Entertainment Briefs
–
JIMMY Adewale Amu, aka DJ Jimmy Jatt is set to celebrate the silver jubilee of musical career in disc jockeying. Amu in an announcement in Lagos, said: “It is hard to believe that 25 years have gone by and I have been having the time of my life doing the job I love. This anniversary celebration is to take people on my journey so far and also to show my appreciation for their continued support all these 25 years.”
Members of the planning committee for the anniversary celebration include Matthew Ohio and Ubi Franklin of Triple MG. A nationwide tour of six cities across Nigeria from May through mid-June is being planned. It starts in Lagos and runs through Enugu, Benin, Port Harcourt and Ilorin to Abuja. Also, a DJ Jimmy Jatt documentary holds on the 25th anniversary formal dinner in August, 2014.
Other activities are Jimmy’s jump off in September, launch of the DJ Jimmy Jatt Foundation for the entertainment Arts with its first project for up and coming DJs in October 2014.
New York Hotel Probes Jay Z Family Feud Video Leak
A NEW York boutique hotel said it was already investigating how the recording of a security video that purportedly showed Jay Z, a music rapper, being attacked by his sister-in-law.
The incident which involved Solange Knowles, an R&B singer, was leaked to a website. The video posted by TMZ.com, a celebrity website, appeared to show the 27-year-old Knowles, younger sister of Beyonce, charging and striking Jay Z several times in an elevator at Standard Hotel in New York. Beyonce looked on in the three-and-a-half-minute video without audio, which quickly became an internet sensation, sparking several parody videos and photos.
The three were seen dressed in clothing that they had worn to the Met Gala benefit on the night of May 5. But representatives for all three did not immediately respond to requests for confirmation of the incident.
The hotel, the venue for a post-gala party, promised to prosecute whoever was behind the recording, calling it a breach of security and guests’ confidentiality. “We are investigating with the utmost urgency the circumstances surrounding the situation and as is our customary practice will discipline and prosecute the individuals involved,’’ the hotel said in a statement.
The statement did not mention Jay Z, Beyonce or Solange Knowles.
Nigerian Music Videos Among the Best in Africa
ALEX Okosi, senior vice-president and managing director of MTV Networks Africa, has said that Nigerian artistes and video directors now produced some of the best music videos in Africa. Speaking in Lagos recently, Okosi said that MTV Base had done a lot of work in the promotion of African music and culture, adding that Nigeria as a country was reaping the benefits of such efforts today.
“Music transcends based on the quality of the music produced. What we are trying to tell people is that that they needed to produce good music videos because that’s the best way to market yourself. And someone in Kenya can maybe hear the song and they bump to it; but when you see the video, it’s a much powerful experience and a much powerful expression of the artiste’s talent.
“That’s the reason we believe in this whole music video thing to begin with. And that’s why from the time we started we put talent reps in place to train people on how to produce these music videos. The benefit is what Nigeria is seeing today. There are millions of people that are producing music videos today that have got quality.
“Now it enables the artiste to travel. Before we started music video in Nigeria it was just rubbish. Now Nigerians produce the highest quality music videos in Africa. We were last before we started,’’ he said.
Okosi also said that MTV Base was also complying with the rules and regulations as set out by the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, regulatory body in Nigeria.
“It is always important from the very beginning that we try to censor what we do in a positive way. So, we try to make sure that the videos are in line with what the market and the regulators want,” he said.
A Nollywood Film Village in Asaba Underway
PLANS are currently on top gear to build a multi-million naira film village in Asaba, capital city of Delta State. Eddie Ugommah who dropped the hint during the week, said that the film village which would be fashioned after Hollywood and would be constructed by Califco Corp Nigeria, a United States-based Nigerian company.
According to him, the proposed project, which is expected to last for five years, has already received the nod of the Delta State government. The project is expected to commence before the end of the year.
Already, the state government has promised to make available a parcel of land for the project. Disclosing further, Ugommah who is facilitating the project said, the investors were in Nigeria few months back and spent about 90 days in the country.
“Initially, they were considering three states of Lagos, Abuja and Bayelsa. But when other states were not ready to welcome the idea, I quickly approached Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan who welcomed the idea with open arms,” he said. Ugommah, however, said the investors, while in Nigeria, discovered that the country would need a film village that would be a world standard. “If we are talking of Film village, we are talking of hotels, guest houses, golf course, swimming pools, a holiday resort, and about six sound studios. The idea of building the film village is to make production cheap in Nigeria,” he said.
— Jun. 2, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
Tags:
