Connect with us

Gossip

Wizkid Reflects On The Last 12 Months To Winning Apple Music Award for Artist of the Year (Africa)

Published

on

mail 5

Apple Music celebrates Wizkid for being awarded Apple Music Awards for Artist of the Year (Africa). He reflects on the last 12 months, discusses the huge success of his album, Made In Lagos, explains how his life has changed since his 2011 debut and reveals his plans for 2022.

MP4 video download below — feel free to use and credit Apple Music. The Apple Music Awards honor achievements in music. For more information on this year’s winners, click HERE.

 

Artist of the Year (Africa): Wizkid
Singer-songwriter Wizkid is one of Africa’s biggest crossover acts, having worked with Drake, Skepta, and Chris Brown, among others. The Nigerian musician first found regional success in 2011 with the massively popular single “Holla at Your Boy,” which appeared on his debut album, “Superstar.” Wizkid went global in 2016 after his collaboration with Drake on “One Dance,” which soared to the top of the charts in 15 countries. Between 2019 and 2020, Wizkid was featured in Beyoncé’s projects “The Lion King: The Gift” and its companion piece, “Black Is King.” In October 2020, he released “Made in Lagos,” his critically acclaimed and most commercially successful album, which included his hit song “Essence,” a track that gained 125 million plays on Apple Music and over 2.8 million Shazams. This past year, he’s been the most streamed African artist on the continent on Apple Music and ranked on the Daily Top 100 charts in 60 countries, in addition to his monthly plays on Apple Music growing by more than 250 percent outside of Africa. He’s also been featured on Apple Music playlists Today’s Hits and R&B Now, and he’s a frequent guest on Apple Music Radio shows, including “Africa Now Radio,” “The Ebro Show,” “New Music Daily with Zane Lowe,” and “OVO SOUND RADIO.”

QUOTE: “Thank you to Apple Music for this award. It’s a blessing to get to do what I do, and I’m proud to be representing for Africa.”

Advertisement

 

WIZKID ON MANIFESTING THE SUCCESS OF ‘MADE IN LAGOS’
Embed —

I felt it coming. I would say I’m lying if I didn’t feel it coming because it took me three years to work on that album. So I felt like there was going to be a shift, but I didn’t know how it would come. Because I knew that it was kind of like a different… it wasn’t a different sound, but it was a more matured sound from what I used to make.
From when I was way young, man. I called my first album ‘Superstar.’ How confident can you be? So yeah. I was born to do this sh**, man.

WIZKID ON HOW HIS LIFE HAS CHANGED SINCE “DON’T DULL”
Embed —

I’m really different. I got more kids now. We’re at three right now. I love my boys, man. They’re a big blessing to my life. They changed me, they made me a better person. That has actually been the biggest change in my life because when I made ‘Don’t Dull’, I had no kids. I was just running around like a wild boy. And at 21, I had my first child and I just had get to it. So I’m very thankful for my kids because they put my head right.
You have to keep moving in life and just keep taking every day as it comes. I don’t really think much of anything, to be honest. I just wake up and I just go with the flow. Like… Yo yeah, we have that. Thank God. That’s how I am with life.
Even with the way that I make music, because when I put out that album, I remember I had a conversation with P2J. We made the album, 90% of the album together. And he was like, “Oh bro, I’m not really sure. I’m nervous. I’m not really sure if the people are going to love the sound.” I’m like, “Are you alright?! This is good music. They’re going to f****** love it. You don’t even have to think about that.”
So after putting that out and seeing okay, yeah, people really love good music. So it just helps you get better and better at what you do. So yeah. I feel the change and difference every day, man.

Advertisement

WIZKID ON CREATING “ESSENCE”
Embed —

Crazy thing is, the night we made “Essence,” I made “Gyrate” the same night. So sometimes in a night I made two bangers, three bangers. I wake up and get to it. I treat this sh** like school. I wake up in the morning. I’m like, yeah, I did well yesterday. Let’s go. What are we doing today? You know what I mean?
Hell yeah, man. I knew that [“Essence”] was a smash. The night we made it, I actually tweeted something. My fans actually reminded me of it after we put out the album.
Because I tweeted “Tems and I made magic.” That was what I tweeted. I knew it was magic, man. I’ve been making this sh** for 10 years. Come on. You think I’m not going to know if we make it?
It feels good. It feels really, really great. When you have a record like that, it feels good, man. But the most important thing is when we made it, we wasn’t thinking about no commercial success or anything like that. We was just trying to make good music. So I think maybe that’s why people really like that record like that, because it just comes from the soul. Just natural, organic sh**.

