If your fingers bleed from scrolling the internet or you keep tabs on the latest celebrity gist, this quiz is for you.
If you don’t get 10/13, just delete your social media accounts and go and focus on yourself.
Take this test:
Questions
This is a question
Which of these Nigerian celebs wasn’t at the MET Gala?
One of these artists went viral for marrying an honourable:
Which famous Nigerian author confirmed they had twin boys?
The image below represents a popular slang on X.
Which Nollywood movie made “Achalugo” one of the most used compliments in 2025?
The pastor who flashed a stun gun at a TikToker this year has one of the following names:
Which superstar sent a fan home for sleeping at their concert?
These celebrities’ weddings rocked the year, but only one happened in Iceland:
Were you online when a certain famous person tried to stop a plane? If yes, who?
Which of these artists got mixed reactions from Nigerian Twitter for their Tiny Desk performance?
Body used to be “tea.” Now, it’s _____.
Which of these Nigerians didn’t set a Guinness World record this year?
Which of these Nigerian artists was declared wanted by the police?
You got #{score}/#{total}
Wow. You might just be the internet bank. Impressed with you, my friend.
You got #{score}/#{total}
You have done your best, my friend. You aren’t just up to date as much as you think you’re. Good luck next time.
You got #{score}/#{total}
Smfh. Are you 40+? Or you don’t have a phone or internet connection? Or you’re just clueless? Or all of the above?
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From the silent masterminds to the loud survivors, each To Kill a Monkey character walks the line between secrets, scars, motives, or even a crime. If you were dropped into their messy, twisted world, who would you be?
Take this quiz to find out which character you’d most likely become from the chaos and what that says about you.
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Find out in this quiz:
Only one person has the claim to “African Number One Bad Gyal”
Short skirts are attributed to ____
Who is Nigeria’s highest-grossing filmmaker?
The first Nigerian female artist to bag a Grammy Award is ____
In 2006, ____ was the first artist to win the Headies’ Next Rated Award
One of them is known for effortlessly depicting multiple characters in her videos
All except one of these YouTubers interview celebrities on their shows
Ankara is synonymous with ____
The Guinness Book of Record holder for “Longest Dance Party” is _____
One of them is not a music producer
You got #{score}/#{total}
Pop culture baby, well done.
Hope you’ll bring your hot self to HERtitude 2024, or at least get your babe a ticket. Don’t miss the hottest party for women in Lagos this year.
You got #{score}/#{total}
Not a great score.
Promise to do better next time by showing up and bringing your babes to the hottest all-babes party of 2024. Cop your ticket here.
You got #{score}/#{total}
This is nothing to write home about.
Please seek our assistance at the hottest all-babes party because this is an emergency situation. Get an early ticket to HERtitude 2024 here.
HERtitude 2024 is here to make its own mark on pop culture for the women. On April 20, 2024, all the hottest babes in the country will be in Lagos to partyyyy. Don’t miss it; get your ticket ASAP.
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 ___?
In the music video for “Aye”, Davido was a ___?
These artists have a song called “Bad”, except one.
What does a Lannister always do?
One of these women was in 2Face’s “African Queen” music video
What does “SMH” stand for?
Which of Chimamanda Adichie’s books was adapted into a film?
Which Nollywood film is the highest grossing of all time?
How many artists sang on Victony’s “Ohema”?
Who played Rachel Zane in the TV series, “Suits”?
You got #{score}/#{total}
You’re such a happening babe. Take your flowers.
You got #{score}/#{total}
Not bad. You know Pop like it’s current affairs.
You got #{score}/#{total}
Sorry, you aren’t as hip as you thought.
You got #{score}/#{total}
You’ve missed road o. Olodo adugbo.
The Nigerian pop scene has had many newsworthy moments in 2023. Most were even globally relevant — for good, this time — while some others left us sad or upset. We compiled a list just to refresh your memory and give Nigerians everywhere a reason to be proud as the year comes to a close.
Afrobeats
NBA half-time show
Tems, Burna Boy and Rema took Afrobeats to the 79th NBA half-time show in Utah, U.S., in February 2023. From Burna’s live performance of Anybody and It’s Plenty, to Tems’ Crazy Things and Rema’s Calm Down, it was a night to celebrate African rhythm on an important foreign stage. Next up? NFL Super Bowl halftime.
