This Week’s Episode Features a Conversation With Cheque, the 5 Hottest Tracks of the Week, Africa Rising and LootLove’s Favourite Track of the Week!

Tune in to Africa Now Radio With LootLove This Sunday, September 26th at 2p Lagos/London / 3p Johannesburg/Paris / 6a LA / 9a NYC on Apple Music 1 and broadcast on Cool FM in Nigeria every Sunday at 6pm.
Nigerian Afrobeats singer-songwriter Cheque joins LootLove via FaceTime on Apple Music 1 to talk about his latest track, “Dangerous (feat. Ayra Starr).” He also discusses his new album, ‘Bravo,’ how branching out into trap boosted his confidence, and how his chart-topping 2020 single “Zoom” helped him earn his parents’ blessing.

The Big 5
LootLove shares the 5 hottest new African tracks of the moment. This week’s selection includes new tracks from DarkoVibes feat. Davido; Joeboy, Basketmouth feat. Buju; Kabza De Small & DJ Maphorisa feat. Ami Faku; and Blxckie feat. Madumane & Chang Cello.

Africa Rising 
South African soul singer-songwriter Lloyiso—the first South African artist signed to Republic Records—is the latest artist featured from the Africa Rising playlist, a campaign which shines a light on the next generation of African superstars, and this week’s show features his two singles “Seasons” and “Dream About You.”  Listen HERE.

Loot Loves
Each week, LootLove chooses her favourite track, taken from one of Apple Music’s African playlists. This week she features South African R&B singer-songwriter Ben September and his single, “Tired”, from Apple Music’s ALT-R&B  playlist. Listen HERE, and find a roundup of all LootLove’s selections on Apple Music’s LootLoves playlist, HERE.

Tune in and listen to the full episode this Sunday, September 26th at 2p Lagos/London / 3p Johannesburg/Paris / 6a LA / 9a NYC on Apple Music 1 at apple.co/_AfricaNow or on Cool FM in Nigeria every Sunday at 6pm.

Cheque on how he feels now that his debut album is out

I feel the same, how I’ve always been feeling when I want to drop a song. I go crazy in my head, I think everything that is possible. So I’m very used to it, I’m used to it now.

I will use ‘Razor – EP’ as an example. When I wanted to drop “Zoom,” two days to the drop, I thought it was the worst song in the world. I thought, “I’m not going to drop it.” That’s how I feel. I feel like, “What? Oh, the mixing engineer. I’ll call everybody.” I’m always very anxious. I think it happens because of my itching success… I was always feeling like, “God, please, I cannot not get it.”

Cheque on being nervous to release trap music

Nobody wanted to try it at that time. Even now, maybe nobody wants to try it. But at that time, that everybody said, “Don’t do trap. Don’t try it. Just leave it. Stick to afrobeats.” I was not really inclined towards that, I was always inclined towards trap. So it was very anxious for me, because I felt like I was one of the only people who wanted to drop that.

Cheque on why he thought now was the time for his debut album

I always knew that the more songs that I have out, the more people will understand me. I cannot be in a box, I don’t have a single box, but I feel like this album is when people will really understand me. With more body of work. I never really felt the singles would describe me enough. I always felt like people misunderstood me.
The project came to me because of the lack of general acceptance of my genre initially. I always thought, “Okay, I’m going to put a trap song, put some afro and let’s see what happens then.” When I dropped it, all the songs that were doing well were the trap songs on the project, on the ‘Razor – EP,’ so I always feel like I just have to put out a project and then people will really understand.

Cheque on the difference between making his EP and making his album

Confidence. When I was making ‘Razor – EP,’ I was very afraid. I was making it from, “Oh God, oh God, if I drop this and nobody likes trap songs, everybody that has ever told me not to do trap are just going to tell me, I told you so.” I didn’t want that to happen, because I knew that if ‘“Zoom” didn’t do what it did, nobody is going to sponsor trap in this country again.

Cheque on gaining acceptance from his parents after “Zoom”

First, my parents approved my music. They was like, “Oh, okay.” It was viral in all the states, definitely all the states in Nigeria. In my hometown, everybody knows me for that. So my mom always called me that when she’s going to her office work, some people stop by and say, “Can we get Cheque’s number?” And that is deep rooted in the village, it was cool too.

Cheque on his definition of success and his global ambitions

Continuous elevation is what I’m after, continuous, always growing, always growing, because I feel like man is never going to be satisfied no matter what we get, we just always want more. So I’m just for continuous elevation, that takes me to the very next level, the next one take me to forever. Worldwide, I want to go worldwide, that’s my aim. I really want to do that, so I don’t want to stay in one place, I want to be everywhere, that’s my aim.

