True Love Editor finds love

Former Nairobi Star columnist Wayua Muli is engaged.
Word has it that she got a super expensive diamond ring from her South African based Kenyan boyfie to mark the engagement.
Wayua is curently the True Love editor and has chosen to keep the relationship out of the limelght. Anyho, y'all heard it fort here.

LAGBAJA’S NEW ALBUMS HITS THE STREETS!

The much-anticipated 2 simultaneous albums from Africano musician Lagbaja are now ready for release.
Titled ‘Paradise’ and ‘Sharp Sharp’, the albums will be released into the Nigerian market on Monday May 4, 2009.
As is characteristic of Lagbaja, all tracks on both albums have various slants and characters, but the common denominator remains the traditional African drums. Lagbaja’s saxophones also feature prominently on the new recordings; and it’s the first time since ‘Cest Un African Thing’ (1996) that the saxophone is taking such prominence on Lagbaja’s studio recordings.
Listeners will hear Lagbaja doing remarkable sax solos on ‘Paradise’ and ‘Sharp Sharp’ – songs like “I Rho Whe”, ‘Bling Bling Panda’ and “Sobolation” have the saxophone blazing while tracks like ‘Paradise’ and ‘Sharp Sharp’ actually have the saxophone in the intro section of the songs dueting with the lead vocals.
The traditional African drums- the mainframe of the Africano genre- is also conspicuously present throughout both albums. And, interestingly, most of the songs were recorded live. Lagbaja is an advocate of live music; believing musicians should play their instruments as opposed to the recently prevalent practice of completely ceding music production to the computer.
The albums were recorded in Lagos at Motherlan’ Studios; and in the USA at Bennett Studios. All the songs were mixed in different US studios, including Studio Crash (Pennsylvania), Bennett Studios (NJ) and Studio 4 (Pennsylvania).
Apart from mixing several of the songs on the album, Grammy award-winning engineer Dave Kowalski also recorded the Salsa version of Lagbaja’s composition ‘Deja A Mi Gente Quedarse’ (Let My People Stay) at Bennett Studios. The cut features some of the top Latin music players of the New York scene.

Jal's War Child Movie Is Showing

Nairobi – May 5, 2009 - An internationally acclaimed hip hop artist, author and filmmaker, Emmanuel Jal, has teamed up with a mobile company, Zain, for two fundraising concerts in Jal’s homeland, Southern Sudan, and his second home, Kenya. The concert in Juba will take place at Nyakuron Cultural Center May 3, and the event at Carnivore in Nairobi will be on May 9. With Zain sponsoring the event, all the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit GUA Africa, a nonprofit working to build a school in Leer, Southern Sudan.

Jal was a child soldier during the civil war in his country, until he was rescued and smuggled to Nairobi by a British aid worker, Emma McCune. The school, to be named Emma Academy, will educate children displaced by war and affected by poverty. To raise awareness and funds for the school, Jal has been eating one meal a day for more than 140 days. He will continue doing so until all funds are raised. His “Lose to Win Challenge” aims at donating the money saved from the meals to the campaign, as well as showing that one meal is a daily ration for many children in Southern Sudan. The campaign has raised $87,000 so far, with the goal of $300,000.

“Aid will not help us; education provides enlightenment and opens our minds, giving us many ways to survive and prosper. What we need is to build more schools and give farmers tools,” Jal said.

The concerts will feature Gatwitch Records’ Juliani and Nyaruach, as well as Lam, Kanjii, Michelle and Giel. In Juba, tickets can be purchased from April 29 at Nyakurueng Cultural Center. In Nairobi, tickets will be available on the same date at Carnivore and all Zain locations. Besides the funds raised from ticket sales, donations for the school will be accepted at the gate, as well as via Zain’s Zap. To donate to the school, SMS 0733 120 000.

