Saturday, May 31, 2014

D'banj Koko Master



Dapo Daniel Oyebanjo (popularly known as D'banj, born June 9, 1980) is a Nigerian singer-songwriter, harmonica player, and businessman. He has won several music awards, including the awards for Best African Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007, Artist of the Year at the MTV Africa Music Awards 2009, Best International Act: Africa at the BET Awards 2011, and Best-selling African Artist at the 2014 World Music Awards. He adopted the stage name D'banj, a combination of his first name Dapo and his surname Oyebanjo. D'banj is currently best known internationally for his 2012 summer hit "Oliver Twist", an uptempo dance fusion of Afrobeat and electronic dance music that topped the African charts 2011 and was a top 10 hit in the UK singles chart in 2012 reaching #2 on the UK R&B chart.


D'banj was born in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria to a military officer who commanded an artillery regiment and a church dignitary mother who hailed from Shagamu in Ogun State. Due to his father's profession he moved several times within Nigeria and later moved to England. D'banj was expected to follow his father's military career and was enrolled to the Nigerian Military School at age eleven. However, D'banj resisted the system and disenrolled from the school after three years. While at the Military school he was a member of the elite drum corp of the Nigerian Army. From the Nigerian Military School he proceeded to another military owned institution Nigerian Navy Secondary School, Ibara, Abeokuta where he completed his secondary school education.


D'banj's sophomore album Rundown Funk U Up which was released in 2006, yielded several singles including the club single, Tongolo (Remix) and the lead single, Why Me?. This proved to be another hit.

D'banj, as an artist of Mo' Hits Records, is also a member of its collective group, Mo' Hits Allstars (includes artists Dr SID, Wande Coal, KaySwitch, and D'prince). He has once been spotted with one of Nigeria's most talented singers, "Smile Lasisi". The collective's debut album, Curriculum Vitae, was released in December 2007. It included hit singles, "Be Close To You", "Booty Call" and "Move Your Body", which was the lead single. D'banj was featured in Ikechukwu's 2008 hit, "Wind Am Well".

July 2008 saw the release of D'banj's third album, The Entertainer, with the singles "Gbono Feli Feli", "Kimon", "Olorun Maje" and "Entertainer".


In June 2011, D'banj was signed to Kanye West's G.O.O.D Music record label as artiste. On June 9, 2011, D'banj wrote on his Twitter account, @iamdbanj, "Just like yesterday, myself and my brother did Tongolo. 7 years later, Mo'Hits signs with GOOD Music. Best Birthday gift ever. God thank you."

After several months of speculation and wild rumors, ace producer, Don Jazzy confirmed via his Twitter account the breakup of Mo'Hits. After the breakup, Don Jazzy, D'Prince, Dr SID, Wande Coal started Mavin Records  while D'banj founded DB Records and as expected, he signed his younger brother Kayswitch to the label alongside two producers, Jaysleek and Deevee.



On June 23, 2012, D'banj performed at the Hackney Weekend to celebrate the 2012 Summer Olympics, which was headlined by Jay-Z and Rihanna. He performed alongside his friend, and fellow Universal Music Group label mate, Rita Ora on 30 August 2012 at the SCALA London Live Music, Clubs and Arts Venue to celebrate the release of her debut album Ora. He also performed at the AFCON 2013 closing ceremony held in South Africa.

In November 2013, D’banj resigned a multi-million Naira deal with Globacom, the company he parted ways with in 2010.


D'banj is the founder of Koko Foundation for Youth and Peace Development. He is also Nigeria's first United Nations Youth Ambassador for Peace.


Friday, May 30, 2014

Tuface Idibia


Innocent Ujah Idibia (born in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria), better known by his stage name 2face Idibia, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He is commonly referred to as 2face or Tuface or 2Baba or Tubaba. He is one of the most decorated and successful hip pop artists in Africa. He is consistently ranked as one the best African musicians of all-time. He was a member of the defunct Plantashun Boyz and after it disbanded, continued his solo musical career.



2Face has received one MTV Europe Music Award, one World Music Award, five Headies Awards (Hip-hop award), four Channel O Music Video Awards and one BET award for his musical work, four MTV Africa Music Awards, one MOBO award, one KORA award, and numerous additional nominations.

