issues such as politics and media coverage, as he demonstrated on songs such as ‘White America‘ and ‘The Way I Am‘. After attacking the President on ‘We As Americans‘, he stepped it up a notch on the Encore album cut, ‘Mosh’. On the track, the rapper who had been a subject of investigation as a result of a line on ‘We As Americans‘, simply blared out “Fvck Bush” and accused the entire government of being in a state of anarchy…..Quite some statement!

5. ‘Hail Mary‘ – directed at Ja Rule and Irv Gotti

This was simply a feud Eminem found himself in by virtue of his affiliation with 50 Cent, who at the time was Ja Rule’s arch nemesis. After several tracks from both camps(Murder Inc and G-Unit) and Ja poking fun at Em’s drug-addicted mother and daughter, Hailie, Em led his army in ripping into Ja, mocking him for his 2pac impersonation. Em rapped “Ja’s words being quoted in the Source/ stealing Pac’s sh!t like he just wrote it” and Ja’s rap career went downward spiral from there.

6. ‘Can-I-B!tch‘ – directed at Canibus and Jermaine Dupri

Canibus and LL Cool J had been sparring, then Bis alleged that Em co-wrote LL’s diss song towards him, ‘The Ripper Strikes Back‘. Em denied the allegation but it wasn’t enough as cordial relationship between the pair was damaged. He then took Bis to the cleaners with ‘Can-I-B!tch‘, rapping “Now once upon a time not long ago/ there was a little rapper about to blow/ but his album came and it was not good/ I think it went lead or double copper-wood”. Such a blow!

7. ‘Warning‘ – directed at Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon

When Eminem wouldn’t stop insinuating he once had intimate romantic moments with Mariah following a brief relation in 2001, referencing her in several songs such as ‘Superman‘, ‘When The Music Stops‘ and ‘Bagpipes From Baghdad‘, the R&B diva felt she had had enough and released her response, ‘Obsessed‘, depicting Em as an obsessed stalker. Em wouldn’t let that slide and ran amok with a scathing attack on the songstress and her then-husband, Nick, threatening to leak explicit tapes of their alleged romance. Em opened with “Only reason I dissed you in the first place/ is ’cause you denied seeing me/ now I’m pissed off”…..Safe to say the now divorced couple let peace reign after this tirade.

8. ‘Girls‘ – directed at Limp Bizkit, DJ Lethal, Dilated Peoples

Safe to say Eminem had a lot to let out with this track. Grudges arose over a diss song that was supposed to be recorded together with Limp Bizkit towards Everlast, with Em feeling betrayed by the group who reneged on the plan. He let it all out on ‘Girls‘ before he explodes(as he put it) and boy did he let them know. He rapped, “Then I look on the TV, now look who’s mentionin’ me/ That fuckin’ weasel, DJ Lethal, on MTV” and “I’d never involved my crew if it wasn’t for pupils/ Peoples, whatever your backpackin’ cypherin’ name is”…..*Lesson learnt: never piss Eminem off!

9. ‘Say What You Say‘ – directed at Jermaine Dupri

So So Def founder, Jermaine Dupri, paid the ultimate price of running his mouth against his music producing peers, Dr Dre and Timbaland, in an interview. Eminem along with Dre, duly laid claim to their spot on the beat thumping cut from The Eminem Show, ripping into JD and partly, The Source. Em rapped “If you ever mix me up or confuse me with a Canibus or Dre with a Dupri/ we’ll rub it in, every club you’re in/ we’ll have you blackballed and make sure you never rap-a-fucking-again”.

10. ‘I Remember’ – directed at Everlast

Eminem and Everlast’s feud supposedly stemmed from Everlast feeling ignored by Em at a backstage of an event and tempers flared from there. Both would direct several jabs at each other, with Everlast releasing ‘Whitey’s Revenge‘. On a sung-rapped track, ‘I Remember‘, Em poked fun at Everlast’s heart issues and attacks him for being sensitive. He rapped “And you were down with Syndicate, I went to get your shit/ man I was into it/ But then you went and took your style and switched the shit/ Now you sound ridiculous, you dickless piece of shit”……..So many quotables on this one and it made Everlast record a worthy response.

With these and many more, suffice to say Eminem is truly the epitome of ‘not giving a fvck!’

http://nexthop.com.ng/eminem-the-rapper-with-zero-fvcks-top-ten-diss-tracks/

Nollywood actress Toyin Aimakhu‘s hubby Adeniyi Johnson was involved in an accident at gun point yesterday September 19, 2015.