Cheque on collaborating with Ayra Starr on “Dangerous”

I had the song completed, I had this song “Dangerous,” I had it for quite a while, I had it for three months with me, finished, changed the beat, finished it. But I was always feeling like if I was saying, “I know you’re dangerous,” because I was talking to the opposite, somebody, a partner on the song. I just wanted to have somebody to be able to express themselves back at me. Luckily in Nigeria right now, we have great female artists popping up everywhere, which is great. So then I watched one of her Instagram videos, there she was singing so crazy. I was like, “Oh, somebody got vocals here.” But that didn’t move me, then I saw one of her videos, she was all choreographing her dancing. It was very long since I saw that, somebody, a female doing choreography in her songs here. So I just felt like I got to message her instantly. She got me the verse very fast, that was really cool, so it was cool of her too.

As a way to reward the growing number of DStv customers accessing their favourite content through the DStv App, DStv is hosting the biggest Open Weekend yet, exclusive to customers on the DStv App.

From Friday 24 to Sunday 26 September 2021, customers across the continent on all DStv packages will have unrestricted access to sporting content across some of the best SuperSport channels including WWE, SuperSport La Liga, SuperSport Football, SuperSport Cricket, SuperSport Premier League, SuperSport Golf and SuperSport Tennis among many others. Note that the Open Weekend does not apply to SuperSport Rugby.

It’s a Baller Weekend on the DStv App and you need to Up Your Game! Catch all the weekend’s biggest games with unlimited sport on the DStv App.

“The way our customers access content is changing and we’re changing along with them. The DStv App has always allowed customers to stream live channels or watch the latest episodes of their favourite shows. For one weekend only, we’re adding all of our SuperSport channels to the mix, so they can kick back, relax and enjoy their favourite sporting fixtures.

Some of the unmissable sporting content to catch on this Open Weekend include two Premier League thrillers, as Chelsea take on Manchester City (Saturday 11:30  LIVE on SuperSport Premier League) and Arsenal battle Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby (Sunday 3:30  LIVE on SuperSport Premier League).

Other football highlights include La Liga matches such as Real Madrid v Villarreal (Saturday 19:00  LIVE on SuperSport La Liga), Barcelona v Levante (Sunday 2:15  LIVE on SuperSport La Liga) and Serie A’s Rome Derby, or the ‘Derby della Capitale’, between Lazio and Roma (Sunday 16:00  LIVE on SuperSport Football).

Motorsport fans can get their thrills from Formula 1‘s Russian Grand Prix (Qualifying on Saturday at 2:00  and the Race on Sunday at 12:00 , both LIVE on SuperSport Motorsport), while tennis fans can catch the final of the WTA Tour’s Ostrava Open (12:30  LIVEon SuperSport Tennis).

Another major highlight is the Ryder Cup, golf’s traditional showdown between Europe and the United States. This year’s event takes place at the Whistling Straights Golf Course in Haven, Wisconsin. You can Catch Day 1 (Friday 12:00 ), Day 2 (Saturday 12:00 ) and Day 3 (Sunday 16:00 ) all LIVE on SuperSport Grandstand and SuperSport Golf.

“From when we restarted our qualification process in January, the last eight months have been very positive,” said European team captain Padraig Harrington. “Everybody has been able to play and we have a good system in place that has allowed us to look at everyone and see how they’re doing. There is no question that we are in good shape and everyone associated with Team Europe cannot wait to get to Whistling Straits and get going. Especially me!”

Fans of something more visceral and violent can take in UFC 266 (Sunday Prelims 12:00  and Main Card 02:00  LIVE on SuperSport Action), which will be headlined Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega’s grudge match for the UFC Featherweight Championship in the headline bout.

“Right now, [Ortega] thinks he understands this chess game we’re about to play. But he’s going to realise – and real quick – that he doesn’t,” warned Volkanovski.

And if you want your fighting to come with a fair scoop of ‘kayfabe’ alongside it, then check out the latest edition of WWESmackDown (Saturday 12:00  LIVE on SuperSport Variety 3), where you can catch up on the latest shenanigans heading into Monday’s Pay Per View event, Extreme Rules.

Another key highlight is the Berlin Marathon (Sunday 07:00  LIVE on SuperSport Variety 3), which will see 25,000 runners taking part for the biggest road running race anywhere in the world since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year.

