INTRODUCING: SEGUN OBE’S VOICE TRAINING CRASH PROGRAME

Segun Obe a Seasoned Vocalist in Nigeria is ready to work with you. There have been two sessions of the Voice Training programme and over 50 vocalists have been greatly improved and are doing much better in their singing as well as stage performance. Several speakers will be anchoring the programme and they are experts in the field of music as well as voice. There will be guests like Cohbams, Wole Oni,Tosin martins and many more seasoned producer and singer.
Asides classes, there will also be a voice clinic. There will also be the opportunity for one (or more) outstanding participant to record with Segun Obe on his next album. It's a fully interactive programme.

Segun Obe has been a choir director for several ministries over the span of his musical life. He has worked with choirs such as the Winners Chapel Lagos choir, Foursquare Gospel Church choirs, several Redeemed Churches and House On The Rock's Chosen Treasure choir where he presently sings. He is a voice trainer and coach of repute and has had the opportunity to share the stage with Lionel Peterson, Donnie McClurkin, Kirk Franklin, Pastor Marvin Winans, Kurt Carr and many more anointed singers and worshipers. God has taken him beyond Nigeria to the UK and US to share his passion for music and quality in singing.

Registration is 10,000 naira per participant

 

Date: April 29 to May 1, 2011

 

Venue: Ashton & Layton Academy, 3 First Foundation Close(the street beside Adebola House), Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos.

 

To be part of it, please call: 07028850149 now for more info or send a text message to 08056219840 for details.

Email: segunobe1@yahoo.com

GENEVIEVE’s EX NOW PMAN PRESIDENT?

By Gistmaster.com

Star actress, Genevieve Nnaji’s ex boyfriend, Preddy Wyse seems to be at the front burner of another controversial election of the PMAN (Performing Musician Association of Nigeria). According to information at the disposal of gistmaster.com, Preddy who is now a big time distributor of Kia Motors in Delta State scored 136 votes to trash his opponent at the election.

A graduate of music from the American Devroy School of Music, Preddy Wise Okowa returned from the United States many years ago.   Before he went into many called social oblivion, Preddy was always hitting headlines because of his romance with Genevieve, who was a fast emerging star actress at that time. It was a well publicized romance at that time. It almost led to marriage but a number of factors such as family resistant against the relation especially from Preddy sisters led to the crash of the relationship. No one heard about Preddy since then until recently.

Gistmaster Newsroom

news@gistmaster.com

PREGNANT STAR, OMAWUNMI MEGBELE JETS TO ATLANTA

Nigerian celebrity singer, Omawunmi Mgebele is now in the United States of America where she is expected to be deliver of her baby. According to Stella Dimoko Korkus, sources hinted that the Omawunmi left Nigeria sometime ago and she is believed to be in Atlanta, Georgia.

It would be recalled that Omawunmi became pregnant shortly after her romance with Dorkita Fabz, her boyfriend and producer crashed. She started dating a Lagos guy who is believed to be part owner of a Night Club.

The good news of the singer's pregnancy was first reported by ThisDay Newspapers some months back. She also reportedly threw up at two occasions and also added some weight. Shockingly, Omawunmi also performed at events when her tummy was becoming obvious.

Omawunmi who is an award winning singer came into public view after she won the second place at the Idol West Africa music reality show put together by Elvina Ibru and her team. Omawunmi's song "Wonder Woman" pumped up her profile as it became one of the most popular songs on TV and radio stations. Omawunmi also got the opportunity to perform for various brands, there raking in millions of Naira as performance fees.

-gistmaster.com

Newsroom

news@gistmaster.com

ANGRY COMEDIAN, HOLY MALAM TO SUE NIRA RECORDS

It is definitely unusual to see a comedian angry. One comedian and event compere who is boiling so much with anger is Holy Malam. Gistmaster.com gathered that the handsome presenter had an agreement with Nira Audio Visual Company but the deal didn’t go as smooth as he had wanted it to be. The comedian claimed that Nira violated international statutory laws and guidelines guiding the replication of literary works.

Holy Mallam also claims that the foreign company that was licensed and registered by the  Nigerian Copyright Commission breached  contract by delivering the
work it was contracted to do 14 days after due delivery date and in
the middle of the road and also infringed on copyright and destroyed
public image that led to loss of Goodwill.
Holly Mallam is demanding a sum of N10 million
Naira from Nira Audio Visuals as damages for what he allegedly went through in the course of doing business with the company.

-Gistmaster.com

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FELA! MAKES HISTORIC ARRIVAL IN LAGOS, NIGERIA APRIL 20-25, 2011

 The hit Broadway musical about the life and music of Nigerian
performer and political activist Fela Anikulapo-Kuti is scheduled to
be performed in his home town of Lagos, Nigeria making it the first
Broadway show to be performed in Sub-Saharan Africa.

FELA!, the landmark Broadway musical, which won three Tony Awards
(Broadway’s highest honor) including Best Choreography (Bill T.
Jones), is coming to Lagos from April 20th to 25th. It will be
performed at the prestigious Eko Hotel’s New Expo Centre, Victoria
Island, Lagos, Nigeria. This critically lauded musical will star its
original Broadway cast with Sahr Ngaujah reprising his Tony-nominated
role of Fela Kuti with music provided by the internationally renowned
Antibalas as well as other members of the New York City Afro-beat
community.Concurrently with the Broadway production, FELA! opened and triumphed
at London’s Royal National Theater for a three-month sold-out run.
That production was nominated for three Olivier Awards, London
theatre’s highest honor, including Best Musical, Best Actor (Sahr
Ngaujah) and Best Choreography (Bill T. Jones). This Nigerian
engagement will be the first since the closing of the Broadway and
London productions and the NTLive performance which was broadcast to
in 370 cinemas worldwide.