After months of silence due to his three-year-old son’s demise, Davido returned to social media to announce a new album, two new signings to his label and a rebranded Davido Music Worldwide (DMW) on March 29, 2023. He dropped the album, his fourth full-length project, Timeless, the next day. The lead single, Unavailable, was a standout hit, toeing the line of his previous successes: Dami Duro, Aye and If.
Beyond that, the consensus is Timeless is Davido’s best work so far, and the Afrobeats album of 2023. Perhaps to solidify this claim, the album made the Grammy 2024 nomination list for Best Global Music Album.
In October, he and his wife, Chioma, welcomed a set of twins, a year after the loss of their son.
In May, Burna Boy and Tems made their debut at the 2023 MET Gala, an iconic fashion and fundraising event in New York, U.S. As first-timers — only the second and third Nigerians to attend after author, Tomi Adeyemi, in 2021 — both artists showcased outfits people couldn’t stop talking about for days. Burna pulled up in a blue and black Burberry suit, while Tems wore a black and white dress styled by Dunsin Wright.
The American Recording Academy announced the new category on June 13, 2023. This is a welcome development to the “Afrobeats to the world” cause as our sound leaves the over-generalised canopy of “world music” in the academy’s eyes.
In August, after Asake released his sophomore album, Work of Art, and peaked at number 66 on the US Billboard 200 Albums chart, he sold out the O2 Arena and Barclays Centre in the United Kingdom.
Two years after Burna Boy brought Rema out on the O2 Arena stage in 2021, the Edo-state-born artist held his own show at the same 20,000-capacity London event centre, on November 14, 2023.
Singer and rapper, Mohbad, passed away on September 12, 2023. His demise generated public sympathy and divided commentary. Outraged fans and sympathisers took to the streets to protest his death and celebrate his call to glory. It’s the largest protest Lagos has witnessed since #EndSARS in 2020.
In the same month of September, Rema’s Calm Down remix with Selena Gomez became the first African song to garner a billion streams on Spotify. Rema now sits at the table with global acts like Taylor Swift, Drake, Rihanna and Justin Bieber.
Wizkid buried his mum in October, and people on social media turned the sad event into a circus. The general public got to see a vulnerable Big Wiz for the first time when he shed tears at the funeral.
OlaDips’ death and resurrection
The latest artist to pull a fake-death PR stunt since Skiibii, OlaDips was reported dead on November 15, 2023, just a day before his album, Superhero Adugbo, came out. On November 25th, the rapper posted a proof of life on his socials. Although he denied the PR stunt allegations, the public rained insults on him for making them mourn in vain.
Although Nigerians have broken Guinness World Records many times before, the buzz Hilda Baci received for her attempt is the largest so far. On May 11, she kicked off her cook-a-thon, which ended on May 15 after a 100-hour cooking session. They delivered her certificate for “the longest cooking marathon” at 93 hours, on June 13, 2023.
In June 2023, a U.S. entrepreneur and model named Anita Brown claimed she was pregnant for Davido. She went viral on social media for her hateful comments against Chioma, Davido’s wife. But later in October, she tendered an apology to the artist and his wife, and we haven’t heard from her since.
Naira Marley visited the National Drugs Law and Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) headquarters in Abuja on August 17 to give an anti-drug talk. The next thing we heard, the agency had made him their ambassador. Following public backlash, they denied this ever happened two days later.
On October 30, Napoli striker, Victor Osimhen, became the first born and bred Nigerian footballer to be on the top ten list of the Ballon d’Or award. He was the highest-ranked African footballer at the awards with 26 goals in the last season. On the night of December 11, he also won African Men’s Player of the Year at the 2023 Confederation of African Football Awards.
On the same night Victor Osimhen got the CAF award for African Men’s Player of the Year, Barcelona striker, Asisat Oshoala, was crowned the African Women’s Player of the Year 2023. Nigerian players currently rule the African football world.
In November, social media was on fire when Made Kuti, Fela’s grandson, got married to Inedoye Onyeso. Inedoye was his school daughter back in secondary school. Their wedding story went viral as people gushed over their Bridgerton-like love story.
Image source: Linda Ikeji Blog
Nollywood
Queen of Nollywood films
2023 started on a shaky foot for the Nigerian creative industry. Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, the filmmaker who founded the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) and Africa Film Academy, died on January 9 after a brief illness. Known as the “queen of Nollywood films”, she allegedly pioneered the screening of Nollywood films at international film festivals. Her family promised to carry on her legacy.