Fortunately, nothing happened to him. Adeniyi took to Instagram today to share the news.

He shared a photo of his wrecked jeep and wrote “To GOD be the glory…. into ur hands Oh lord I commit my life…. inches away from death at gun point…. I choose to be quiet and thankful…. #godblessourhustle #GODOVERALL #Godownsmylife”

Report has it that Toyin is yet to settle her relationship issues with Adeniyi after the actor was caught flirting with another woman.

http://nexthop.com.ng/toyin-aimakhus-hubby-survives-car-accident/

Report has it that Soundcity TV staff scammed Nollywood actress Shan George of N100,000.

The Soundcity TV staff Mr Andrew Ameh who Shan George claims she paid N100, 000 to in order to air her son’s music video on the urban music channel reached out to nexthop.com.ng to share his own story.

Mr Andrew also known as Dro said Shan is desperate to bring him down and in all his dealings with the actress he never spoke vernacular to her.

Recall, Shan said “When I confronted him, Dro said ‘MADAM NO BE ME SAY MAKE U GO SHOOT RUBBISH VIDEO FOR UR PIKIN. IF U DO PEM, I GO SPOIL UR PIKIN MUSIC CAREER FOR THIS NIGERIA O. BRING 5OO THOUSAND NAIRA BEFORE I PLAY THE VIDEO OR DON’T CALL MY FONE AGAIN, WE DON’T GET PAID ANY SALARY IN SOUNDCITY SO WE HAVE TO DO OUR OWN HUSTLE TO SURVIVE HERE.”

According to Dro “I am very educated and not as illiterate, desperate and tasteless like the low life actress and failed mother and in all my dealing with her never spoke vernacular to her.”

Speaking further, Dro said “For one, I have involved the law as it is as libellous and untrue coming from a very classless woman (My lawyer just served her via email). As attempt to have her address this in person or come down to a police station in Maroko, Lekki has proved abortive.”

“Post is not in anyway objective and a propaganda. There is so much I would want to say about Shan but I really would want to deal with this privately. She and her son know where the soundcity office is located and if indeed it was to get their the management’s attention to fraud alleged done by me would make a complaint to my superior be the option.” he added.

As at the time of filing this report, Shan George is yet to fire back at Dro.

http://nexthop.com.ng/soundcity-tv-staff-drags-actress-shan-george-to-court-over-false-allegations/

2face Idibia told NET in a recent interview that he initially didn’t want to tie the knot with his baby mama Annie Idibia.

2face said he had always thought he wasn’t going to be the best man for any woman and he won’t get married.

On why he finally tied the knot, Tubaba said:

I’m not surprised. Honestly, I mean back in the day it had come across my mind one or two times to propose to her but somehow it got to this point where I was like I’m not going to get married. Even before I started having kids I had already said I’m not going to get married. ‘Before then there’s been one or two times where I almost proposed to Annie. But I just said no no no because I just thought I wasn’t going to be faithful, I wasn’t going to be good enough. I had always thought I wasn’t going to be the best man for any woman so because of that, I just thought I’m not going to get married; I’m just going to live my life.

2face Idibia who will be celebrating his 40th birthday on September 18, 2015 has revealed the plans for Fortyfied.

http://nexthop.com.ng/why-i-initially-didnt-want-to-tie-the-knot-with-annie-2face-idibia/

Former Chocolate City singer Brymo opened up to HipTV in a recent interview on why he won’t go back to Chocolate city.

An entertainer and writer Toni Kan released an article recently urging Chocolate City and Audu Maikori to bring back Brymo to his former record label.

When asked if he will go back to Choc City, Brymo said going back to his former record label will be senseless and there are somethings the label should have sorted out before he dumped them.

The singer also said he will prefer to thread on his current path and he can never go back to the label he dumped 2 years ago.

The singer also thanked God for blessing him and he said things have been changing for him ever since he dumped the label.

Brymo is currently working on his new project titled Trance.

http://nexthop.com.ng/going-back-to-chocolate-city-will-be-senseless-brymo/

It seems Timaya‘s producer copped Jahbless’ ‘Jeje’ instrumental and used it to produce Timaya’s track titled ‘Halleluyah‘.

Jahbless took to Instagram today September 13, 2015 to call out Timaya. The track was produced by Jez Blenda.

Jahbless said he will drag the producer to court and Timaya should avoid such producers in future.

