The Return of the Pied Piper of R & B

After a little while in his lab, R. Kelly is back after his 2012 album, "Write me back" with his latest song called "My story" which features rave rapper of the moment 2 Chainz.  This hypnotic offering is fresh off his upcoming 12th album predictably titled "Black Panties". 

My story was released to a global army of fans yesterday (29th of July) and is already receiving rave reviews and comments from the faithful who have followed him from his first album "Born into the 90s" and re-introduce him to a whole new generation of fans who probably weren't born when he made his debut.

Close followers of R may recall that he performed this track at the 2013 BET Awards earlier this year. A bodacious song carried by some tight throbbing guitar play interspersed by some mean percussion that gets your head bobbing. 2 Chainz as usual throws down brilliantly  

The track is an emphatic return by a consummate artist who we have come to associate with fantastic music. No wonder Billboard in 2011 named him the R &  B artiste of the last 25 years.

Meet His Royal Highness: Prince George of Cambridge

On Monday the 22nd of July 2013, the British Royal Family welcomed their newest member to the world. A strapping male child born to Prince William and wife Kate at St. Mary's Hospital, London.

Queen Elizabeth paid a visit to her great-grandson early Wednesday afternoon at Kensington Palace and few hours after she left, Will & Kate announced his name to the world as - George Alexander Louis. To be addressed as Prince George of Cambridge.

Here a few interesting facts about the three day old Prince George

• Queen Elizabeth made history as the first reigning British monarch since 1894 to meet with a great-grandchild who is in direct succession to the throne.

The Queen leaving Kensington Palace after seeing Prince George

• He is third in line to the throne, leapfrogging his uncle Harry. He will certainly succeed his father to become King George VII.

(L to R) King George III, King George V & King George VI

• Before his name was announced, the name George had been declared a sure bet by top UK gambling companies including William Hill, Coral and Paddy Power.

William Hill Bookmakers Office

• Named just 48 hours after he was born, Prince George's naming is one the fastest ever in his family's history. His father William was named a week after he was born and his grandfather Charles, a month after birth.

Guns ring out in honour of the Prince

• Royal births are usually celebrated with a 41-gun salute by the Queen's Troop Royal Horse Artillery but this this salute was held in Green Park, Royal grounds and so customarily demands an extra 21 to make a total of 62 booming cannons.

• This is just the third would-be king born in a hospital. His father and uncle, Princes William and Harry were the first and second. They were all born at the Lindo wing in St. Mary's Hospital, London while the rest have all been born in Royal Palaces or homes

Lindo wing

Chelsea FC Supporters Strip Manchester United Fan Of His Jersey

One Manchester United fan in Kuala Lumpur naively offered himself as the butt of a very mischievous joke by wearing last season's title winning jersey to watch Chelsea take on Malaysia Star 11- amidst a sea of blue jerseys!

Bad Idea

The wave of blue covered our Premier League enthusiast and decided the red top had to go.

The beauty of it all was it wasn't done maliciously. Just a little lighthearted fun on a nice friendly match day that Chelsea won 4-1. I can't say for sure if the Man Utd man would say the same thing though.

Source

Bruno Mars "Treasure" Rewinds The Clock In Style

Super talented singer/songwriter Bruno Mars just released the video for "Treasure" the third single from his second album "Unorthodox Jukebox". Born Peter Gene Hernandez into a musical family in Hawaii, U.S.A, Mars has a feel for old school stuff that he exhibited in his first album "Doo-Wops & Hooligans". The first single released from Jukebox was "Locked out of heaven": a knee slapping, 1980's type rock anthem performed in honour of one of his favourite rock bands, The Police. 

Mars greatest asset is his depth and versatility that he uses to pull off one classic after the other. Treasure is the quintessential disco style funk/R & B tune and Mars pulls it off so convincingly that he makes you ask "how old is this guy anyway?"  Effortlessly channeling 1970's groups like The Whispers, Earth, Wind & Fire and Midnight Star complete with a betamax quality video. He continues on a path of creative brilliance that shows no sign of waning. His game actually seems to be getting stronger.

Definitely 3 minutes of my life pleasurably spent. What do you all think? 

Bloomberg Rates Nigeria The Most Stressful Place In The World

Bloomberg just recently pulled out another fact that says that from a sampling of 74 countries in the world, Nigeria, closely followed by South Africa, El-Salvador & Mongolia are the toughest environments to live! At the other extreme of this table are the top four least stressful places in the world - Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Sweden. Incidentally the use of anti-depressants in some of the top twenty least stressful countries sampled have risen by as much as 1000% since the 1980's. Now that's some irony right there. The U.S.A is interestingly the 54th most stressful place in the world to be. 