Image Source: The Culture Newspaper
Chidi Mokeme’s return
The return of veteran Nollywood actor, Chidi Mokeme, to our screens after a long hiatus was a triumph with his portrayal of Scar, a thug leader, on the hit Netflix mini-series, Shanty Town, in January 2023. Chidi owned his character so well that one would think he had once been an underworld boss. Something we rarely see with the newer Nollywood cats.
In May, another OG Nollywood actor, Obinna Nwafor AKA Saint Obi, passed away at age 57 in Jos, after battling an undisclosed illness. Obi was known for his bad-boy characters in almost every action and romance Nollywood movie of the 1990s to early 2000s. News of his death sent shock waves everywhere, particularly because of his sudden disappearance from the limelight for the last two decades and the rumours surrounding his death.
Before CJ “Fiery” Obasi’s Mami Wata even entered Nigerian cinemas in September 2023, the film had trended for its appearance at the Sundance Film Festival in June. In October, it was selected by the Nigerian Official Section Committee for the International Feature Film category ahead of the 2024 Academy Awards.
You might’ve heard people call The Black Book Nollywood’s version of John Wick. The emotional thriller is one of the industry’s best releases of 2023, and the most expensive at $1 million. An immediate hit, the movie garnered 5.6 million viewers just two days after its Netflix premiere on September 22.
In October 2023, veteran comedic actor, John Okafor AKA Mr. Ibu, put out a video on his official Instagram page, soliciting prayers and financial support to treat his diabetes. Celebrities like Davido, Tunde Ednut, Paul Okoye and Kanayo O. Kanayo gathered support for him and promised to do what they could.
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As of November 5th, the actor had had seven surgeries. Despite the public’s donation, one of his legs was amputated. Amid the health struggle, his wife and daughter fought over the donated funds, accusing each other of hijacking the rumoured ₦300 million.
Another weekend to take a break (yinmu) from the dictates of capitalism and let your hair down while listening to some smooth music — you deserve it.
Kicking off today, once every week (till talent pools run dry, which is impossible), we’ll introduce you to a new R&B artist emerging across Africa.
We present to you Enaky from Bayelsa State, Nigeria.
As more people clamour for more women’s participation in music, rising star Enaye Igoniwari, better known as Enaky, is set to put her native Bayelsa state on the global map as she presents Family, her debut in Nigeria’s music scene.
Looking back on how far she’s come, Enaky traces her evolution in music, taciturn childhood, the inspiration behind her single, getting signed to a record label, new responsibility and what’s next for her career.
First off, congrats on inking your first record deal. Can we get a peep into your background?
I was born and raised in Ogbia local government in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. I had typical Bayelsan parents, and they were strict. So I was at home all the time, spending time with myself, watching TV or pressing my phone. I just wanted to learn as much as I could. It was during this learning phase I found myself exploring music.
That was very recreational for me. When I began taking my singing very serious, it wasn’t as easy, but I always felt like I could ride on till the end. Practice turned into a daily thing for me. I covered songs and did a lot of freestyles, many of them didn’t even make it to my socials. Throughout my uni days, it was me and YouTube beats.
How long have you been pushing independently before the record deal came along?
It’s funny, but my first studio recording was only two years ago.
No other experiences before that time?
I had been making freestyles and covers in my room, but didn’t get a chance to record an official studio track until 2021. That said, my involvement with music started since I was a kid. When I was 11, I joined the choir, even though I had stage fright. Then, I started writing poems in primary school and became serious with it when I entered junior secondary school.
I didn’t know I’d be doing music at the time; creative writing has helped me.
Fair. Let’s discuss Family, your first official single, under NSB Entertainment. How did it come together?
The song is about my personal experiences with people. A few years ago, my tolerance and trust were broken: I’ll share the full story when I’m ready, but this song came together from my craving for honesty and peace.
Family is the fastest song I have written so far. It was easy to pour out my pain points based on my experiences with people.
Yeah, it sounds a bit personal. It’s brilliant songwriting
Yeah. I have been a writer since my secondary school days.
Also, growing up, we didn’t stay in one place for long. I never spent more than a year in any secondary school except in university. So that also gave me some variety when I approach music.
Hey. Have you heard that the Burning Ram Meat Festival is happening in Lagos two weeks from now? Precisely on the 11th of November. Tickets are selling out. Get yours now.
What has changed since you got signed?
Everything has changed.
