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  • As Africa slowly enters the global comics and animation conversation, it adds another major win in Iwájú, an animation series produced by Kugali Media in partnership with Disney.

    Kugali Media’s Iwájú is one of the projects the Walt Disney Company announced on its Investor Day in 2020. Yup, you probably didn’t know about that. But there’s more to know about this coming animated series.

    What’s Kugali?

    The company started as Tao of Otaku, in 2015 as a podcast. Two years later, it morphed into Kugali (Swahili for “to care”), a website and YouTube channel with arts, gaming, comics and animation content. In 2018, the co-founders Hamid Ibrahim, Tolu Olowofoyeku and Olufikayo “Ziki Nelson” Adeola narrowed its focus to producing African comics and animations. Kugali has since produced original comics like Iku, Oro and Mumu Juju and the latest Iwájú, an animated TV series co-produced by Disney Animation.

    Facebook: Kugali

    Kugali and Disney’s fateful meeting

    All it took for Disney to notice what Kugali’ got was a brazen statement by Kugali’s co-founder Hamid Ibrahim (VFX artist on The Lion King) in a 2019 BBC interview. He said, “We’ll beat Disney’s ass.” Interestingly, Disney reached out to work with Kugali for Disney Plus. This relationship birthed the project initially set for release in 2022. But it took additional two years to come out due to release schedule changes.

    What’s Iwájú about?

    Iwájú is a Yorùbá word for front or forward. It’s an animated story about class and inequality. It focuses on two friends living in futuristic Lagos; Tola, a rich island babe, and poor, self-taught tech-guy Kole who lives in another part of Lagos (seems like the mainland) and their investigation into the dark sides of their two worlds.

    Source: MovieWeb

    Production

    Iwájú is produced by Christian Chen of Disney Animation and written by Halima Hudson and Tolu Olowofoyeku. Nigerian composer Ré Olunga handled the film score. Kugali’s co-founders Ziki Nelson, Hamid Ibrahim and Tolu Olowofoyeku are also the film’s director, production designer and cultural consultant respectively.

    Source: MovieWeb

    Voices of Iwájú

    Iwájú is voiced by Simisola Gbadamosi, Sinister Soetan, Femi Branch, Dayo Okeniyi (The Hunger Games and Emperor) and Weruche Opia (I May Destroy You, High Desert and Sliced). The cast was assembled by Nigerian actress Kemi “Lala” Akindoju.

    L-R; Femi Branch, Weruche Opia and Dayo Okeniyi

    Release date

    Iwájú will debut in the U.S. on February 28, 2024 on Disney Plus. The release date for Nigeria and other select regions will be announced later. African and Nigerian stories finding a home on the global screen will always be a delight.

    Source: MovieWeb

    Iwájú: A Day Ahead

    Iwájú: A Day Ahead is a special documentary about the series development and production process, and it’ll also come out the same day the series debuts. It’s produced by Walt Disney Animation and ABC News Studios.

    Are You Familiar with The Best African Animations of 2023?

  • We’re not trying to shame you, this quiz helps you know if you’re cool enough to hang with the kids.

    Find out here:

    An eater

  • The next time artists have a score to settle with each other, instead of posting long, subliminal insults on social media or making diss tracks, they should try these more interesting, quicker methods.

    Call first

    Consider a call to iron things out in-house before doing your dirty laundry outside.

    Pray like a warrior

    Pray for the heart of your opp to be softened. Or copy Elijah and invite your opp to an open space then loudly pray, “Send down fire!” For this to work, you must be a child of God. If you’re not, see the next option.

    Impersonate each other

    If like Prettyboy D-O and OdumoduBlvck, comparison is the reason for your beef, this is for you. Swap lives for a day or two and adopt each other’s style. Go to each other’s studio sessions, attend each other’s shows and interviews. The best impersonator is the fraud because why can you impersonate your opp so effortlessly if you weren’t trying to be like them already?

    Go on an ultimate search 

    The beefing artists should just embark on a treasure hunt to confirm who’s the winner of the beef.

    “Verzuz”

    Get fans from both sides in a large space, perform your best music and see who reigns supreme.

    Mouth wash

    Has it occured to you that the reason one person moves like they’ll punch their opp in the mouth is because someone’s talking actual shit? To settle scores, do an oral test. The person with the worst mouth odour loses the beef.

