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Rocky Dawuni and Angelique KidjoeThe 58th annual Grammies provided the world with a good representation of Africa and African heritage musicians, performers and artistes at the Staples Center in Los Angeles USA on February 15, 2016.

There were many first time African nominees, one was Rocky Dawuni; Ghanaian singer and songwriter who performs in his signature ‘Afro Roots’ sound which is a mixture of Reggae, Afrobeat, Highlife and soul music. Rocky and his sixth studio album titled ‘Branches of The Same Tree’ released March 2015 both became the first Ghanaian musician and album ever to be nominated for a Grammy award.

Rocky was nominated alongside reggae greats like Jah Cure for his album ‘The Cure’, Barrington Levy for ‘Acousticalevy’, Luciano for ‘Zion Awake’ and Morgan Heritage for ’Strictly Roots’ respectively. The Best Reggae Album went to Morgan Heritage at the 2016 Grammy awards. Like Rocky Dawuni, Morgan Heritage were also first-time nominees.

In an interview with TheAfricanDream.net, Rocky Dawuni congratulated Morgan Heritage for their win and went on to say: “For me it was really amazing to be nominated. I’ve always known that there is really no elevator to success and you have to always take the stairs. We keep rising on the stairs and now we have a nominated album so we put our gaze into the future. I am really glad to bring Ghana its first Grammy nomination”.

Other individuals with African heritage that brightly shone at the Grammys included Canadian born Ethiopian musician Abęl Makkonen Tesfaye of ‘The Weeknd’ who received seven nominations. ‘The Weeknd’ walked away with ‘Best Urban Contemporary Album’ for “Beauty Behind the Madness” and Best R&B Performance for “Earned It” which was a sound track of the 2015 American movie ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’.

Best World Album of the 58th Grammies went to Angélique Kidjo, for her work “Sings” making her a three-time Grammy winning artiste. Originally from Benin in West Africa, Angelique first won a Grammy in 2008 for her eight studio album titled ‘Djin Djin’, then again in 2014 at the 57th annual Grammy Awards for her album ‘Eve’​​ in the World Music category.

South African Gospel musician Neville Diedericks who earned a nomination for “Best Gospel Performance/Song” for his part in Israel & Newbreed’s “How Awesome Is Our God (Live)”, was excited for their winning ‘Best Gospel Album’ for their “Covered: Alive Is Asia [Live] (Deluxe)” work.

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Other South African nominees at the 58th Grammies were the male choral group ‘Ladysmith Black Mambazo’, four time Grammy winners who rose to worldwide fame from singing with Paul Simon in 1986 on his Graceland album and Wouter Kellerman, a 2014 Grammy winning world music composer and instrumentalist whose 2015 album ‘Love Language’ debuted at number one on the World Music Billboard charts in July of that year.

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella went to Nigerian-American Kevin ‘K.O.’ Olusola and fellow members of the widely acclaimed vocal band Pentatonix — Avi Kaplin, Kirstin Taylor — for their work “Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy”.

In 2014 Pentatonix earned its first Grammy nomination in Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for its smash hit medley, ‘Daft Punk’. The group has had more than 1 billion views on their YouTube channel. Kevin is the son of Oluwole Olusola, a Nigerian-born psychiatrist who attended medical school in Nigeria.

Grammy history: Michael Jackson is known in the history of the Grammys to have won the most awards by a male artist in one night. In 1984, the ‘King of Pop’ went home with eight respective awards. Hungarian-British conductor, Sir Georg Solti is however on record for winning the most Grammies ever — a total of 31 in his 22 year career as conductor of Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

See the full results of nominees/winners of the 58th annual Grammy Awards.

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Source: Oral Ofori

 

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Ghanaian footballer, Yaw Yeboah proposes to girlfriend, Gifty Boakye

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Yaw Yeboah proposes to girlfriend, Gifty Boakye

Ghanaian fashion model, Gifty Boakye has revealed on her birthday that her boyfriend and Ghanaian midfielder, Yaw Yeboah has officially proposed marriage to her.

Gifty shared photos of the happy moment when the Major League Soccer star, who plays for the Columbus Crew, popped the question ‘Will you marry me question?” in front of family and friends.