The variables analysed for this Homicide Rates, GDP (purchasing power), Income equality, Corruption, Unemployment, Air pollution & Life expectancy. 

Blackberry DP Of The Day

Thanks Valentine.

Stallone & Schwarzenegger Pair Up For Prison Thriller - "The Escape Plan"

The two action movie legends pair up again for "The Escape Plan". In this movie Stallone playing a Structural Engineer called Ray Breslin who is wrongly convicted and imprisoned in his ultimate creation - the world's most secure prison.

In prison he befriends a fist-fight loving, equally middle aged inmate named Swan Rottmayer played by Schwarzenegger. Both of them are highly capable men and come together with a plan to escape with the help of Hush, a computer expert played by 50 Cent. To be honest when I heard "Fiddy": was in the flick, I just automatically thought of him in a tank top with pistols jammed into every pocket in his G-Unit jeans. He plays a surprisingly cerebral role in the movie.

As if escaping from the monster of technology and steel that Stallone's character built wasn't bad enough, our three heroes have to survive other inmates as well as the brutal Chief Warden of the prison and his bodyguard played by Jim Caveziel and Vinnie Jones.

Recent movies from these two old foxes have failed to "make it rain" at the box office but the popularity of their era of high-testosterone, macho-men of the 1980's and 1990's has not waned at all. The recent success of the "Expendables", "Die Hard", "Olympus has fallen" and other blockbusters lends credence to the fact that movie fans have missed the all-out action that these two men represent. Something about this film smells of a classic that may  earn a place in our archives.

Movie is slated for release in September so watch out for it.

"ALLAH WILL GIVE MY MUM & DAD JUSTICE" - Lekan Abiola Reacts To Acquittal Of Al-Mustapha & Shofolahan

Following the release of Hamza Al-Mustapha and Lateef Shofolahan, accused of masterminding the killing of Kudirat Abiola, her son, Lekan Abiola, has expressed disappointment over Friday’s Appeal Court judgment, which upturned the death sentence

According to reports, the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos had earlier on Friday discharged and acquitted the former Chief Security Officer to the late Gen. Sani Abacha (Al-Mustapha) and Shofolahan, an ex-aide to the late Kudirat.

Two African Students Invent Anti-Malaria Soap

Its funny how this slipped under the radar. Must be all the bad news going round in the world.

Two African students have invented a mosquito repellent soap that many believe can help save millions of lives in Sub-Saharan Africa by checking the spread of malaria which is spread by mosquito bites and accounts for 90% of deaths in the region. According  to the World Health Organization, malaria caused an estimated 660, 000 people (mostly children) in 2010. With Africa and the Republic of Congo account for 40% of that figure.

Moktar Dembele from Burkina Faso and Gerard Niyodinko from Burundi won the Global Social Venture Competition in April this year. The two lads made history by becoming the first non-Americans to win the competition. 

They named their invention, "Faso Soap". It is made from karate citronella and other herbs which grow locally in their respective countries. If marketed correctly, the soap will make immediate impact in Africa, the inventors believe.

"We want a simple solution, because everyone uses soap, even in the very poor communities" said Dembele.

FUNNY VIDEO: Terry G Featuring Rivers House of Assembly

I knew Nigerians would not wait long before they made a joke out of yesterday's disgrace. Enjoy the stupidity.

Pacific Rim: The Surprise Hit of The Summer?

Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro, the man responsible for Hellboy and the dark, fascinating Pan's Labyrinth looks set to orchestrate something of a coup over the established summer blockbuster "sure-bets" like Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel. Though there has been plenty of good stuff to watch, there's always room for a dark horse to captivate fans used to certain franchises. Pacific Rim from pre-release reviews could be the movie people will be talking about as the next big thing. It has plenty an adult moviegoer would like to see and everything kids would want in a movie.

The movie is set in the year 2020 and mankind is under attack from very very big amphibious beasts (the Kaiju) that have escaped from a gargantuan crack in the floor of the pacific ocean and have killed millions in a seven year war. The governments and corporations of the world come together to build equally huge warrior robots (the Jaegers) that have enough weaponry to make popular robot heroes like the  Transformers and even Voltron look ordinary.

The movie stars Idris Elba, Charlie Hunnam & Ron Perlman among a host of others as a team of fighters who pilot the robots tasked with saving humanity. Its basically a movie about robots fighting monsters and fans of Del Toro's work should expect something entertaining when the credits roll. Some critics have pilloried it for trying to mirror Will Smith's  Independence Day. Well critics will be critics, some watch to critique while some like us watch to enjoy.