My daily activity has changed. Before, it was me in my room, singing something to lift my spirit. Now it’s all pro. It’s more practice, studio sessions, meetings and soaking up games from the smart people around me. Even the messages I received then and the ones I get now are different. People used to text me and be like, “Hey, I saw your freestyle video and liked it. You’re amazing. Keep it up.” Now it’s more stuff like, “Wow, omo, you don blow o.”
That shows me that people now see the effort of the team and I — the professionalism and the whole packaging are becoming glaring, and people are noticing.
Also, the idea of a musician I had in my head is entirely different from what it is now. I thought musicians write music, record, eat and, rest. I never thought about the responsibilities until I got to this phase. But now I understand it demands dedication, self-control, discipline, focus and drive — my craft is being invested in and it’s business more than ever. I have to be consistent with good music, my posts and my interactions. Even on days I feel down, I’m learning to pull myself back up. I have to keep getting better. Whether I like it or not, there are expectations I have to deliver on, and I cannot fuck up.
But I’m very aware I’m not an unsigned artist in my room anymore — a group of people share my visions and are ready to accomplish them with me, and I must make that easy for them.
What’s next for Enaky?
Growth, growth, growth. I want to keep creating music that stands the test of time. I want to make catalogues of emotive songs that people can always lean on. I always keep it honest and straight from the heart. Also, my first music project should be out in November — I’m very excited to share when it’s time.
Rema is now one of the biggest Afrobeats exports and unarguably the leader of his generation of artists. With records of hits and numbers to back it up, we look at all the times he proved that he’s the HIM of his era.
Winning the Headies Next rated award at 19
In 2019, Rema won the Next Rated award category at the 13th edition of Headies. While receiving his award on stage, he called himself the future of Nigerian music. Fast-forward to this moment, it’s fair to say his prophecy is manifesting.
In April 2023, Rema became the most streamed Afrobeats artist on Spotify with the deluxe edition of his debut album, Raves & Roses. The album hit one billion streams, making it the highest streamed African album of all time; this was the first of its kind on the digital platform.
REMA's 'Rave & Roses' becomes the first African project in history to surpass 1 billion streams on Spotify, following 'Ultra' version. pic.twitter.com/QoZZm8x2mY
In June, Raves and Roses broke its record and set a new one after hitting 1.5 billion streams. By July, Raves & Roses (Deluxe) became a two billi baby.
Calm Down (both original and the remix) are top two on most exported Afrobeats songs list.
Performing at Lollapalooza 2023
In August, Remy Boy joined a large number of musicians from all over the world to perform at the 2023 Lollapalooza edition in Chicago. His performance and crowd engagement skills are highly captivating — a superstar doings.
Rema first climbed the Billboard chart in 2020 with his jam, Woman, peaking at number 15 on the World Digital Sales. His consistency and strategic collaboration pushed him further to the Billboard Hot 100 with Calm Down featuring Selena Gomez on April 22, 2023. The same song also catapulted LONDON and Andre Vibez to the highest charting Nigerian music producers on the Billboard Hot 100 Producers. He’s also the second rated artist on Billboard’s U.S Afrobeats Songs chart.
Headies’ speech and wins
During the Headies’ 16th music award ceremony on September 4th, 2023, Rema delivered a solid speech, charging the Nigerian music industry to unite and show more regards to their fans and the music institutions. On the same night, he went home with three awards (Best Male Artist, African Artist and Digital Artist of the Year). The guest artist on his Calm Down remix, Selena Gomez bagged the International Artist of the Year while the director of the music video of the song (Director K) won the best music video award.
A winning circle.
1 billion Spotify streams
When Rema released the smashing remix to his hit Calm Down in 2022, reviews and opinions ridiculed his choice of guest artist. Some even said (and still does) that he was desperate for foreign acceptance. But now, the song has hit one billion streams, becoming the first African single to do so.
Rema and Afrobeats are the rave of the moments. So are these stars too. All Afrobeats moments are curated for you here.
In my opinion, Big Brother Naija Season 4, AKA Pepper Dem 2019, was the most dramatic of them all.
At the peak of the chaos, Tacha and Omashola had their famous fight in Biggie’s house, and viral music producer and content creator, Lord Sky, flipped the video clip to audio, laid it on an Ogene beat and turned into a banging mp3.
In 2020, Omashola, Tacha and Lord Sky brought some more housemates and friends together to do a music video for what Lord Sky had made. Money that could’ve been spent on COVID-19 palliatives for the poor was lavished on an abuse fest movie.