Innocent Idibia was born in Jos, Nigeria. He is from the Idoma ethnic group in the southern part of Benue State, in central Nigeria. He attended Saint Gabriel's Secondary School in Makurdi, Benue State. He enrolled at Institute of Management & Technology, Enugu (IMT), where he did his preliminary National Diploma course in business administration and management. While attending IMT, he performed at school organized shows and parties, as well as other regional schools such as the University of Nigeria and Enugu State University of Science & Technology. He eventually dropped out to pursue his music career. While attending IMT, 2face Idibia started composing and singing jingles at the GB Fan Club at Enugu State Broadcasting Services (ESBS) in 1996.



Also in 1996, he adopted the stage name "2Face" (Tuface). He cited the reasoning as "trying to demarcate my personal life with my business life.

He moved to Lagos and started performing with rapper BlackFace Naija. He had met BlackFace while attending IMT. With Blackface (Ahmedu Augustine Obiabo) and with musician Faze (Chibuzor Oji), he went on to form the trio band Plantashun Boyz.



Plantashun Boyz released two successful albums: Body and Soul (2000) and Sold Out (2003)under the Nelson Brown's owned Label (Dove Records) before disbanding in 2004. Relations were marred for many years during which the band broke up and started their solo careers. Long after the break-up known as the "Faze vs Tuface" beef, the band came back together in 2007 for the purpose of recording a third and final album entitled Plan B (2007).



After the disbandment of Plantashun Boyz in 2004, all band members sought separate musical careers. 2face Idibia released his debut solo album Face 2 Face (2004), which established him as a viable solo artist.

Following the release of his debut album, he released his sophomore album Grass 2 Grace in 2006, which contained hits "One Love", "True Love, "4 Instance". He is the founder of Hypertek Entertainment.

In 2006, his song "African Queen" was used in the soundtrack for the film Phat Girlz, which was released internationally.



He released a promotion album in 2008 called The Unstoppable releasing the single "Enter the Place". Problems with album distribution in 2007 caused as shift of the release date of the album from 2008 to early 2009. In 2010, 2face released an "international edition" of the same under the title The Unstoppable International Edition making him the first Nigerian artist to have an appropriately priced international album. 2face released two more singles from the international version of his Unstoppable album. The international edition of the album won two awards at the 2010 SoundCity Music Video Awards. He also won the Channel O Music Video Awards Best African Western award and the MTV Africa Music Awards for Best Male and Artist of the year.



Upon leaving the music label Kennis Music, he set up his own record label known as Hypertek Entertainment. He is part of the Sony All African One8 Project alongside seven other musicians across Africa recording a single with R. Kelly and Prince Lee titled "Hands Across the World". He is the first non-Liberian to become an honorary member of the Liberian music society in recognition for his outstanding contribution to the growth of music in Africa.



2Face has experienced near death events including gun shots from an armed robbery.

Idibia has six children with three women. With banker/born again Christian minister Sunmbo Ajaba he has sons Zion(January 2006) and Nino(April 2008). With Washington DC based makeup artist Pero Adeniyi—daughter of P music promoter Chief Jide Adeniyi—he has daughter Rose, son Justin, and a newborn son born in April 2012.



With Nollywood actress Annie Macaulay he has daughter Isabella(December 2008). On May 2, 2012, 2Face Idibia and Macaulay married in Lagos, Nigeria in a private ceremony. 2face announced his marriage via his Twitter page. Annie Macaulay and 2Face had their traditional wedding on the 8 March 2013 in Eket, Akwa-Ibom State Nigeria. The couple also had a white wedding in Dubai, on Saturday 23 March 2013 with Nigerian and Ghanaian celebrities all present to see the long term couple tie the knot.



Macaulay has given birth to her second child for him on the 4th of January 2014.



2Face has established an NGO called 2Face Idibia Reach-Out Foundation  which motto is service to humanity. In 2009, 2Face was appointed as ambassador by National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control. He released a song "Man Unkind" in order to raise awareness on the menace of fake and sub-standard food and drug products in Nigeria. In 2009, he was presented with the prestigious International Youth Ambassador for Peace Summit and the Nigeria Youth Merit Award by the National Youth Council of Nigeria in recognition of his contributions to youth development in Nigeria.




Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Brits Coldplay



Coldplay are a British rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London (UCL). After they formed under the name Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a drummer, backing vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist, completing the line-up. Manager Phil Harvey is often considered an unofficial fifth member. The band renamed themselves "Coldplay" in 1998, before recording and releasing three EPs; Safety in 1998, Brothers & Sisters as a single in 1999 and The Blue Room in the same year. The latter was their first release on a major label, after signing to Parlophone.

They achieved worldwide fame with the release of the single "Yellow" in 2000, followed by their debut album released in the same year, Parachutes, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize. The band's second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), was released to critical acclaim and won multiple awards, including NME's Album of the Year. They have also come top of the BBC Radio 2 poll of the favourite album of all time. Their next release, X&Y, the best-selling album worldwide in 2005, was met with mostly positive reviews upon its release, though some critics felt that it was inferior to its predecessor.

The band's fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), was produced by Brian Eno and released again to largely positive reviews, earning several Grammy Award nominations and wins at the 51st Grammy Awards. On 24 October 2011, they released their fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto, which received mixed to positive reviews, topped the charts in over 34 countries, and was the UK's best-selling rock album of 2011. On May 16, 2014, they released their sixth and newest album, entitled Ghost Stories.

The band has won a number of music awards throughout their career, including eight Brit Awards—winning Best British Group three times, five MTV Video Music Awards and seven Grammy Awards from 25 nominations. Coldplay have sold more than 70 million records worldwide. In December 2009, Rolling Stone readers voted the group the fourth-best artist of the 2000s. 

Coldplay have been an active supporter of various social and political causes, such as Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign and Amnesty International. The group have also performed at various charity projects such as Band Aid 20, Live 8, Sound Relief, Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, The Secret Policeman's Ball, Sport Relief and the Teenage Cancer Trust


Monday, May 26, 2014

Justin Timberlake




Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he appeared on the television shows Star Search and The All-New Mickey Mouse Club as a child. In the late 1990s, Timberlake rose to prominence as one of the two lead vocalists and youngest member of the boy band 'N Sync, whose launch was financed by Lou Pearlman.

During the group's hiatus, Timberlake released his solo studio albums Justified (2002) and FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006); the former spawned hits "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body", while the latter debuted atop the U.S. Billboard 200 and produced the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "SexyBack", "My Love", and "What Goes Around... Comes Around". With each album exceeding sales of seven million copies worldwide, he was established as one of the most commercially successful singers of the decade. From 2007 through 2012, Timberlake focused on his acting career, effectively putting his music career on hiatus; he held starring roles in the films The Social Network, Bad Teacher, In Time, and Friends with Benefits.

In 2013, Timberlake resumed his music career with his third and fourth albums The 20/20 Experience and The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2. The former became the best-selling record of the year and spawned hits "Suit & Tie" and "Mirrors", while the latter is preceded by lead single "Take Back the Night" and followed by "Not a Bad Thing". Timberlake's work has earned him nine Grammy Awards and four Emmy Awards. His other ventures include record label Tennman Records, fashion label William Rast, and the restaurants Destino and Southern Hospitality.

Timberlake was born on January 31, 1981 in Memphis, Tennessee, to Randall Timberlake and Lynn (Bomar) Harless. His paternal grandfather was a Baptist minister. Timberlake grew up in Shelby Forest, a small community between Memphis and Millington. He has two half-brothers, Jonathan (born 1993) and Steven Robert (born August 14, 1998), from Randall's second marriage to Lisa Perry. His half-sister Laura Katherine died shortly after birth on May 14, 1997, and is mentioned in his acknowledgments in the album *NSYNC as "My Angel in Heaven." He was inspired to become a performer by Janet Jackson, saying "She didn't just stand there and sing her song," fascinated by her "energy and exuberance." 

At the age of 11, Timberlake appeared on the television show Star Search, performing country music songs as "Justin Randall." In 1993 and 1994, he was a cast member in The Mickey Mouse Club, where his castmates included future girlfriend and pop superstar Britney Spears, future tourmate Christina Aguilera, future bandmate JC Chasez, and future movie actor Ryan Gosling. In 1995, Timberlake recruited Chasez to be in an all-male singing group, organized by boy band manager Lou Pearlman, that eventually became 'N Sync.