Veteran Somali Musician Ahmed Ismail Hussein Has Died.
Considered one of the founding fathers of contemporary Somali music and affectionately known as ‘Hudeydi’, the musician has passed away from the coronavirus at age 92.
Veteran Somali musician Ahmed Ismail Hussein has passed away at the age of 92 according to reports by the BBC. Considered one of the founding fathers of contemporary Somali music, the musician passed away in London, England, after having tested positive for the coronavirus.
“Hudeydi” as he was affectionately known, and whose music career spanned over several decades, was famous for playing the oud, a stringed instrument similar to the modern lute and that originated from the Middle East.
Dubbed the “King of Oud”, his contribution to music during the anti-colonial and decolonization period of the country made him a significant musician of that time according to Hanna Ali, director of the London-based Kayd Somali arts organization. Following the death of Hudeydi, Ali goes on to add that, “In short, his music embodied the sound of the long struggle to freedom and independence.”
In 2018, Hussein was honored for his lifetime contribution to music at the International Somali Awards.
The musician becomes the latest African public figure to die from the coronavirus following Cameroonian jazz legend Manu Dibango, former president of the Marseilles football club, Pape Diouf, and several others.
Tributes have been pouring in for Hussein since the news of his death emerged.
Victor Ikpeba , Jide Kosoko, Alexx Ekubo, Broda Shaggi, Others Join Ecobank’s #StaySafeNigeria Campaign
Ecobank Nigeria recently launched the #StaySafeNigeria campaign to support the government’s efforts at sensitising the general public about the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, its symptoms and the precautions that can be taken to curtail the spread of the virus.
This campaign has since kicked off successfully and is effectively mobilising Nigerians to adopt healthy hygiene habits.
Notable celebrities, Sports personalities and Nollywood actors such as Paul Obazele, Jide Kosoko, Broda Shaggi, Segun Arinze, Zack Orji, Gideon Okeke, Alexx Ekubo, Taomma, Victor Ikpeba, Augustine Eguavoen, Mutiu Adepoju, Garba Lawal, Dala Oruwari and others, have joined forces with the Ecobank team, to take the campaign message to as many people as possible, in English, Pidgin and even native languages – Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba.
In line with the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agenda, Ecobank has invested hugely in the media to ensure that the #StaySafeNigeria message gets to the general public, and especially the grassroots, in a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19.
All hands must be on deck, as we support the government’s measures to check the rising spread of the COVID-19 virus in Nigeria. All of us must act now!
32 writers named to the 2020 CBC Short Story Prize longlist
Thirty-two writers have made the longlist for the 2020 CBC Short Story Prize. The complete longlist is:
Liking It by Hollie Adams (Bangor, Maine)
Victory Meat by Martin James Ainsley (Fredericton)
Cavalier Boy by Candace Allan (Calgary)
Highballin’ by Lyle Burwell (Sudbury, Ont.)
Gibson by Brenda Damen (Calgary)
Sinking by Brad Donaldson (Halifax)
Bodies by Nina Dragicevic (Toronto)
Every Night Like New Years by Justina Elias (Victoria)
But Not to Call Me Back or Say Goodbye by Sarah Fulton (Oshawa, Ont.)
Back to Where You Came From by Andrea Gunraj (Toronto)
Courage, My Love by Christine Higdon (Etobicoke, Ont.)
Charlie is Surviving by Raechel Huizinga (Kingston, Ont.)
I Am Aani Littlecrab by Julia Jenkins (Nanaimo, B.C.)
Our Father by Zilla Jones (Winnipeg)
The Jungle by Richard Joseph (London, Ont.)
The Arms of Village by Trent Lewin (Waterloo, Ont.)
Allergic to Food by Sarah Lord (New Denver, B.C.)
Aranaj, the Fishmonger Who Wept for the Fish by Helen Han Wei Luo (Richmond, B.C.)
Hole in the Wall by Aga Maksimowska (Toronto)
Northwest and Back by Kathleen May (Huntsville, Ont.)
Herringbone by Eleni Polychronakos (Montreal)
Bartleby by Bonny Reichert (Toronto)
Achimenes II by Mélisandre Schofield (Montreal)
Easily Torn by Daryl Sneath (Seagrave, Ont.)
Comparative Literature by Ian Stewart (Toronto)
The Schmiss by Kate Timmers (Kitchener, Ont.)
My Father’s Wife by Meg Todd (Vancouver)
No Escalator by Karen-Maria Tratt (Calgary)
Dancing in the Rain by Coryn Urquhart (Hamilton, Ont.)
The Echoes Are All Mine by Brent van Staalduinen (Hamilton, Ont.)
Spud Life by Tracey Waddleton (Montreal)
Black-legged Kittiwake by Julia Zarankin (Toronto)
The longlist was selected from more than 2,400 English-language submissions.
A team of writers and editors from across Canada compiled the list. The jury then selects the shortlist and the eventual winner from the readers’ longlisted selections.
The 2020 jury is comprised of David Bezmozgis, Alix Hawley and Rawi Hage. They will select the shortlist and the winner.
The shortlist will be announced on April 15 and the winner will be announced on April 22nd.