He wrote:

“Hey bro @timayatimaya who ever produced that your halleluyah jam should be jailed! ..he lifted the instrumental off my album , #iamme album track 2 “jeje ft @oristefemi ..and gave it to you. I want to believe you know nothing about it cos with your years of experience in this game you should know the consequences of copyright infringements. pls avoid such producers in future cos they might tarnish your image. And for you Mr producer, see you in court.”

As at the time of filing this report, Timaya is yet to release an official statement.

http://nexthop.com.ng/see-you-in-court-jahbless-to-sue-timayas-producer/

The war between P-square, Jude Okoye and Soundcity will soon turn into a series film.

On how it all started, Yesterday, September 10, 2015, P-square took to Twitter to warn their fans not to waste their time on Soundcity.

Soundcity fired back at P-square saying the music duo are ingrate and they didn’t show the urban channel any love after 10 years of supporting their career.

P-square’s manager Jude Okoye warned Soundcity not to blackmail his artistes and the channel should focus on playing videos.

Souncity fired back at Jude Okoye with a meme. And the channel fired back again by releasing a statement titled ‘Don’t be a Judas Jude’.

It reads:

Dear Jude and @SoundcityTV Fans,

Thank you for your tweets Jude; we will certainly address each of these tweets, especially since they are some sorts of allegation:

Of course, we did not think we are doing your group a ‘Favour’. Just like any other artistes, if you have a great material, we will showcase it on our channel and various platforms. Supporting, promoting, nurturing a talent isn’t a favour. It is obligatory, indeed?

‘Begging PSquare’ to Tour with? We needed the content? Soundcity is a music and lifestyle channel, music and music programming forms 80% of our content while lifestyle handles the remainder. We are pretty sure the expense of touring with you then was much more than rotating music videos, make a business case out of this and you’ll see for yourself why we wouldn’t have ‘begged’ as you have claimed in your tweets…but hey! We did it for the LOVE!

Your job is to co-direct videos, and manage the group and ensure you do things in their best interest ‘reasonably’. Ours is to play the videos if we see them deem fit. Luckily, all your videos are co-directed with Clarence Peters, one of Nigeria’s biggest music video directors, partly a Soundcity Alumni. Please read between the lines of ‘reserving the rights to play.’ to fully understand what it means. Meanwhile, interestingly…our job also partly runs along us advising your group as per better professional input from us, for free.

We suggest rather than you wanting to ‘create’ a union in ‘we artiste’…you should speak and deal with your group squarely. NOBODY ever asked for your group to perform for FREE, only that we asked for a reasonable performance fee. You wanted to charge 10 or 12 Million or so. We are glad that a lot of artistes came through and yes; they played to their fans at the free event, for free.

We don’t pay Royalties? Your job as a manager is to ensure your artistes’ get their royalty pay cheques. Check with COSON and MCSN, SOUNDCITY pays Royalties every calendar year for music use on Soundcity and on sister channels, the platform carriers (DStv) doubles that effort too. Perhaps you should ask your colleagues in the industry about how that works. COSON is the Copyright Society of Nigeria and MCSN is the Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria, also you can learn more about COSON here http://www.cosonng.com

What Blackmail? You decided not to work with our brand, we decided not to work with your brand by withdrawing your videos from our channel and completely stopped doing business with you. Not sure that’s what ‘Blackmail’ means. You took a decision, we too ours too. Simple.
Lastly, we will do something rewarding for you today! Please tune in by 3PM to watch #PSQUARE: THEN & NOW! Fans will be able to catch videos from the early years to present and also, #PSQUARE vs. #USHER: ORIGINAL DANCE OFF! By 3:30 PM today. Really, there is no such thing as ‘Boycott’ in premium entertainment.

Actually, scratch that! We should but we won’t. We will do #CHRISBROWN vs #USHER: DANCEOFF for 3PM today instead, #ChrisBrown is trending right now on the Internet.

This is the last time we are speaking on this, we have a number one TV channel to run.

Thank you.

http://nexthop.com.ng/look-here-dont-be-a-judas-soundcity-warns-jude-okoye/

An unknown female fan who’s not happy with Jim Iyke took to Playground TV to slam the actor.

Recently, Jim welcomed his son Harvis Chidubem Iyke with his Lithuanian boo Dana Kinduryte.

The sad fan slammed the actor over his decision:

Dear famous guys. Some of you were born with you riches, some acquired, some are self-made. This is to all male celebrities/politicians/famous big boys. Here is a lady expressing herself, I woke up this morning with the news of another home base celebrity choosing a white chick over us Haba! Na wetin na?