What makes this Open Weekend even rewarding is that with the DStv App, customers will be able to enjoy sporting content that is not always accessible on packages outside of DStv Premium, and they can access this content while on the move through their smartphones or other smart and mobile devices.

The DStv App can be downloaded in Google Play and in the App store. For more information on the Open Weekend please visit www.dstvafrica.com.

As a way to reward the growing number of DStv customers accessing their favourite content through the DStv App, DStv is hosting the biggest Open Weekend yet, exclusive to customers on the DStv App.

From Friday 24 to Sunday 26 September 2021, customers in Ghana on all DStv packages will have unrestricted access to sporting content across some of the best SuperSport channels including WWE, SuperSport La Liga, SuperSport Football, SuperSport Cricket, SuperSport Premier League, SuperSport Golfand SuperSport Tennis among many others. Note that the Open Weekend does not apply to SuperSport Rugby.

It’s a Baller Weekend on the DStv App and you need to Up Your Game! Catch all the weekend’s biggest games with unlimited sport on 18 SuperSport channels on the DStv App.

“The way our customers access content is changing and we’re changing along with them. The DStv App has always allowed customers to stream live channels or watch the latest episodes of their favourite shows. For one weekend only, we’re adding all of our SuperSport channels to the mix, so they can kick back, relax and enjoy their favourite sporting fixtures,” said Alex Okyere, Managing Director, MultiChoice Ghana.

Some of the unmissable sporting content to catch on this Open Weekend include two Premier Leaguethrillers, as Chelsea take on Manchester City (Saturday 11:30am LIVE on SuperSport Premier League) and Arsenal battle Tottenham Hotspur in the North London derby (Sunday 3:30pm LIVE on SuperSport Premier League).

Other football highlights include La Liga matches such as Real Madrid v Villarreal (Saturday 7:00pm LIVE on SuperSport La Liga), Barcelona v Levante (Sunday 2:15pm LIVE on SuperSport La Liga) and Serie A’s Rome Derby, or the ‘Derby della Capitale’, between Lazio and Roma (Sunday 4:00pm LIVE on SuperSport Football).

Motorsport fans can get their thrills from Formula 1‘s Russian Grand Prix (Qualifying on Saturday at 12:00pm and the Race on Sunday at 12:00pm, both LIVE on SuperSport Motorsport), while tennis fans can catch the final of the WTA Tour’s Ostrava Open (12:30pm LIVE on SuperSport Tennis).

Another major highlight is the Ryder Cup, golf’s traditional showdown between Europe and the United States. This year’s event takes place at the Whistling Straights Golf Course in Haven, Wisconsin.

“From when we restarted our qualification process in January, the last eight months have been very positive,” said European team captain Padraig Harrington. “Everybody has been able to play and we have a good system in place that has allowed us to look at everyone and see how they’re doing. There is no question that we are in good shape and everyone associated with Team Europe cannot wait to get to Whistling Straits and get going. Especially me!”

Fans of something more visceral and violent can take in UFC 266 (Sunday Prelims 12:00am and Main Card 2:00am LIVE on SuperSport Action), which will be headlined Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega’s grudge match for the UFC Featherweight Championship in the headline bout.

“Right now, [Ortega] thinks he understands this chess game we’re about to play. But he’s going to realise and real quick that he doesn’t,” warned Volkanovski.

And if you want your fighting to come with a fair scoop of ‘kayfabe’ alongside it, then check out the latest edition of WWE SmackDown (Saturday 12:00am LIVE on SuperSport Variety 3), where you can catch up on the latest shenanigans heading into Monday’s Pay Per View event, Extreme Rules.

Another key highlight is the Berlin Marathon (Sunday 7:00am LIVE on SuperSport Variety 3), which will see 25,000 runners taking part for the biggest road running race anywhere in the world since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic last year.

What makes this Open Weekend even rewarding is that with the DStv App, customers will be able to enjoy sporting content that is not always accessible on packages outside of DStv Premium, and they can access this content while on the move through their smartphones or other smart and mobile devices.

The DStv App can be downloaded in Google Play and in the App store. For more information on the Open Weekend please visit www.dstvafrica.com.

Regarded as one of the best actors in Ghana, Adjetey Anang has featured in many beloved Ghanaian titles, including the award-winning thriller A Sting in A Tale and the commercial hit Picture Perfect.

On Showmax, you can find him in the five movies and TV shows below, which include two of his latest roles – To Have and To Hold and Dede, his first ever telenovela role.