    A dambe match

    Fix a boxing match to knock out your beef in the Hausa martial art style. The man standing over the knocked-out guy wins the beef. We recommend the hard ground under Ojuelegba bridge as a suitable venue.

    Source: Leadership News

    “Old West” style

    Invite your opp to the outskirts of town, then attach a revolver and holster to your waists. Play a song like Davido’s Fem, and as soon as it ends, whoever draws their gun quicker lives wins.

    Regarding the Stan Culture in Nigeria, How Far Would You Go for Your Fave?

  • This quiz is for those have earned the right to send people’s kids on errands.

    Take the quiz:

    What’s the colour of Madam Koi Koi’s shoes?

  • Another Friday, another day of fresh music releases. We handpicked the seven most chill drops to enjoy this weekend.

    Listen here:

    PALMWINE IN A BENZ — 02Morse

    Don’t be disappointed if this song doesn’t welcome you with the Highlife guitar riffs we’ve come to associate with the palmwine sound. The rich flow, sandwich of bars and chorus make PALMWINE IN A BENZ highly digestible. IB City’s 02Morse signals to the rap scene that it’s open season as listeners throw their hands to the intoxicating bounce and hi-hats of this trappy song and its sticky lyricism.

    No Gree for Anybody — Oladips ft. Otega

    Drill music is one of the rap sub-genres that best documents crime, but the Nigerian spin to it takes it from fist fight and violent rhymes to relatable stories of dreams and money chasers. With this, rappers, Oladips and Otega, jump on Nigeria’s unofficial theme of 2024: “No gree for anybody” (meaning “don’t let anyone mess with you”). Since Oladips’ “Lazarus moment” in 2023, he’s made a consistent effort to prove he deserves as many ears as his contemporaries. His latest drops perhaps articulates this resilience.

    IMAGINE SAY — AfroSelecta-BBK ft. Reeplay & Laxy-BBK

    Reeplay opens this song with a chorus imagining if he was broke. This song implies that “You’re nobody till people speak highly of you”. Laxy-BBK performs alongside him on this song off the fourth installment of the Driller and Vanilla projects produced by AfroSelecta-BBK.

    P.P.P (Puff Puff Pass) — Bahd Man Niko

    P.P.P isn’t just a cannabis anthem. Bhad Man Niko is unapologetically a product of the trenches, delivering on sexual adventures with detailed imagery. His sonic connection with white garment churches and Islamic Yorùbá music offer melodies reminiscent of older Streep-pop artists like Oritsefemi, but he’s carving a niché for himself. True to his hunger to be in everyone’s faces, his latest EP, BOYAHNAH, is here 19 days into the new year and barely three months after his Off The Planet EP dropped in November 2023.

    Skata — Funfillage ft. Adam Srae & Luka Pryce

    Funfillage’s Skata is a song on their new seven-track Smile on Sofa (SOS) EP featuring artists from Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa. Naija singer-songwriter, Adam Srae, and Mzansi’s Luka Pryce coast together to create a love atmosphere on this Afrobeats instrumental. Altogether, Skata is smooth, jazzy, groovy.

    Lady Fiona — Cobhams Asuquo ft. Sauti Sol

    Lady Fiona opens with guitar medleys that brew with Cobhams’ soft vocals. “I feel all my chains breaking, ‘cause since I met you, it’s been freedom from the start” is the kind of heartfelt line that distinguishes him not just as a talented singer and producer, but as a seasoned songwriter. Interestingly, the song features the defunct Kenyan music group, Sauti Sol.

    50-50 — Vasa

    Teenage singer, Vasa’s first song of 2024 is an emotional take on life’s possibilities. On 50-50, Vasa sings about the uncertainty that comes with being a dream chaser. The youngster is focused on climbing to the top and is ready to take his chances — goals realised or not. If you’re at a similar stage in your journey, you’ll vibe to this.

    You Should Also Dive Into The Best Afrobeats Songs of 2024’s First Weekend

  • With all the Grammy nominations, new Federal Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy appointments and the promise of a Afrobeats Museum we’ve gotten so far, things are looking promising for the industry this year. Here’s everything we expect to happen.