We help in making you popular by buying your CD’s and DVD’s, watching your movies, watching you play soccer and after so much shouting and screaming at the top of our voices in support of your career what do we get in return? Nothing! Instead you chose to date and marry the white chick. Where were they when we were screaming and shouting our strength out in support of your career?

Very soon Europeans will ban you guys from dating their girls just like Kenya did. In a nutshell, all am saying is that you should start investing in us.

Yours loving Fan.

Other celebs who ditched Nigerian girls for White girls include Actor IK Ogbonna, Singer May D.

http://nexthop.com.ng/fan-slams-jim-iyke-for-impregnating-a-white-woman/

The CEO of Oasis Spa, Freda Francis, is rumored to be in a relationship with Triple MG singer, Iyanya, but the successful entrepreneur wants to keep mum on the authenticity of the rumor, as she wants to keep her relationship life ‘private’.

Hip TV caught up with Freda to ask on the alleged affair with Iyanya, to which skin care expert replied, “First of all I will say it had no caption, and secondly I like to keep my private life personal. I have known him for how long, it’s almost three years”

On her thoughts about Iyanya putting up a picture of them on his instagram page, she said: “He can put up anything he wants, I can put up anything I want. But talking about it I will say again I like to keep my personal life private.”

Freda once dated Mavin Records boss, Don Jazzy.

http://nexthop.com.ng/ill-like-to-keep-my-personal-life-private-freda-francis-on-rumored-relationship-with-iyanya/

Fuji musician Kollington Ayinla opened up to Vanguard in a recent interview with the newspaper on his regret, career and more.

Kollington said he has no regret being a musician but he regret that he didn’t have a university education.

In his words, “I have no regret being a musician but I regret that I didn’t have university education.”

On if he will get a degree before he die, he said “I may be privileged in another lifetime.”

Speaking further, Ayinla said “My children are all educated and some have even ventured into music; but into hip-hop.”

On his advice to upcoming acts, Kollington said “Many young artistes should understand that being focused and dedicated are the only key to success. They should also be careful with women.”

http://nexthop.com.ng/i-regret-that-i-didnt-have-a-university-education-fuji-artiste-kollington-ayinla/

Ruggedman opened up to City People on his relationship status and the kind of woman he would like to tie the knot with.

Ruggedman said he’s single and searching. In his words, “Right now, I am on my own for now.”

Rugged also said he wants a woman who knows what responsibility is all about.

According to the rapper, “There are a lot of girls out there but I don’t need a girl, I need a woman. A woman who know what responsibility is all about, not just about Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Somebody who is real, who is responsible, and I really hope not to date anybody in entertainment, it won’t work. You go out, she goes out, and we all know we humans are jealous creatures, if you go out and your wife sees so many girls clamouring around or over you, you say its just work honey but if you see a guy around her and she says it’s just work honey, I can imagine how you would react.”

Ruggedman is currently working on a Part 2 of the Money Making Music collaboration album.

The album features his record label act Mrbyo, Ice Prince, Terry G, Reminisce, Wande Coal, Olamide, Patoranking, Korede Bello, Jaywon, Dammy Krane, Milli and Victoria Kimani.

http://nexthop.com.ng/i-dont-need-a-girl-i-need-a-woman-ruggedman/

Rumours have it that Nollywood actress Sola Sobowale traveled to London to do menial jobs such as sweeping the streets of London, changing baby diapers etc.

Sola told City People in a recent interview that people are only talking and she didn’t sweep London streets to survive.

In her words, “I did not sweep London streets to survive. I never swept except it is my house. If people peddle rumours that I sweep the streets of London to survive, so be it. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. The bottom line is that I believe in dignity of labour but I have never swept in any land to earn money in my life.”

Sobowale also said she didn’t take a nanny job and there’s nothing wrong in being a nanny.

“I didn’t do nanny either but very soon, my book will soon be out then people will get to know what I was doing in England. Another thing I will like to tell you, even if I was doing a job of nanny I will be proud to do it as long as it brings money. I can do anything for money so far it is not stealing. As I said, I can do anything to make money apart from being a prostitute, a cocaine pusher, or 419” she said.

The actress said she can do anything that will give her good money. According to Sola, “Anything that will give me good money is what I can do because ‘owo igbe kin run (money gotten from shit carrying does not smell shit). If at the end of the day I’m spending the money, does it smell of shit or faeces?”