 

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Yaw Yeboah won two trophies with Major League Soccer side Columbus Crew in 2023. The former Ghana U23 captain scored the winner as the Gold and Blacks defeated Los Angeles FC to win their third MLS title. Yeboah also starred in the Eastern Conference final as Columbus Crew came from two goals down to beat city rivals FC Cincinnati at the TQL Park. Yeboah, who made 37 appearances scoring four goals and providing five assists in the 2023 campaign, was rewarded with an invite to the Black Stars ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Gifty Boakye was born in the USA to parents who had immigrated from Ghana. At the age of 16 her dark complexion created drive and passion in her to begin to model and further to inspire young girls to love the skin they’re in. Today I enjoy sharing my story .life as a model, Entrepreneur, philanthropist, & public speaker now living in Accra Ghana.

After receiving my degree in communications arts from St Johns University, I started my first company NVTIVE in 2017 an online Boutique that pays homage to international cultured in apparel & art. In 2018 I founded Sister S.L.A.Y a nonprofit that empowers young girls ages 11-18 through educational workshops and self-confidence rebuilding.

Fun facts about Gifty, she can rap almost any Jay Z record word for word. She loves spending time with family& friends. Her favorite food is Waakye and in 2017 also Gifty reigned as the face of festival AFROCHELLA. Her guilty pleasure is gummy bears. She was also in a relationship with Ghanaian footballer Thomas Partey.

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Rema Sparks Big 3 Debate in Nigerian Music Scene

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The Nigerian music scene is buzzing with discussions about the ‘Big 3’ artists, with Olamide, Davido, and Wizkid being the most frequently mentioned. (more…)

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“I produced most of the biggest hit songs in Ghana last year” – Beatz Vampire claims the crown ahead of TGMA 2024

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Showbiz and showboating go hand in hand and Beatz Vampire is sticking to the script. As one of the industry’s most sought-after producers, he confidently declares 2023 his own and believes none of his peers even come close heading into the Telecel Ghana Music Awards 2024.

Despite the prominent awards show just a month away–June 1, Beatz Vampire is already anticipating a clean sweep under its rebranded glory. His gaze is set on one of the night’s most coveted achievements: the “Producer of the Year” award. And with four hits credited to him under three artists in the previous year alone, it is easy to see why he is confidence levels are stratospheric.

Last year, the young producer was all over the place. His work on JZyNO and Lasmid’s ‘Butta My Bread’ was a mega success, bringing over 160M streams across platforms. The song’s popularity on TikTok also got under the skin of artists like Nigeria’s Ruger, who tried to downplay its quality and appeal. Beatz Vampire chased this down with equally catchy tracks like ‘Goodsin,’ ‘Likor’ and ‘I Lied,’ which garnered similar acclaim. 

Indeed, Beatz Vampire has a good chance of winning the award. Since the nominations list dropped, his name has been on the lips of fans who showed their support. The producer chimed in on his fans’ sentiments, saying: “I feel honored even though this was expected. I produced most of the biggest hit songs in Ghana last year, from JZyNO and Lasmid’s ‘Butta My Bread’ to Olivetheboy’s ‘Goodsin,’ Kidi’s ‘Likor’ and ‘I Lied,’ so it’s only right I am handed the award on that night. Big shouts to the rest of the nominees though.”

Of course, Beatz Vampire is no stranger to the hype around prestigious awards. In 2022, he was nominated “Producer of the Year” at the Ghana Music Awards USA and Ghana Music Awards France. His contributions over the years, like Jahmiel’s ‘Beautiful,’ P-Square’s ‘Jaiye,’ Shatta Wale’s ‘Hajia Bintu’ and ‘1 Don,’ Mr Drew’s ‘Mood’ and ‘S3k3,’ Lasmid’s ‘Atele’ and ‘Sika,’ among others, were super hits of their time. But this year in review is a special one. He believes after so many years of missing out, the award is coming home.

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As the Telecel Ghana Music Awards (formerly the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards) draws close, Beatz Vampire stands on the cusp of glory.

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Gospel singer KODA passes on, after reportedly battling a kidney disease

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Gospel singer, Kofi Owusu Dua Anto popularly known as KODA is dead.

He died on Sunday after reportedly battling a kidney disease.