The winner of the 2020 CBC Short Story Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, have their work published on CBC Books and attend a two-week writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their work published on CBC Books.
The longlist for the French-language competition has also been revealed. To read more, go to the Prix de la nouvelle Radio-Canada.
The CBC Literary Prizes have been recognizing Canadian writers since 1979. Past winners include Michael Ondaatje, Carol Shields, Michael Winter and Frances Itani.
If you’re interested in other writing competitions, check out the CBC Literary Prizes.
The CBC Poetry Prize is currently open and accepting submissions until May 31, 2020.
BBNaija’s Diane & Frood are Cover April Edition Of VL Magazine
Big Brother Naija 2019 housemates, Diane Russet and Emeka Okoye aka Frood are the cover stars for VL Magazine‘s April issue.
This month’s cover story is an exclusive interview with the reality stars and they talk about growing up, finding their feet in the entertainment, their current projects, relationships and also their views on the coronavirus pandemic.
Credit:
Photography: @O2photostudio
Styling/Creative Direction: @thafashiongawd
Makeup: @annklairmakeup
Hairstylist: @haykraftbeautystudio
Outfits: @yinkasamuels @elansignature @chunnie.official
Graphics: @treayosdigital
Cinematography: @glitzmediahouse
“Rise of the Saints” Trailer Features Deyemi Okanlawon, Racheal Oniga & Tina Mba
Grand Redemption has released the official trailer and poster for a new Nollywood film titled “Rise of the Saints“.
The film “Rise of the Saints” by Samuel O. Olateru is a movie inspired by the story of Moremi Ajasoro, warrior Queen of Ife who delivers her people from destruction in the hands of her sworn nemesis Jagan. In the present-day world, her prophesied son is manifest in Luke, a young aspiring musician.
Orphaned at birth and raised by his aunt, Luke is suddenly plunged into a battle of two worlds: of light and darkness. He joins forces with The Saints, a group of people charged with the duty of protecting the legacy of Moremi, and together they must employ all their wits to defeat the ferocious warlord, Jagan. Amidst all, Luke has no choice but to take the biggest test of his life: choose between a destiny of honour or his dazzling dream of music and fame.
The film produced by Bolanle Olasunde, features Deyemi Okanlawon, Racheal Oniga, Tina Mba, Peter Fatomilola, introducing Teleola Kuponiyi and many more.
Watch the trailer below:
Aliko Dangote, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos make Forbes’ List of World Billionaires in 2020.
Forbes’ has released its 34th annual world’s billionaires list, which ranks the wealthiest individuals globally. The list contains 2,095 billionaires, down from 2,153 in 2019, with a combined net worth of $8 trillion.
Although, there is a drop in the number of billionaires this year because of the impact of coronavirus on the global market. Kerry A. Dolan, Assistant Managing Editor of Wealth, Forbes said, “The worlds richest are not immune to the devastating impact of the coronavirus. The drop in the number of billionaires this year reflects the economic impact the pandemic is already having.”
Nigeria’s industrialist, Aliko Dangote is on the 162nd spot in the list, with a fortune of $8.3 billion, making him the richest person on the African continent. Nigerian’s second richest is Mike Adenuga of Globacom who ranked No. 286 with a fortune worth $5.6 billion, while Abdulsamad Rabiu the founder of BUA Group, ranked 712 and he’s worth $2.9 billion.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos topped the list for the third year in a row, despite forfeiting $36 billion worth of his Amazon stock to his ex-wife, MacKenzie Bezos, as part of their divorce settlement last summer, and he’s worth $113 billion.
He is followed by Bill Gates, co-founder of Bill and Melinda Foundation, whose wealth is around $98 billion, followed by luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault, the Chairman and CEO, LVMH Moet, Hennessy, Louis Vuitton with a fortune of $76 billion, while Alice Walton, the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, who is the richest woman, ranked No.9 at $54.4 billion.
Chang Yun Chung co-founded Pacific International Lines the oldest billionaire (age 101), ranked No. 1851 with a fortune worth, $1.1 billionaire, while beauty mogul, Kylie Jenner is still the youngest billionaire (age 22) and she’s worth $1 billion.
Text and visual courtesy Bellanaija
Larry Gaaga begins production of soundtracks for ‘Rattle Snake’ movie.
Larry Gaaga has been commissioned to produce the soundtrack for upcoming classic ‘Rattle Snake’
The soundtrack for Play Networks’ ‘Rattle Snake’ remake is already in the works and award-winning music producer, Larry Gaga is heading its production.
According to Charles Okpaleke, CEO of Play Networks, Larry Gaaga has been commissioned to produce the soundtracks for the upcoming movie ahead of its November theatrical release. He shared the update via Instagram on April 4, 2020.
He shared, “this movie is coming to cinemas in November, but @larrygaaga is already working on the soundtrack. So apparently he comes up with 50 tracks, and during production and post production he picks the top 12 to 15 tracks to match different scenes in the movie!”
Recall that Gaaga produced the soundtracks for the highly successful ‘Living in Bondage Breaking Free’ , a project that earned him an African Magic Viewers’ Choice award.