Cartel: The Genesis

In the Ghanaian action thriller Cartel: The Genesis, an elite unit takes on a powerful drug syndicate as they fight to stop the growing underground narcotics trade in Ghana. Anang plays Fifi, the dedicated agent at the centre of the story, who’s motivated by personal reasons – he lost his brother to addiction – to bring down the cartel, sometimes even at the expense of his own safety.

Directed by Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice nominee Pascal Amanfo, Cartel: The Genesis also stars Joselyn Dumas (Potato Potahto), Prince David Osei (The Dead), Kofi Bucknor (Shampaign), and Fred Kanebi (Adams Apples), among others.

Kintampo

Kintampo is an adventure thriller that follows an ambitious journalist, Stephanie (Sika Osei, Sidechic Gang), and her friends as they journey through the forest of Kintampo to uncover the story of a miracle plant that is rumoured to cure HIV.

Kintampo, which served as Chris Attoh’s directorial debut, stars Anang as Mike, Stephanie’s ex. A former Special Forces soldier, he offers to guide Stephanie and her crew through Kintampo – right after warning them of a mysterious beast that roams the forest.

The film also features Deyemi Okanlawon (Castle & Castle), Kofi Adjorlolo (Aloe Vera), Chris Attoh (Shuga) and Africa Movie Academy Award winner Lydia Forson (To Have and To Hold), among others.

Dede

This Ghanaian telenovela follows the titular Dede (Adomaa Adjeman), a naïve rural girl, whose big dreams are cut short when she’s “sold off” by her stepmother to work as a domestic help in the home of the wealthy Robertson family. There she falls in love with the youngest Robertson son (Dean Amegashie).

In his first telenovela role, Anang plays Dede’s loving and dedicated father, Nii Ocansey, a man who would do anything to protect his daughter, even from her stepmother Felicity (played by Joselyn Dumas).

Dede is directed and produced by award-winning Ghanaian filmmaker Shirley Frimpong-Manso (Love or Something Like That, Shampaign), with Ken Attoh (Devil in the Detail, Potomanto) co-producing.

To Have and To Hold

Adapted from the South African series Unmarried, which also birthed another adaptation in Nigeria, To Have and To Hold follows the lives of three women: Akosua (Lydia Forson, Perfect Picture), Enyonam (Naa Ashorkor, Checkmate) and Kuukua (Zynnel Zuh, When Love Comes Around), as they deal with the challenges that their marriages, relationships, and careers throw at them.

Anang plays Enyonam’s partner, Nii, who despite having been with her for nine years, is yet to officially ask for her hand in marriage. Out of a job (and lying about it), and barely making enough to support his family, Nii gives in to gambling and alcoholism, putting his relationship with Enyonam at risk.

To Have and to Hold is helmed by legendary Ghanaian filmmaker Ivan Quashigah (Things We Do for Love, YOLO).

Roses and Daggers

In the drama series Roses and Daggers, two young women from poor backgrounds, Winifred (Zakia Kunge) and Sesi (Esi Hammond, Nina’s Mahogany), struggle with love and making ends meet in the city. On the other side, Marjorie (Michelle McKinney Hammond), a doting mother and an insecure wife grapples with her husband’s infidelity.

Anang plays Marjorie’s son Joshua, who has to deal with his mother’s meddling, even in his love life.

For more Adjetey Anang on Showmax, you can also find him in the drama series Table of Men and in the feature film Double Cross.

EbonyLife and Sony Pictures Television (“SPT”) have today announced ÀLÓ, a brand-new writers initiative offering a unique platform for writers of African heritage.

The word “ÀLÓ” is from the Yoruba language and translates as ‘once upon a time’. Just like with those words which have opened countless stories for hundreds of years, this is the beginning of an exciting journey to discover the best authentic African story ideas which will inspire and resonate with viewers across the globe.

The ÀLÓ Initiative website will open for fixed periods beginning this Friday (24^th) when writers can submit their television scripts and story documents, which will then be reviewed and shortlisted by the ÀLÓ team which is comprised of creative executives from both EbonyLife and SPT.

Entrants can reside outside Africa but must be of African heritage, born in any of the continent’s fifty-four countries or have proven citizenship as a native of the country, or be first generation children. The initiative is open to professionals, freelancers as well as up-and-coming writers, and there are no limitations to the story ideas or scripts. Any theme or story is welcome, but submissions must pay homage to Africa’s unique cultures, diversity, heritage and people. 