Sola Sobowale is currently working on a new soap opera titled ‘Necta’.

http://nexthop.com.ng/i-didnt-sweep-london-streets-but-i-can-do-anything-that-will-give-me-good-money-sola-sobowale/

If anything had trailed and burdened Joe El’s industry-infant shoulders, it is the unbridled ghost of constant comparison to the legendary music icon, Tuface Idibia, a hell of a load to have on one’s shoulder in a budding music career.

With ‘Timeless’, Joe El needed to convince doubters and critics, who have gone as far as labeling him ‘just a clone’ of Mr. Idibia, thereby discrediting his undeniable talent. There is even a general conception that it is a ploy by Joe/Kennis to rip off of the success, fame and popularity of Tuface.

Don’t blame them( the critics) though; a striking physical resemblance, almost identical voice, and the signing of Joe El by Kennis Music, a label on which Tuface began his gallant solo musical sojourn, are all more than just a coincidence to music enthusiasts.

However, one thing’s for certain, Joe El sure didn’t create/mold his image to purposefully strike a resemblance with Tubaba, and he sure didn’t just give himself the identical vocal output(he might have worked on it) as with the Hypertek artiste…….God did.

Well, maybe Kennis saw these striking attributes and thought, “hell, we can get much out of this guy’s image, since we once had a ‘bigger’ version of him”, which would be disregarding Joe’s undeniable talent.

We live in a spiritual and scientific world where it is widely believed that there is an identical image of every being somewhere in any part of the world. Let’s just say Mr. Idibia and Joe El are one of the lucky few who actually got to meet their ‘better half’.

Now, back to the music….

Joe El’s debut album, Timeless, saw production duties fall on the laps of legendary OJB Jezreel, Masterkraft, DJ Coublon, Terry G and Mark Drummond. Guest features were expertly and commendably limited, as only the aforementioned Tuface, Terry G, Iyanya, Phyno, J Martins, B.Howard and Oritsefemi lent their vocal assistance.

The ‘Intro’ couldn’t have been better, a wonderful and refreshing live studio session where the always lively Tuface added entertaining spice to the session, invariably endorsing Joe and showing he bears no ill-feeling towards the budding singer and also his one-time estranged label, as Kenny Ogungbe can be audibly heard adding his two-cents in the background. Enough can’t be said of Tuface’s humility.

The intro is engaging enough, and perfectly sets the tone for what listeners are to expect in the course of the 19-track long album.

‘Hold On’ ft Tuface follows, and it is easily a classic, as both artistes traded sang in a voice, touching on the necessity of hope, strength, and self-belief, by all who aspire to succeed in their various endeavors. Having Tuface on the record makes it perfect, as the legendary singer is one widely known for his gallant strides from nothing to what he is today.

‘Oya Now’, ‘Ileke’ and ‘Chukwudi’ are solid records that’ll get spins in the clubs and on the airwaves.

‘Bakolo’ however was unnecessary, as it sounded like a filler Joe felt he ‘just had to do’ to ‘feel among’ the already over-flogged booty records released by all and sundry in the industry.

‘You Are in Love’ is an impeccable love song, a true testament to Joe’s vocal ability and music composition. He confidently serenades a girl of his desire, and it is a stellar performance.

‘I No Mind’ is an assuring love record, a feel-good vibe that successfully drives home the point of cherishing and staying devoted to a partner irrespective of the perceived obstacles.

On ‘Fire’, Joe El expertly and excellently delved into some social consciousness, touching on topics such as injustice, poverty, education and oppression, which you’ll very rarely see on other Nigerian releases. He scored a great point with this track!…….And you can actually move to it, a point which we’ve always been trying to drive home. Sadly, you might never get to hear it on the radio.

He duly closes the album with the international version of ‘Hold On’ and it is a totally deserved ovation for Joe at the end of it.

Timeless establishes the fact that Joe El can actually sing, and more importantly, that he pays utmost attention and care to his lyrics. He convincingly and confidently has lyrical depth for a Nigerian singer, a trait that is a rarity on Nigerian music scene.

The stage was set perfectly for Joe – to fail or succeed – though excruciatingly tricky, it’s either he makes his point now and claim his spot in the country’s music elites, or fail and remain just one of those who never really got to fulfill their potentials.

We’re glad to say he did impressively well, and hope he can push on from here, as his subsequent releases would be met with huge expectations.

In saner climes, Timeless would rank as one of the best Nigerian albums of the year 2015 thus far, and would even find a revered spot at the end of it.

Though this release isn’t really about Joe El setting out to banish the ghost of constant comparison to Tuface, he has successfully and triumphantly done so.