WIZKID ON OPENING DOORS WITH THE SUCCESS OF “ESSENCE”

I don’t see it like that. I don’t think I’m the first through it. I don’t know what I did, but it just kicked the door open. I feel like everyone’s about to come through right now. There’s about to be loads of records from Africa. That feels good because the truth is, people are tired of listening to the same sh**. They want some real sh**.
And during the pandemic, it kind of helped because we’re all in the house. So it helped everyone find, well for me, basically I would speak for myself. It made me understand the kind of music that I really loved to listen to more. So I feel like that just helped everyone get in touch with like, oh, yeah, man. I want to listen to some good music, what feels great?
So when that record dropped, what it did for me was what it did for the people. It made me feel better every time I listen to the song. So it’s just a great record, man. Great record. And I love Tems to death. She’s a special, special talent. She’s like my top three.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Gossip

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

Published

on

shocked emoji character vector 11514291

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

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.

Advertisement

“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.”

Continue Reading

Gossip

Joyce Dzidzor to release Tatata featuring Freddy Meiway

Published

on

Joyce Dzidzor to release Tatata featuring Freddy Meiway

Former Aids Ambassador and actress Joyce Dzidzor is gearing up for the release of her latest single Tatata featuring Ivorian Legendary musician Freddy Meiway.

Scheduled for release on April 10 the song recorded by King Dee, mixed by Donguy and mastered by Franz talks about broken heart and how to come out of it. Speaking in an interview with Joyce she said Freddy will not just jump on any song if he is not okay with it “How many musicians have been able to feature him on a song. It was not easy getting him on the song but finally we did and I am so grateful for that.

Asked why she went in for Meiway she said she has so much respect for him and even got a tattoo of him at her back said that her latest tattoo at her back.

“Meiway songs helped me her come out from depression. His music was a therapy for me when I was going through severe depression in 2019 in Hamburg and I tattoo him at my back to celebrate his achievements as an artiste for the past 35 years” she said Asked about her next project and collaboration with other Ghanaian musicians Joyce said that will only depend if this project goes well.

Advertisement

“ I have a lot of plans for my music career but that will depend on how my latest single goes. If it goes well and accepted by Ghanaians it will give me the energy to continue my music career and feature other musicians” she said. Joyce has been doing music for more 15 years now and has backed musicians like Highlife musician Gyedu- Blay Ambolley and singer Sherifa Gunu.

She was also a member of Dela Hayes Women of Colour band. She pleaded with musicians in Ghana to acknowledge backup singers for their contributions they play. “It is only few musicians who come out to acknowledge who backed them in a studio but I have backed a lot of musicians in the past and they know it. It is just right that they acknowledge our contribution we play so that we can do fill happy for a good work done. When that is done, other musicians who probably liked what we did on other songs can employ us on their projects. That has been my worry for sometime and I wish it could be addressed” she said

Continue Reading

Gossip

Henry Fitz and 2 others being sued over Serwaa Amihere video

Published

on

48202460729 txobredq5l img2363

Serwaa Amihere has filed a suit at the Dansoman circuit court against Henry Amponsah popularly known as Henry Fitz, Edem Saviour Ketti and Candylove Kwaykewaa Ababio. (more…)

Continue Reading

Gossip

‘Jenifa’s Diary’ actress Aderounmu Adejumoke is dead

Published

on

jenifa

Nigerian actress, Adejumoke Oreoluwa Aderounmu, popularly known for her role as ‘Esther’ in popular TV series Jenifa’s Diary, is dead. (more…)

Continue Reading

Gossip

Nyantakyi admits $100,000 payment to Anas to suppress corruption documentary

Published

on

Anas Aremeyaw Anas and Kwesi Nyantakyi

Former Ghana Football Association (GFA) president Kwesi Nyantakyi has confessed to paying a hefty sum of $100,000 to journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas in an effort to halt the release of the Number 12 documentary. (more…)

Continue Reading

Gossip

‘7 armed men invaded our residence, demanding proceeds from Efya’s UK show’ – Sleeky Promotions

Published

on

Screenshot 20240320 163826 Instagram

Sleeky Promotions, the organizers of Efya’s recent show in the UK, has issued a press release addressing a distressing incident. (more…)

Continue Reading

Trending