Tributes, especially from gospel musicians started flying on social media on Sunday when they heard about KODA’s passing.

Some musicians expressed shock when they heard about the death of the gospel stalwart.

Among those who expressed their shock were, Empress Gifty, who posted on Facebook: “I hope it’s not true, KODA,” with crying emojis.

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Speaking to Graphic Showbiz on Sunday afternoon, Gospel musician Nii Okai, a very close friend of KODA said, “I wish I could tell you another thing but that’s the truth. KODA is dead”.

He said it was quite shocking to him considering that KODA was doing very fine after going through treatment.

KODA, celebrated for his uplifting melodies and soulful compositions, was not just a singer but a producer who left an indelible mark on the Ghanaian music scene.

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WATCH: Irene Logan sings ‘At Last’ as she dances with her husband at their wedding reception

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Irene Logan sings 'At Last' as she dances with her husband at their wedding reception

Ghanaian singer, songwriter, philanthropist and entrepreneur, Irene Logan has tied the knot with her sweetheart, Prince! (more…)

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Lagos police arrest gay gang of criminals, who raped their male victims

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The police in Lagos have recorded a breakthrough by arresting eight members of a vicious gang of criminals that specialize in subjecting their victims to several hours of anal sex after dispossessing them of their properties and cash.

The arrest, said to be one of the biggest successes of detectives recently, under the watchful eyes of Commissioner of Police, Adegoke Fayoade so far, was made in the highbrow areas of Lekki, Ajah and Ikoyi areas of the state and efforts are in top gear to round up fleeing members of the dreaded gang made up of young men between the ages of 23 and 40.

Giving details of the operational strategies of the gang, police sources said the young men usually perpetrate their evil acts by renting living apartments in the highbrow areas of the city after which they embark on search for their victims.

It was learned that they normally place notices in strategic areas of the city, advertising job vacancies and acting as estate agents.

Sources said desperate job and accommodation seekers who respond to their adverts would be taken to their apartments usually situated in one of the booming estates where they are subjected to all kinds of torture with a view to forcing them release their account details after which they would be forced into several hours of anal sex by members of the gang.

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According to sources, their operational method is to roam around with exotic cars including high flying SUV’s. They place fake advertisements in strategic areas of Lekki, Ajah, Banana Island and even Ikoyi after which they also scout around, looking for fine and healthy-looking men.

As soon as they succeed in getting a victim, they drive the person to their apartment where they torture him for hours. While torturing their victim, they would extract all information about him including his financial status.

“As soon as they are in possession of those personal facts, they swing into action by proceeding to his house or banks to empty his money and other valuables. The second round of their operation is to subject their victim to hours of anal sex which they take turns to have their fill. They usually record their exploits on video and later relax to view it while enjoying their loot.”

It was gathered that their criminal exploits were blown open after they succeeded in cornering and maltreating a relation of a mobile police officer. The enraged officer was said to have gone to one of the police stations at Lekki to lodge the report.

Based on this development, the Commissioner of Police, Adegoke Fayoade gave marching orders to his special squad to round up the criminals without delay.

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The Special Squad, it was learned, succeeded in penetrating the gang and rounded up seven of their members including their oldest member said to be a lawyer.

Crime Guard learned that during interrogations, members of the gang who were looking unruffled stated boldly that their victims were healthy looking young and old men that will satisfy their sexual urge through the anus.

“They reportedly shocked detectives when they confessed that they had been operating for over three years and that they choose highbrow areas where they could easily track well nourished and endowed men.

Police sources said: “They were boasting to us about how many healthy looking men they have abused through the anus. They said they reject men that are not looking health, stating emphatically that they have no business with women. After their arrest, we confined them in separate cells so that they would not descend on our male suspects inside the cell.

“However, few days later, one of them raised alarm that the oldest member of the gang who claimed to be a lawyer was having same affair with a member of the gang. When we accosted him, he said the relationship had been going on since they have been operating as a gang.

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“Our greatest problem now is that some members of the devilish gang have escaped and we strongly suspect that they must be carrying on with their devilish criminal acts wherever they are.

“We are spreading our dragnets and we are sure that very soon, we will round all of them up. I must state that if not for the swiftness with which our Commissioner directed the operation, many men in Lagos state would have been endangered species by now.”

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