Just because we know Joe El can do better, we restrain from giving the album a 4 out of 5, as we want to see him push himself to greater releases.

Rating: 3/5

http://nexthop.com.ng/album-review-timeless-joe-el/

Recently, a blogger wrote a post titled “How Yemi Alade Finally Kicked Out Tiwa Savage From The Throne”.

Yemi Alade who’s not happy about the post took to Instagram to warn bloggers to stop putting artistes against each other.

Yemi said Tiwa Savage is the king and people should respect their hustle.

The ‘Johnny’ singer wrote “MEDIA , FANS, FRIENDS ,YOU NEED TO FIND A MORE ENCOURAGING APPROACH!! SO MANY FEMALES ARE ON TOP OF THIER GAME!! THERE ARE MANY THRONES AND NOT JUST ONE!! STOP PUTTING US UP AGAINST EACH OTHER!! TIWA SAVAGE IS A KING ANY DAY ANY TIME IN HER OWN RIGHT!! AN ICON TO MANY ##RespectOurHustleSmallAbeg
#weDoThisForLoveNotHateOrWar”

http://nexthop.com.ng/tiwa-savage-is-a-king-any-day-any-time-yemi-alade/

Chocolate City CEO and rapper MI Abaga told Saturday Beats in a recent interview that he will apologize to his side chicks before he tie the knot with his main boo.

MI also said he would like to keep his relationship life private.

In his words:

“Anybody that asks me about my relationship status knows that I would never answer because I feel it should be private. Let’s say I have a girlfriend and I say that I am getting married, the ripple effect would be crazy. For me to make that statement, I may have to inform potential side chicks that I am about to make a press statement and they should not be offended. I may have to call their parents to tell them that I am making such a statement.

The implications are far reaching and because of that I feel, if you want to have a real life, you have to protect your privacy no matter how much the media snoops around. That being said, when I am ready, everyone would know. When you declare that you are getting married, it might offend someone somewhere.”

Few months back, MI proposed to a fan during Star Trek concert.

http://nexthop.com.ng/i-will-apologize-to-my-side-chicks-before-getting-married-mi-abaga/

It seems Nollywood actress Toyin Aimakhu has embarked on a mission to stop her hubby Adeniyi Johnson from flirting.

Toyin stepped out in style for an event today September 3, 2015. We think the actress believes if she can up her mode of dressing and dress to kill her hubby, he won’t bother to flirt with another lady.

Report has it that Toyin who packed out of her home few weeks ago is now back to her matrimonial home.

The actress is yet to change her status on Instagram from Miss to Mrs.

Toyin rocked a pink gown to the event. She looks gorgeous in the outfit.

http://nexthop.com.ng/toyin-aimakhu-on-a-mission-to-stop-her-hubby-from-flirting/

Report has it that Nollywood actress Toyin Aimakhu has squashed the beef with her hubby Adeniyi Johnson.

Last week, Adeniyi asked his fans to help him beg his wife because she caught her flirting with another woman.

According to Gold Myne TV, Toyin who packed out of her matrimonial home two weeks ago is now back into her house.

Toyin and Adeniyi celebrated their 2nd wedding anniversary in July.

http://nexthop.com.ng/toyin-aimakhu-reportedly-settles-beef-with-hubby/

Mavin records boss Don Jazzy opened up to TheNET in a recent interview on why record labels in Nigeria don’t last long.

Don said most record labels in Nigeria put money first instead of their artistes.

Jazzy also said he’s passionate about his artistes than making money. And his lawyers believe his record label acts are cheating him.

In his words:

I think I was born to do this, there are other record labels doing well also but in my research, I don’t think there’s any record label that’s as passionate about the careers of their artistes as much as I am. I’m over passionate about my artistes. Until the last man blows, am not happy, I think about their success before I think about making money but most labels are always interested in making back the money they’ve invested and making profit.

“Don’t you ever worry about the money you spend and the possibility of not recouping it, ‘I believe in the talent that God has given me, and I believe I’ll make many more hit songs, so if you believe in what you are doing and you work very hard, money will come, you don’t need to be greedy and expect to make all the money in the world when your artiste is not making money. Sometimes my lawyers tell me the way my artiste contract is set up is wrong because I’m cheating myself with the sharing formula, but I don’t think I’m cheating myself, I think I’m making my artiste very comfortable and in the long run, we’ll be fine because I care more about my name and the glory than the money, but most labels care more about the money than the glory”.

http://nexthop.com.ng/heres-why-record-labels-dont-last-long-in-nigeria-don-jazzy/

Nollywood stars, Fathia Balogun and Monalisa Chinda cover September 2015 ‘Big Fashion’ issue of House of Maliq magazine.