    Afrobeats gets a seat at the Grammy table

    If you missed it, “Best African Music” has been added to the Grammy list of categories, and Nigerians dominated the nominations last year. Burna Boy’s Alone and Davido’s FEEL were also nominated for “Best Global Music Performance”. Blessing Offor, a Nigerian gospel singer, got two nominations. Rema, Bloody Civilian and Tems were on the Grammy-nominated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever album, Fireboy DML on Jon Baptiste’s nominated album, World Music Radio, and Janelle Monae’s nominated Age of Pleasure album brought in CKay and Seun Kuti.

    Who said it’s not plenty for Nigerian music?

    The new federal directors show themselves

    January 12, 2024, came with the appointment of Nigerian creative industry figures like Obi Asika (Storm Records), Tola Akerele (Bogobiri House) and Ali Nuhu (Nollywood) into the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy. We can’t wait to see what they do first.

    An Afrobeats museum

    On January 13, 2024, we published a two-part story about why we need an Afrobeats museum, and what it would look like, which motivated pop culture journalist, Jide Taiwo, to announce the launch of his museum. We can’t wait to see this brilliant idea come to life.

    Next Afrobeats Star

    Ultima Studio, the makers of the now cancelled hit music talent show, Project Fame, are back with a replacement: Next Afrobeats Star. They haven’t revealed a launch date yet, but it’ll air for ten weeks, and the four judges are music producers, Sarz, Puffy-T, Andre Vibez and P.Priime — a huge win and recognition for our producers.

    X.com: @joeyakan

    AMVCA re-evaluation

    MultiChoice’s Head of Content and Channels, West Africa, Dr Busola Tejumola, announced on January 15, that the categories of the famous Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA) have been reduced from 33 to 27, to “meet global trends and standards”. Also, the Best Actor and Best Actress in Leading/Supporting Role will now be decided solely by a jury. These changes mark the tenth edition of the award show this year.

    Source: BellaNaija

    Another Big Brother Naija?

    The reality TV show, Big Brother Naija, just announced the coming of Season 9 audition dates. Nigerians are about to obsess over strangers and make them celebrities once again. 

    More industry drama

    The new year is just 18 days old, and we’ve already seen enough online gbas gbos to last the year. From Stefflon Don and Jada Kingdom fighting over Burna Boy to Prettyboy D-O calling out NATIVE Records’ president, TeezeeDRB, for owing his videographer-friend $500 and Tiwa Savage petitioning Davido over his threat to her life, it looks like a “No gree for anybody” year for the industry too.

    Hehe, iskelebetiolebe

    Get familiar with the New Directors of the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy

  • If you’re a pop culture consumer and you’re so sure no moment in pop eluded you, come flex your knowledge.

    Take the quiz:

    Beyoncé’s latest album is spelt ___?

  • An explosion disrupted the peace in Ibadan, Oyo state, in the early evening of Tuesday, January 16, 2024. Residents of Iwajowa L.G.A (Apata), Ibadan North-West L.G.A (Jericho), Ibadan North L.G.A (Yemetu, Mokola, Agbowo) and Ido L.G.A (Elebu, Apete, Akufo) took to X to report about the loud bang they heard in their area. And the affected people shared photos and videos of their damaged homes and property.

    The damage

    According to news reports, the explosion happened at Dejo Oyelese Close, Off Adeyi Avenue, Old Bodija. The unfortunate event claimed two lives. 77 people were injured, over 20 houses and 15 cars were permanently destroyed, and about 10 houses and five cars can still be salvaged. According to X user, @dondekojo, the explosives — C4, Dynamite, ANFO and TNT — caused the blast whose impact was felt at about a 500-metre radius.

    However, the Explosive Ordnance Disposal officials are reportedly still investigating the explosives that went off in Ibadan.

    Journalist and digital content producer, Ayo Adams, went around the city last night to see the affected places. He reported in his tweets that it was too late at night to talk to residents about the incident, but passersby had felt the shock wave of the explosion. He visited businesses affected by the explosion, like Dominos and Ace Mall, Bodija, and the Housing Central Mosque.

    Search and rescue operation

    At 9:47 p.m., the Oyo State Police Department reported that the anti-bomb squad of the Nigerian Police, medical personnel, firefighters, road safety officers and the state security operative, Amotekun, had been deployed to the site of the explosion.

