Oseyiza Oogbodo Blog

Respected female singer, Azeezat, has weighed in on the issue of why female music artists in Nigeria are not as many as they should be. Peaking candidly, she said, “Well, honestly, even in America and Europe, if you calculate the percentage of female artists compared to their male counterparts, you will know that males are also more there. I am a die-hard fan of Naija, and I don’t like it when people bring Naija down, comparing it to US, UK and saying one thing, one thing, nahhh. “As it happens here, it happens there. It is just that the scale could be higher. Number one, I wouldn’t say females don’t have a voice, compared to then. We have a voice now, strong voices that are heard. We are being heard. It could be better, because some girls allow us to be labelled as wack. I am not being judgemental, but such girls don’t do their homework well before coming out.” Touching on how she discovered her talent and rose to prominence, she said, “The journey between when I discovered my talent...

Talented singer, Temi Dollface, who’s out with a new singer, School Your face, has revealed what her ultimate goal is. According to her, it’s “to change the way music is experienced. To shatter pop stereotypes by proving that pop music can be alternative, experimental and exciting. Also, I want to give back what I get out of music. I realise that what I get to do is such a privilege because with music, we have the ability to touch other human beings who are reaching out looking for the same things most of us are.” And on what she has achieved, she said, “A whole lot. I’ve opened for Chris Brown, Keziah Jones, D' Banj, Bez and many other notable artists. I had an MTV USA nomination for MTV Iggy Artist of the Week for which I came in second by a tiny fraction. I was in the running with artists from Germany, America, the United Kingdom and Ghana. “My Pata Pata music video has been played on heavy rotation on notable TV stations including MTV World, Channel O, SoundCity, 1 Music, TVC...

Movie director and producer, Emmanuel Eyaba, is one Nollywood personality who has been privileged to go and study filmmaking in America. Now, he says that “studying filmmaking in America changed my total orientation on how we made films. I am more detailed in my work now. A good script starts from the story, the script, and the cast, down to the interpretation of the characters. So I try to infuse all of these elements into my work now.” Adding that he has created a platform where he shares the knowledge he got with the younger generation “so that the industry can improve,” he concluded that he also intends to set up a film school and TV station soonest so as to be able to “help Nollywood grow the way it really should.”

One of Yoruba Nollywood’s most successful actors, Kunle Da-Silva, has revealed why he loves acting. “What I love most about acting is the knowledge we impart to the audience. We have a lot of problems in this country, social, economic, cultural, and you really need to pass messages to the people and one of the best ways of doing that is via movies. So the first thing that comes to my mind is the message I want to pass. “Then also the popularity, the clamouring of people to meet you, but it’s not easy. I’ve walked on the streets and my clothes were almost torn to shreds. People will want to greet you. Imagine a scenario where people you see on the road, expect you to know them, and if you don’t greet them, they will just start accusing you, we buy your films, we watch your films, you don’t want to greet us. “But how would I know who watches my films at home? So you have to be very cautious when you are out, you have to smile and greet everybody. “Atimes, they will walk up to you and sa...

Popular Yoruba Nollywood actress, Iyabo Ojo, has said that she has a dream that is bigger than her with regards to her Nollywood career, and she hopes to achieve it in time. “I’ve not really achieved what I want to in Nollywood,” she said. “I still have a dream that is bigger than me and I hope to achieve it in time. I'm very patient about it. Our market is not that good, piracy is really killing us. We spend a lot of money to produce movies that we don't make money from because piracy doesn't allow the marketers to buy them like they are supposed to. When you produce a movie with N2m, you're supposed to make like double that money, but at the end of the day, you don't make up to one-third of it. So that's the main problem I'm having.” And on the constant debate of English Nollywood is better than Yoruba Nollywood, she said, “No. Never. The English sector is definitely not better than the Yoruba. Yes, the English sector might be preferred because we do Yoru...