In this issue, Fathia and Monalisa talked about life in Nollywood, upcoming projects, fashion and more.

The stars were styled by Miss Maliq and P. Thelma. Photographed by Diko Photography.

See more cover photos below.

http://nexthop.com.ng/fathia-balogun-monalisa-chinda-stun-for-house-of-maliq/

Superstar actress, Tonto Dikeh‘s marriage to former president, Olusegun Obasanjo‘s adopted son, Churchill Oladunni, has been in the news in the past few weeks.

The couple had their private introduction ceremony yesterday, August 29, and the actress has promised her fans and well wishers that they’d be filled in on the date of her traditional ceremony in due time, so they can go and celebrate with her.

The elated actress gushed about her union on her instagram page today, August 30, writing of her joy.

With the Court and Introduction ceremonies out of the way, Tonto says she’s ‘a settled woman’. In her words,

“God has been faithful
Court wedding- Done
Introduction-Done
Bride price payment and reception(BP CEREMONY)-Done
Traditional and white wedding on the way..
We plan on celebrating every event all the way becos this is a wonderful Gift God has bestowed upon us..
I am A happy Woman
I am A settled Woman
I can’t express my heart,it’s been all tears and thanks to my Potter(God) who never stopped looking out for me even when Man thot they could rewrite my story..
Thanks to my Husband and Sultan for a beautiful ceremony and All the love he showers on me..
I reckoned a private life is the happiest one,we will publicly announce the traditional marriage so u can all come out and celebrate Life with Us…
I wish every woman out there at least a quarter of the joy this married life has brought to me,I wish you all Love and Gods protection…”

We wish her a blissful marital life…..

http://nexthop.com.ng/tonto-dikeh-on-marriage-plans-we-will-publicly-announce-date-for-traditional-event/

In a country where cogent issues like gross irresponsibility by the government, coupled with other moral, social issues such as hunger, unemployment, injustice, lack of electricity, corruption, civil rights infringement, rape, crime, callousness, religious differences, and even death, are abound, we find it utterly bizarre that this generation of artistes find it hard to diversify on the subject matter in their music.

The legendary Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was notoriously and unrepentantly known for being a thorn in the flesh of corrupt government officials.

Even Eedris Abdulkareem gallantly managed to ruffle the feathers of the unfazed Obasanjo administration with ‘Jaga Jaga’, as the former president was forced to reply the erratic musician.

“Our government bad oh/ dem no wan give ghettoman job oh” lamented the vociferous African China some years back.

Such was the level of outcry against oppression and injustice by artistes in years past, as China, Daddy Showkey, Lagbaja, Majek Fashek, Onyeka Onwenu, Maintain, Ras Kimono, and a host of others became voices of hope and some sort of rebellion for average Nigerian citizens.

The ‘common man’ found joy and satisfaction in a brave and laudable representation of his plight by these socially conscious records.

The impact however, was undeniably felt by the government, as they sought to clamp down-as far as jailing-some musicians found culpable.

These crops of artistes were undaunted in their quest to bring about positivity or betterment to the lives of the lower echelon of the society.

To think the system of government ran then was a whole lot different from what it is now, in terms of little or no freedom of speech, yet these group of artistes were undaunted as music was their main or only source of showing their displeasure and grievance at the unpleasant situation of things.

It’s 2015 and things have drastically changed on our music scene, positively and negatively. Positively in terms of revenues now being generated and pumped into the entertainment sector, and also the worldwide recognition of our musical output by international bodies, one which was evidently absent in years past.

Most disturbing however, is the decline or death even, of the content of social awareness from the lips of our entertainment frontrunners.

Quite shocking, is that 99.9% of our industry ‘clowns’ name legends such as Bob Marley, Fela, Lucky Dube, 2Pac, Angelique Kidjo, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston e.t.c, as influences, when these are people who actually became respectable voices with their music in all ramifications.

Buying a typical Nigerian artiste’s album, you basically know what to expect in terms of subject matter and content; 30% repetitive love songs, 60% booty-rocking club songs, and 10% directionless, baseless music.

Love is a beautiful thing, one that should be preached and encouraged, but the appalling manner by which it is being projected by these new generation artistes is an utter shame.