Lord Sky owned the song; Omashola and Tacha were just sample characters on the beat. So how did it get credited asOmashola’s song featuring others?
P.S: “Chiwawa” is the song title and it’s just Nigerian for “Chihuahua”.
Anyway.
If you didn’t already know you shouldn’t take this song seriously, you’d know from the beginning of the video.
Do I even need to say why?
I can’t tell if this is a high court or a circus. But they’re in a court of law. Are the balls on the judge’s table there to signify that “the ball is in his court” regardless of who’s actually guilty?
Don’t even get me started on the fake Navy officer who can’t tell a court setting from the air force. Or this restless court clerk.
Then comes Lord Sky. We know he was the producer, but why is he cooking in a court? He even brought his piano and Yamaha H8 studio monitors along. Why?
The song finally starts playing as Omashola and Tacha take their oaths. And we see that the video casts Nasty Black as a lawyer, only he’s holding a goat.
I’m not really surprised to see a goat in court because only stubborn people get dragged there anyway.
Next, someone strolls a Chihuahua dog to the front. Confusion gets me for two seconds, then it becomes clear. Remember the animals Omashola and Tacha called each other during their classic fight back then? They’re about to have a refight through an actual goat AKA Lil Sholzy, and Chihuahua AKA Little P Bites.
Little P Bites can fight.
The court audience is shouting, but it’s not clear if they’re rooting for any of these fighters.
Tacha, a defendant in the dock, is quietly thinking what in the fooling is going on. Omashola, a co-defendant obviously not conforming to court rules, is the one taking centre stage and causing drama.
Screams of “Barking dog, Chihuahua, nkiti, nzobu and anofia” mix smoothly with Lord Sky’s beat banging in the background.
A human fight breaks out finally as lawyer Nasty Black puts his finger in the presiding judge’s eyes while his client, Lil Sholzy, sprays documents in the air.
Tacha’s calmness ends, and “She-goat, Chihuahua, anofia” is thrown left and right.
Some of the audience are only there for the entertainment and are getting what they come for. While others focus on their female counterparts, ignoring the foolery around them.
In the midst of the chaos, a dance talent show breaks out. Three guys in shine-shine clothing do a funny routine. Nasty Black and the reigning face of misogyny, Seyi Awolowo, join in.
Female dancers aren’t left out.
The judge joins the circus.
Lord Skye knows the abuse fest won’t end until he calls his guys to set-up to entertain with music.
When Lord Skye begins playing, the spirit of unity falls on everybody. Fight ceases, and they all become cordial.
Lil Sholzy finally escapes and Nasty Black runs after it.
Tacha and Omashola give each other a hi-five and become best friends forever.
The video ends with a message on the screen as Omashola admonishes Little P Bites to stop tensioning Lil Sholzy.
I want to use this medium to thank Lord Skye for being an incredible pacifier, even though he cooked the video clips into a viral hit in the first place.
Thanks to the fighters, Tacha and Omashola, too. Finally, the two adults can rest from calling the names of animals in English and local tongues.
Okay, enough reaching for today.
Nigerian comedian and musician, Basketmouth, took to his socials on August 27th to announce that his third studio album is ready for release. Get all the gist here.
His third album
First it was Yabasi in 2020, one of the year’s best Nigerian releases. A year and two months later, he put out his second LP, Horoscope (2022), and he was lauded for it too. Barely 21 months after that, UBURU, his third music project, is locked in and ready to launch. We hope a trifecta will be achieved with the new album.
UBURU
“Uburu” is an Igbo word that means “brain”, which may mean only the best heads made this album. Subtle title; bold statement.
Out in October
UBURU is set to drop in October 2023. But Basketmouth hasn’t given an exact day yet.
Yabisi featured a cut onion on the cover. Horoscopes had horoscope symbols. UBURU shows Basketmouth’s face with his heated brain hovering over it.
One producer
UBURU‘s production credit goes to one person, Duktor Sett — the same talented man who cooked all the beats on Yabasi and Horoscopes.
This one-man producer formula looks to be working great for Basketmouth and his team.
The line-up choke
Basketmouth listed out some of the brains who’ve contributed to UBURU, in a video he posted on August 28, 2023. Expect features like Reminisce, BOJ, Lojay, Laycon, Timi Dakolo, Falz and frequent collaborator, Duncan Mighty.