Pearl is the second place winner of this year’s Project Fame West Africa. She stood out during the show, not only because of her talent, but also because she and her twin sister were both in the competition. In this interview, she tells OSEYIZA OOGBODO BLOG her plans. How do you feel as the second place winner of this year’s Project Fame? It’s an amazing feeling. This is something I’ve always wanted to do, and first of all, I’m excited that I even got the opportunity at all because my entering Project Fame is a story. It was obvious to me from day one that it was something God wanted me to do. Things just somehow kept on turning in my favour, and I got there, and God kept me through, and I’m so grateful. So what’s your secret that made you successful in the competition, considering that many were evicted along the way? What’s your secret? Did you do something different? I can’t say I was better than anybody that was there with me. We all had different voice textures. Everybody was sp...

Dr Alistair Soyode is one Nigerian who has made his impact felt both at home and abroad with his establishment of BEN TV which is based in England and projects Nigeria and Africa to the world in a positive light. He told OSEYIZA OOGBODO BLOG why he established it and his plans for it. Why did you start BEN TV? BEN Television was set up to bridge the gap in the Black-oriented communities in the UK as well as to become a platform to promote Nigeria as a country with immense opportunities and natural resources as well as showcase Nigerians in a better way than done by other outfits and people. How easy or difficult was it to get the license? Back in those years, it was not as easy as it is now. The technological advancement now has contributed to lesser demands by the authorities compared to a decade ago. But they are still overly strict and demand programming that appeal to all viewers. What has BEN TV achieved? BEN Television over the years has been the bridge to our Black and divers...

Nowadays, Banky W is rapping more than he’s singing. Initially, it seemed like he was displaying his vocal prowess by rapping to prove that he can rap as well. But it seems that there’s more than meets the eye over his sudden love for rapping. Though he has been rapping all along in his career, he has never done so as much as he’s doing now. And it seems he’s rapping more than usual now because his singing voice doesn’t seem to be as good as it once was. Though it’s still good, it’s not like before. And while his singing voice might be having hitches, his rap one isn’t. And if indeed he loses his singing voice, he won’t be the first, nor the last singer to lose his, her voice. International stars, Adele and Sam Smith included, have also lost their voices at one time or the other and only bounced back by having surgery on their vocal cords.

There’s definitely nothing like a good piece of criticism, or scolding for that matter, to get someone headed in the right direction. And with regards to Victoria Kimani, this is just nothing but the truth. A Kenyan, she became an overnight celebrity in Nigeria when respected record label, Chocolate City, announced her as one of its artists. But despite the label’s backing, she failed to shine. Though nobody was willing to say it, it was obvious she wasn’t yet a ready product musically and that much work still had to be done on her. But one person finally spoke the truth, and since then, Kimani has been on the upward swing. That person is fellow female singer, Saeon, who shocked the whole industry a couple of years ago when she described Kimani’s EP as crap, rubbish. Needless to say, everyone was shocked, basically because it’s just not accepted for colleagues, close or not, to criticise themselves in such a manner in the entertainment industry. So they forced Saeon to apologise for...

It’s said that whatever goes up must come down. Nowhere is this adage truer than in the music industry where musicians rise and fall so rapidly that it’ll take your breath away. Without mentioning names, it’s a well-known fact that there are many artists out there who were relevant three, four, five years ago but nobody wants to listen to them anymore. Likewise, there are those who have been relevant for decades and are still relevant. And if we bring the relevance issue to bear on Kukere singer, Iyanya, it’s as clear as day that he’s struggling to remain relevant. Back in time when Kukere was the hottest song in town, Iyanya was also the hottest artist and in very high demand. But nowadays, he’s relying on hype to remain relevant. A music artist is supposed to let the success of his songs speak for him, not that he’s throwing lavish parties and flexing about town. In a nutshell, Iyanya’s songs are not really catching on with people again to the extent that Tekno, one of the artists on...