The aim of FELA! in Lagos is to unite and connect Africans in spirit
and unity, to serve as a catalyst for cultural revival in Nigeria, and
to celebrate Fela Kuti, for the contribution he has made to Nigeria
and the world. FELA! depicts the true story of the legendary Nigerian
musician Fela Kuti, whose soulful Afro beat rhythms ignited the spirit
of empowerment and cultural awareness in a generation. It is a tale
of courage, passion and love featuring Kuti’s captivating music and
the visionary direction and choreography of Tony Award winner, Bill T.
Jones. FELA! in Lagos is being produced by a Nigerian production
company, Broken Shackles in conjunction with Lagos State Government.

Upon its Broadway opening Ben Brantley of The New York Times wrote,
"There should be dancing in the streets. The hot (and seriously cool)
energy that comes from the musical gospel preached by the title
character of Fela! feels as if it could stretch easily to the borders
of Manhattan and then across a river or two. There has never been
anything on Broadway like this production." The New York Post’s
Elisabeth Vincentelli cheered, "There’s enough energy to short circuit
Con Ed." David Cote of Time Out New York, in giving it 5 stars (out
of 5) raved, "Fela! is more than a musical; it’s an ecstatic
phenomenon." And Jennifer Farrar from the Associated Press exclaimed,
"An exuberant celebration!"

The English critics were equally effusive after the London premiere of
FELA! One critic, Baz Bamigboye of The Daily Mail, summed up the
critical sentiment with his review saying FELA! is a "groundbreaking
show that shook Broadway and London’s Royal National Theatre to the
rafters. Getting Brits to get on their feet and ‘get loose’ as Bill T.
Jones puts it, was a rare feat. FELA! pulled it off by sheer
exuberance and theatrical showmanship. At the same time, FELA!
explored the soul of an artist and the darkness of a government that
tried to block what Fela’s beam exposed."

In addition to rave reviews from critics, FELA! has also won numerous
awards and received standing ovations from such personalities as Mick
Jagger, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Spike Lee, Ben Okri, Janet
Jackson, Denzel Washington, Professor Wole Soyinka, Robert De Niro,
and Hugh Jackman. First lady Michelle Obama, former UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan and President Obama’s Head of Homeland Security
Janet Napolitano are but three of the dignitaries who have embraced
this show.

Bill T. Jones, director and choreographer of FELA!, was recently
honored with the prestigious Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
award along with Sir Paul McCartney and Oprah Winfrey. The Kennedy
Center Honors are awarded annually for exemplary lifetime achievement
in the performing arts. FELA! also won two Astaire Awards for its cast
and choreography.

FELA! on Broadway was conceived by Bill T. Jones, Jim Lewis and
Stephen Hendel. Its producers include the entertainment legends Shawn
"Jay-Z" Carter and Will & Jada Pinkett Smith.

A spokeswoman for Broken Shackles suggests that "with a series of
media partners and sponsorships, FELA! in Lagos will be the most
talked about show in Nigeria for years to come. We have created
sponsorship, branding and advertising opportunities for those who wish
to be a part of this historic theatrical event."

IN REMEMBRANCE OF FELA ANIKULAPO KUTI:THE MOST INCREDIBLE MUSICIAN OF OUR TIME!

Story by Niyi Tabiti
Photo courtesy:Fela photo Library


Dead or alive, Fela Anikulapo Kuti remains the most enigmatic music phenomenon ever to come out of Nigeria. That is why his post humous birthday celebration has continued to attract thousands of people from all walks of life. This year’s edition is no exception as thousands of ardent music lovers who believe so much in ‘Fela-sophy’, music researchers and fans troop en masse to the new Afrikka Shrine (owned by his son, Femi Kuti) to pay ‘Baba 70’ homage even in death.Starting started on Tuesday 14 and ended on Sunday 19 October 2008.
Of course, it brought alive, the memories of the late ‘Abami Eda’ (The strange man) who lived and sang against corrupt practices in government. He was harassed by security agents, arrested and jailed at different times.So incredible was Fela that he would be remembered as the first Nigerian artiste who composed songs and openely berated military governments in power.Unknown Soldier, one of his popular songs was done after soldiers caused damages that led to his mother’s death durning the military regime of General Olusegun Obasanjo in the 70s.
Beyond Fela’s human rights activism, He was also known to have engaged in open display of ‘Indian hemp’ smoking.Perhaps, the reason why the Afrikka Shrine also went up in flames (lol) as young and old, rich and poor came to smoke that ‘thing’ that make them ‘high!’
He believed so much in African culture and tradition- the reason he changed his name his surname from Ransome-Kuti to 'Anikulapo' Kuti ( the one who has death in his pocket).He prroclaim the african worship of ifa divination and other gods as his own way of life.Known to have married 27 wives the same day before he divorced them in 1986, Fela died in 1997 due to what the family described as illness resulting from infection of the HIV/AIDS.
Today, Yeni, Femi and Seun the children he left behind seems to have taken his foot steps.Apparently, they are aware of the fact that they could only try but not wear the big shoe left behind by their father and mentor.
Dapo Oyebanjo, the Nigerian born musician popularly known as D'banj is one of the few entertainers in the world whose deft moves on stage anchor a similarity with that of Abami Eda but with a fusion of contemporary styles.