Our artistes, rather than be voices for social responsibility and equality, parade themselves as political pawns, while their popularity is still being funded by ‘average’ citizens.

However, all social platforms and adverse conditions are also to blame, as factors such as poverty, greed, media bias, corporate organizations’ immorality, play a huge role in the projection of baseless music.

We wonder how long for, more recently released songs like ‘Ghetto Life‘ by Tuface, Blackface and Rocksteady, ‘Dictator Rap’ by Lex, Tec and Mojeed, ‘Fvck Em All’ by Beazy and Boogie, ‘Lokal Government’ by Tha Suspekt and M.I, got played on the radio waves, if at all they did. A testament to the hypocrisy of the media in shunning songs of this manner.

Of this new generation, ONLY Asa and probably Tuface have been able to masterfully balance the theme of social consciousness and feel-good vibes on their records on a constant basis, and they haven’t been any less successful than their peers. That is, apart from artistes like Seun and Femi Kuti, whose Afrobeat style of music naturally centers on being socially conscious.

Conversely, the inability or a total lack thereof of these musicians to constructively think, write and compose introspectively deep songs, could be attributed to their avoidance of sensitive subject matters, as it is a lot easier to instruct or compel listeners to ‘shake their booty’ or ‘pop some bottles in the club’.

These ‘clowns’ we call artistes see abysmal music as a quick and easy way to attain fame, popularity and wealth. Their hearts are barely in their chosen craft, purely depicted by the kinds of music materials they release.

They are almost all advocates of social awareness on their respective social media platforms, but rarely replicate that with the kinds of records they put out.

On the widely misused cliché, ‘dance away your sorrow’, as an excuse for tons of baseless club records, we beg to differ, as a socially conscious song can still adequately cater to the dance obsession, while still holding lyrically powerful message.

Beyond attacking the government through music, which is not the only purpose of writing this piece, there are little kids on the streets who are not there by their own volition, but by the injustice and cruelty of life, there are also unlawfully subdued citizens, morally abused persons, and a whole lot more.

Omawumi touched on the subject of rape on her song, ‘If You Ask Me‘, Mode 9, touched on the betrayal between friends on ‘Cry‘, while Naeto C touched on losing a loved one on ‘Blessings‘ ft Asa, and it isn’t a coincidence these songs are one of their biggest hits so far.

These are lingering issues that should be addressed and brought to fore, and what better platform than on records that can be heard across the world.

You might think these kinds of subject matter in your music wouldn’t ensure your mainstream appeal, but that is where adequate balancing is important and vital. It doesn’t necessarily box you in the ‘conscious’ corner.

Dear Nigerian artistes, including some bits of social consciousness and awareness wouldn’t hurt, it’ll only make your catalog even better.

Until the moment we all stand to acknowledge the power of music to influence and affect lives, this appalling trend would continue.

http://nexthop.com.ng/the-untimely-death-of-social-consciousness-in-nigerian-music/

Star Boy Wizkid is done working on a new joint with American act TY Dolla Sign.

Wizkid who will be dropping the joint soon took to social media today August 27, 2015 to inform his fans.

Star Boy wrote “Yo shoutout to my bro @tydollasign! We made something for the fans yesterday! Soon come!”

Recently, Wizkid stormed the studio with Nico and Vinz.

The singer will be dropping his next album in September and he said he’s ready to put the industry to sleep.

http://nexthop.com.ng/wizkid-set-to-drop-new-joint-with-ty-dolla-sign/

Olamide Baddo opened up to Andre Blaze about his life, career and more in a recent interview.

Olamide told Andre that his baby mama is not just a random chic but he’s not sure if he will marry her.

In his words, “We’re very cool. We’ve been cool from way back and we’ve been together for almost 5 years now. It’s not just some random chic that came around from nowhere. That’s just it. But the question of marrying her, that one is very hard to answer because Olamide is not God. Only God knows tomorrow.”

Olamide who claims to be the baddest artiste in Nigeria said his major fear is not making heaven.

According to the ‘Shakitibobo‘ crooner, “My major fear is not making Heaven; the second one is failure. Nobody thought it was going to be this big for me…or for someone coming from Bariga, and you’re not even doing like Pop, RnB or something. You’re rapping, like rap doesn’t even really sell like that in Nigeria. And now you’re coming from the ghetto, and you’re not doing English rap. But glory be to God, I did a lot of hard work and it has paid for me. The grace of God has really helped me as well.”

http://nexthop.com.ng/im-not-sure-if-i-will-marry-my-baby-mama-olamide/