Successful candidates will have the opportunity to enter into a series pilot development agreement with SPT and EbonyLife under the ÀLÓ Initiative to create and write a pilot script. Once completed, the projects will be pitched to major international broadcasters for their consideration.

Mo Abudu, Chief Executive Officer, EbonyLife Media, says, “I am really excited about our growing partnership with Sony Pictures Television; from our deal for three scripted series, to our first-look agreement, and now the ÀLÓ Writers’ Initiative. The name of this initiative inspires me, as we chose a word which holds so much personal meaning for me. I am particularly thrilled about the Writers’ Initiative because it is in line with our continent-wide vision to harness and grow our creative economy. It is focused on global storytelling that is authentically African and that gives African writers access to the biggest international broadcasters in the world.  It is a dream come true for me.”

Nina Lederman, EVP Global Scripted Development for Sony Pictures Television, says “The ÀLÓ initiative is born out of SPT and EbonyLife’s shared passion for great storytelling. We know from our many, many conversations developing this initiative with Mo and her team at EbonyLife that there are countless stories from across the African continent yet to be told. We hope that this provides a unique platform to writers of African heritage with a story they want to bring to the world.”

The ÀLÓ Initiative will first open for submissions between September 24^th and November 5^th 2021, with a further six-week period to be confirmed at a later date. Internationally, the initiative it is open to submissions from the US, Canada, the UK and EU, Australia and New Zealand, and Africa. It hopes to expand to include further regions for future submission periods.

Full terms and conditions and eligibility criteria can be found on the ÀLÓ Initiative website here https://www.alowritersinitiative.com

Multichoice Ghana has unveiled a portfolio of exciting television content during its Content Showcase at the weekend. The content showcase gives media and DStv/GOtv customers a sneak peek into our content portfolio plus gives MultiChoice an opportunity to showcase new products and customer support systems that have been developed. With an improvement in the Covid-19 incidence in Ghana, this Content Showcase was a hybrid one with a few selected guests attending in-person and a live stream on the DStv and GOtv Ghana social media platforms.

Speaking during the Showcase Managing Director, MultiChoice Ghana, Alex Okyere announced that SuperSport has acquired the broadcast rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup plus the return of the UEFA EUROPA League and the UEFA EUROPA Conference League to SuperSport for GOtv customers. He added aside the Unbeatable Football now on GOtv and DStv fans can look forward to the launch of the dish-less DStv service before the close of the year.

Throwing more light on the exciting new shows, series and reality shows on DStv and GOtv for the festive period, Mercy Clottey, Marketing Manager, GOtv Ghana said, “our charge at MultiChoice is to address our consumer’s needs, by delivering excellent content that customers in Ghana love adding that from 1^st November GOtv customers will be getting a new package GOtv Supa which will have over seventy (70) channels.”

On his part, Channel Manager of Akwaaba Magic, Kennedy Dankyi-Appah said “MultiChoice has played a significant role in developing the local film industry through introduction of the Akwaaba Magic channel as well as building capacity of players through the MultiChoice Talent Factory initiative.” During the event, the of four Ghanaian students who have been selected to study at the West Africa hub of the MultiChoice Talent Factory.

Entrenching the Hyper-Local strategy announced earlier, Alex Okyere announced that seven of the local channels launched earlier including our own Akwaaba Magic and HONEY are now broadcasting in High Definition picture with 5.1 Dolby surround sound. He added “through these investments, we have continued to be leaders not only in entertainment and sports broadcast but consolidates our position as “Africa’s Most Loved Storyteller.”

Another innovation that was highlighted during the showcase was Showmax, the video streaming service from MultiChoice which has been giving both customers and non DStv customers the opportunity to stream exciting content like Big Brother Naija, and Akwaaba Magic shows ike Dede, To Have and To Hold amongst on their smart devices for a small fee. DStv premium customers can access Showmax at zero cost while our Compact Plus, Compact, Family and Access customers can access Showmax at a discount of 50% through Showmax Add to Bill feature on the MyDStv App.

“The past year had its challenges but as a business, we learned to adapt to these challenges and we continue to deliver the biggest variety of content to meet all taste and pocket sizes leveraging on our cutting edge technology to our DStv and GOtv customers,” said Nii Amah Dagadu, Corporate Affairs Manager, MultiChoice Ghana.

The second 2021 content showcase highlighted MultiChoice’s new product offerings, updates on technological innovations and local content investments, MultiChoice Ghana has made. In conclusion Alex Okyere said “as a customer centric company MultiChoice will continue to focus its energy on improving the various tools and platforms we deliver our programmes on.”