Kehinde Bankole is one of Nollywood’s most recognized faces. She has starred in both soap operas and movies. But she isn’t just an actress. She’s also a model, singer, TV presenter and all-round entertainer. The question one would then want to ask her is how she’s able to do all she does in entertainment. Is it because she’s talented or because of some other reason? And when the question was put to her, she was equal to answering it. “The urge to make money is what drives me to excel in everything I do,” she said. “In order to make money, you have to be excellent, and that’s why I strive to be excellent at all times.” Explaining further, she said, “I’m an entrepreneur, but more into anything that has to do with the media, that’s what I do. I can present, I can anchor shows, anything that can bring money. I can sing, I can act, I can model and all that. “And my multimedia career started with the need to make money. It wasn’t even a decision actually. It was just something that happened ...

It was an unlocking of creativity and talent as sixty pupils from several schools in Lagos and Port Harcourt gathered to paint and battle for prizes in the Yojus Painting Star contest themed ‘Our Beautiful World.’ At the second edition of the Yojus Painting Star Contest, three pupils emerged winners in a process which was considered fair and transparent. Chiziteram Onyia, a primary five pupil from New Fountain School, Amuwo-Odofin emerged first. Iyoha Peculiar of Stee School, Festac came second, and Franc Uche Egbuchilam from Mbari Mbayo School, Jibowu emerged third. Brand Manager, Yojus Fruit Drink, Foluke Makinde, drew attention to how Yojus as a brand refreshes and explores the colourful and fun loving nature of children and engages their imagination. She explained that one of the ways children love to express themselves is through painting and Ranona has used Yojus Painting Star Contest to help discover talents, get them noticed and rewarded. Makinde added that “Yojus will continue...

It’s not easy to become a successful Nollywood actress. So when such an actress advices the upcoming ones who are hopeful of, and aspiring to attain success, it’s just best they listen. The successful actress in question is Darlene Benson. And when OOB asked her what her advice to upcoming actresses would be, she said, “My advice to them is to be focused. If you know for sure that this is what you want to do and you have the talent for it, give every role you play your best, constantly try to outdo your last performance, and pray always.” Admitting that she hasn’t achieved all her set goals in Nollywood, but is sure that she will, she said it was a very easy decision for her to become an actress because “I’ve always loved acting. As a child, I always pictured myself singing and acting, so I went ahead to study theatre arts and I obtained a diploma from the University of Calabar and my degree from the University of Lagos. “But I actually started out as a singer before I got into acting...

Is Genevieve about to make a stunning Nollywood comeback? For now, that seems to be the case as there’s been more buzz about her since it was confirmed that she’s producing her very first movie, Road To Yesterday, starring her, Majid Michel, Oris Erhuerho and other big names. And as if in confirmation that big movie things are about to return her way, RTY was selected as this year’s Closing Night Film at the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF). RTY is an epic love story which trails a couple desperate to mend a broken marriage on a road trip to a relative's funeral. However, the journey itself throws up secrets from a distant past, imperiling a lot more than just the marriage. RTY was written and directed by Ishaya Bako, a London Film School Alumni, and creator of a series of highly acclaimed festival favourites, including the award-winning Braids On A Bald Head (Best Short Film at the 2012 AMAA Awards). RTY is his feature directorial debut. RTY’s AFRIF screening also serv...

Toyin Aimakhu is one actress who can’t just stop making the news. She makes it for both positive and negative reasons. Positive is when she got married. Negative is when her husband, Adeniyi Johnson, was alleged to be having extramarital affairs. Right now, she’s making the news again for a reason that can be said to be positive-negative. Because while some might condemn her for allegedly being in a romantic relationship outside her marriage with a man said to be Seun Egbegbe, others might praise her for the alleged relationship, and justify her by saying that her husband started it first. Anyway, the gist making the rounds salaciously is that the problem in Aimakhu’s marriage which was believed to have been solved is still there and is still festering. According to the gist, Aimakhu and her husband, Johnson, no longer see eye-to-eye and are no longer staying together. And that when they meet at certain events that they both have to attend because they are in the same profession, they ...