Their will be a complimentary screening of War Child movie at prestige plaza on May 7th at 6pm. Audiences from New York to Berlin to London rave about this award-winning documentary on Emmanuel Jal, the hip-hop artist with a terrifying past and a kind soul. Interspersing original interviews, live concerts, and rare footage of Jal as a 7-year-old boy, War Child will make viewers cry, laugh, dance, and celebrate the power of hope.
Emmanuel Jal has won worldwide acclaim for his unique style of hip hop with its message of peace and reconciliation born out of his experiences as a child soldier in Sudan. His music can be heard alongside Coldplay, Gorillaz, and Radiohead on the fundraising “Warchild - Help a Day in the Life” album, as well as in three ER episodes, the National Geographic documentary “God Grew Tired of Us” and the feature film “Blood Diamond” starring Leonardo DiCaprio. He can also be heard on John Lennon’s “Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur” amongst the likes of U2, REM and Lenny Kravitz.

Jal performed at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday celebrations in 2008, and is invited to sing again at his 91st birthday concert this year. In February 2009, he ran the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange, commemorating the U.S. Black History Month. Emmanuel Jal’s third album, “War Child” was released in May 2008. A full-length documentary on his life premiered the same year and won a number of international awards. His autobiography was published in February 2009.

Despite his accomplishments in music, Jal’s biggest passion is for GUA Africa, a nonprofit he founded to sponsor children’s education in Kenya and Sudan. The organization provides scholarships for Sudanese war survivors in refugee camps and sponsors education for children in the most deprived slum areas in Nairobi.

For several months now, he has been eating one meal a day to raise awareness and funds to build a school in Leer, South Sudan, where Emma McCune is resting. He committed to skip every breakfast, lunch and snack until the last brick of Emma Academy is laid.

M-NET’S NEW DIRECTIONS FILM INITIATIVE DEBUTS SHORT FILMS FROM KENYA AND NIGERIA

May 2009

M-Net’s 2008 New Directions Africa film initiative, which showcases the best in emerging African filmmaking talent, will debut a series of top-quality African short films in April, including two films from Nigeria and one from Kenya.

The New Directions initiative, established in 1993, is a competition for directors and scriptwriters. It was conceived by M-Net as a developmental film initiative designed to stimulate the growth of emerging African filmmakers. Over the last 16 years, New Directions has generated over 29 African short films and two feature films. The initiative is widely acknowledged as the longest-running film initiative of its kind in Africa. In addition, successful productions enjoy the opportunity of broadcast on DStv in over 40 countries across Africa.

According to M-Net’s Africa Director Biola Adekanbi, the M-Net New Directions initiative is an example of M-Net’s long-term investment and commitment to building a strong skills based foundation for Africa’s filmmaking talent.

Commenting on the project, the Nigerian based businesswoman says, “I’m extremely proud of M-Net’s long history of supporting the development of film and television communities in Africa.”

She goes on to say, “As arguably one of the companies making a big, if not the biggest contribution in this respect, I can confidently say that this is not the result of luck but of hard work, planning and focus. We put vast resources into scriptwriting, producing, audio and acting workshops, in key territories across the continent, including Kenya and Nigeria, to ensure that when it comes to knowledge sharing and skills transfer, we are at the forefront of television companies making a tangible difference.”

This April, M-Net audiences can see the results of this investment first hand, when the channel screens the brand new short films. So what should you expect from the New Directions movies…read on to find out!

- Nigeria’s Ab’Obaku (20 April, 21:00 CAT, M-Net West/29 April, 20:00 CAT, M-Net East) which tells the story of Aremu and Adenike, forbidden lovers in an early century Yoruba kingdom. Aremu is an Ab’obaku – a bearer of great honour and victim of an unusual demand: he is one of 5 courtiers in the palace who must be buried alive upon the King’s death, supposedly to escort the King in his journey to the afterlife.

Adenike is a Princess. Her father, the King, is gravely ill and looks ready for that journey to the afterlife. Adenike will by implication lose her father and her lover should the King die. Their uncertain future is further complicated when she discovers she is pregnant with Aremu’s child.