    More than 20 people have been rescued from the explosion site. However, a local news media tweeted about a boy named Sotannde Kodir, who was found in Sango area. His mother, with whom he ran away from the explosion site, was missing. As of the time of publishing, there’s been no news of her whereabouts or if Sotannde has been reunited with his family.

    As of this morning, security personnel, including the Nigerian Army, are still at the scene to prevent a second explosion.

    X.com: @theayoadams

    Mustapha Iskil Gbolahan of Fresh FM reported at 10:46 a.m. today that another 11 victims have been rushed to the UCH and are currently receiving medical treatment.

    The state governor reacts

    At 2:39 a.m., Seyi Makinde confirmed that the wounded were being treated at the University College Hospital (UCH) and some private hospitals. In Seyi Makinde’s press release on X, he stated that the medical bills of all victims will be covered by the government. They’ll also provide temporary accommodation for those whose houses were affected and support them to rebuild their lives. The state governor assured the public that an investigation to bring the illegal miners to book has been launched.

    Blood donation

    UCH has publicly requested blood donors to help the victims who were rushed there last night.

    This morning, X user, @presidentdebbie, tweeted that casualties can reach out to her sister’s blood bank organisation for blood.

    Emergency number

    In case of future emergencies, residents are advised to dial 615, Oyo State’s emergency number.

    Rumours to dismiss

    Based on the state governor’s press release, the fake news on X that the blast was a gas explosion at a plant beside Ventura in Samonda should be dismissed. It’s also untrue that there isn’t enough space for the victims at the University College Hospital. The public institution is still attending to and treating victims, according to @dondekojo, a well-known Ibadan local and close source to the Oyo State government.

    At this time, we’ve heard no news about victims stuck under the rubble.

    READ: Ibadan Explosion: Seyi Makinde Confirms Casualties and Other Details

  • As the Super Eagles continue their 2024 African’s Cup of Nations campaign, we send them our best wishes.

    What better way to do this than create a playlist that solidifies our mission in Côte d’Ivoire. These songs have all the motivation, ginger and fire our boys need to clinch the top prize.

    Play:

    Africa — Yemi Alade ft. Sauti Sol

    It doesn’t matter if it’s the Super Eagles or Black Stars, we are Africans first. This song by Mama Africa, featuring Kenya’s Sauti Sol, tops this playlist for good reason.  It constantly reminds us of our roots and how we’re better united as one.

    Want It All — Burna Boy ft. Polo G

    Burna opened this song with “Remember when dem no believe me no more?” 

    Well, that’s the case of the Super Eagles; last time we won the AFCON was 2013. A decade later, we’re back to take our chances at winning. As a serious team in this to win every goddamn prize, there’s no better motivating song.

    23 — Burna Boy

    Though 23 is a reference to basketballer Michael Jordan, this song can makes you feel like Messi or Ronaldo. This song doesn’t only pump confidence, it makes you feel invincible.The Super Eagles need this.

    Oya Come Make We Go — 2Baba ft. Sauti Sol

    Watch the room luminate when our boys play ‘Oya Come Make We Go’ as they leave the dressing room for the pitch. This is essentially saying “let’s go there and have a blast.”

    Overkilling — Djinee

    Fifteen years later, Djinee’s Overkilling is still the anthem for the people chasing excellence, AKA overkilling, in their fields. This isn’t to exaggerate Super Eagles’ capability, but we can fake it till everyone believes it.

    Champion — General Pype

    “This is the sound of the champion,” like General Pype said in this song. In fact, it must blast in the stadium when we finally win the 2024 AFCON IJN.

    Undisputed Champion — M.I Abaga

    M.I’s Undisputed Champion emphasizes the need to build a winning mentality. It’s the anthem that rouses you from sleep.

    Stand Strong — Davido ft. Sunday Service Choir

    After our draw against Equatorial Guinea on January 14, 2024, our boys clearly need to hold onto this confidence-boost song. Whether the Super Eagles “minus” before the 2024 AFCON final or not, it should keep playing. Recommended it in the morning, afternoon and night.

    Yo, Take This Quiz to Prove How Well You Know Nigeria’s National Football Team

  • This is the true test of your knowledge on the Nigerian Super Eagles, before you disgrace your citizenship in front of an outsider.

    Take the quiz:

    Who was “The Boss”?