Adenike and Aremu must make the biggest decision of their lives: to save their future together by escaping or live up to Aremu’s commitment as an Ab’obaku. The lovers confront a decision that would change not only their lives but their ancient traditions forever.

- A second Nigerian film, The Room (4 May, 21:00 CAT, M-Net West/13 May, 20:00 CAT, M-Net East) tells the story of Affiong, an 18-year-old student in England whose frequent run-ins with the law, prompting her father and stepmother to send her packing to Nigeria for three months to study for her A-Levels with her strict grandmother in her father’s hometown.

The Room brings together two people related by blood but from two different worlds. They start things off on the wrong foot, but as time progresses, both are able to understand each other better; realizing they have more in common than they could ever imagine.

- Kenyan short film Killer Necklace (11 May, 21:00 CAT, M-Net West/20 May, 20:00 CAT, M-Net East) introduces us to Boo, a handsome young banker with a bright future and Wai, a sultry young girl from a privileged background. Boo would do anything for Wai, but she has her eye on a different prize - the most beautiful golden necklace in the world.

As Boo rapidly realizes that the way to this woman’s heart is through his wallet, he finds himself forced to go further and further in an effort to be worthy. How far will he go to prove love to a girl he doesn’t really know the first thing about? In a world where wealth, poverty, life and death are but a stones throw apart, to what lengths will Boo and Wai journey to transform perceptions to reality?

So tune in to M-Net and get ready for these great new titles…courtesy of M-Net’s New Directions film initiative.

Other M-Net initiatives in Africa have included the programs and projects - Face of Africa, Big Brother Africa, Big Brother Nigeria, Africa Designs, Survivor Africa, Deal or No Deal, Living It, The Patricia Show, Doctors Quarters, Edge of Paradise, Moments with Mo, Tinsel, Catwalk Kenya, Studio 53, Gladiators, Let’s Dance, Temptation Nigeria, Idols, Stand Up Uganda, Stand Up Zambia, Comedy Club: Live in Lagos and channels like AfricaMagic, AfricaMagic Plus and Channel O.

M-Net’s newest series, Great Africans, also debuted on the channel in April. For more information, log on to www.mnetafrica.com.

Groove Awards: See How Surprised Daddy Owen Was?

Daddy Owen walked away with the biggest win in the Kenyan Gospel industry, as the Male Artiste for 2009. Here is a totally flabbergasted Daddy Owen, after he was named the winner, during the saturday evening awards ceremony at KICC.

Chizi’s plans for new single’s popularity

Architect and singer Dan ‘Chizi’ Aceda released his long awaited single Saida this week. This marked the beginning of a partnership between him and the Kenya Data Networks. The video to the song was made available for free viewing at www.kikasha.com, a new and innovative YouTube style website that is specifically meant for hosting Kenyan content.
The song, produced by Robert ‘R Kay’ Kamanzi is the lead single off Chizi’s sophomore album set for a June release. Chizi, whose song-writing prowess is increasingly gaining the attention that it deserves, wrote it.
This makes Chizi the first Kenyan artiste to successfully execute an online release of a single – on a Kenya-centric site.

STL and South African group Jozi to sing World Cup theme

Norway based Kenyan born rapper Stella Mwangi a.k.a STL is set to do collabo with a member of the South African all-boy group Jozi, in a bid to position their song as the 2010 World Cup theme song.
Jozi is made up of the legendary queen of pop, Brenda Fassie’s son Bongani Fassie (aka Bongs), Ishmael (aka Ish) and Lesley Mampe (aka Da L.E.S). The 22-year-old who is currently riding high with the single She Got It has finalized the negotiations with Ishmael – who is the RnB vocalist in the group.
STL’s Kenyan based manager Charles Mwangi said, “The song she is planning to record requires the RnB touch of a male voice and Ishmael was the best choice. The single is titled Kick That Ball and hopefully it will be considered as a suitable theme song for the World Cup.” STL is set to begin a tour of the US starting mid May running till mid June.