10 Years Ago: 5 Songs That Helped 5 Superstars Blow Up In 2003

Its funny how ten years can pass by in the twinkle of an eye. Ten years ago a thuggish muscular rapper, a white MJ wannabe, a veteran rapper, a break dancing rap crew and a british band became household names. Take a look at the songs that "blew" them up.

“In Da Club” by 50 Cent

Curtis Jackson went from underground hustler to overnight superstar with the release of this song. It was released under Shady/Aftermath Records and produced by the great Dr. Dre who put together a unforgettable beat that 50 Cent blazed mercilessly over.  I remember the song made to want to be in a Club.

 “Hey ya” by Andre 3000

The other half of Atlanta rap duo Outkast released this single as part of the double album shared by him and partner Big boi “Speakerbox/The love below”. Though he was already a star the song was a rip roaring hit. A mishmash of funk,hip-hop and pop that is probably one of the most unique songs ever performed by a hip-hop artiste.

“Where is the love” by Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas had also been around for a while like and had scored a couple of notable tracks like “Request line” in which they featured Macy Gray. “Where is the love” which featured the vocals of a newly solo Justin Timberlake brought them into the mainstream limelight and the rest is history. I even heard a sermon in church where the preacher started with “Where is the love my people?”

“Clocks” by Coldplay

This song featured a fantastic piano riff that has been rehashed and copied by many. The song is still probably the band’s best known song.

“Rock your body” by Justin Timberlake

This Michael Jackson type song produced by the Neptunes was Justin Timberlake’s launch pad to a hugely successfully career. The song was reportedly originally written for MJ. Justin must be thanking his stars that he got to perform it instead of the King of Pop

Breaking News: Rivers State Assembly Erupts In Free For All Fight

Eye witness reports have it that a major brawl erupted in the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex this morning. The fight was said to have been between pro-Amaechi and anti-Amaechi lawmakers in the House.

Five lawmakers loyal to Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Nwike were said to have temporarily impeached the Speaker of the House, Otelemeba Dan Amachree who is said to be pro-Amaechi and replaced him one Hon. B.B.Evans. Word was said to have reached Governor Amaechi who stormed the House to reinstate Amachree with his aides and security detail leading to fists and weapons flying. Amaechi's crew got the upper hand and were able to reinstate Amachree. The rest of the day's proceedings took place under extremely tight security.

Lawmakers said to have been hospitalised this morning include Chidi Lloyd, Martins Emewhule and Michael Chinda.

Pretty shameful exhibition of misplaced priorities by these politicians. More updates coming.

The Terry G "Book of Ginjah" Concert Review: Friday night with the Akpako master

Fresh off the release of his latest album, "Book of Ginjah", Terry G visited Abuja to treat the fans to a live show. The  performance was something of a formal introduction to his new material and Kizaro's Blog was there live as it happened last Friday at the Thisday Dome, Abuja. Shout out to Chris O of Goodwill Ambassador Organisation for the VIP worthy logistics. 

The  show started off at about 10pm with a number of upcoming Abuja based acts who opened the stage with some really enthusiastic performances that seemed to excite a bored crowd with each passing act.

The signal to an escalation of the event was Denrele's mounting of the stage at 11:30pm in a trademark wacky leather suit  decked with shiny metal, studs and knee length boots complete with 12 inch heels. His hyperactive antics set the tempo up for the evening as he interacted with the crowd until he opened the floor for comedians AY and Akpororo who worked the crowd and cracked ribs back to back for about forty five minutes. AY was compere for the evening and tickled the crowd any chance he got on the mic.

Wande Coal & Terry G

Slizzy-E was next and dished out two of his songs followed by Donna Diva. At about midnight, W4 came on to treat the crowd to a Fela-esque rendition of "Wa Gba Control" and suddenly the flurry of top acts went like lightning. Chuddy K's energy lit up the hall when he leaped off the stage and strutted past the VIP section to rock it out with the fans in the regular seats with "Gaga crazy" & "Brazilian Hair".

Chuddy K making his way to the crazy fans in the back

K-Cee was next to give the crowd a sample of his current No. 1 club banger "Limpopo". Ketchup & Splash also threw down. Veteran comedians Gordons and Klint the drunk gave cameo performances  and gave way for the man of the evening, Terry G.

Terry G came in at about 1.am in grand style through the front gates from behind the crowd singing his hit, "God guide me". Backed up by a full band complete with a saxophonist and trumpeter he treated the crowd to a number of hits, hardcore fans almost stormed the stage when he gave a rendition of his street anthem "Free madness". It took the bouncers and Terry G's "chopping of knuckle" with many of the fans to calm them down. He was joined on stage by Timaya for a hot collabo on "Malonogede". Timaya was a surprise package and treated the crowd to a good time, followed by Wande Coal and Solid Star who really looked like they came out to have fun with their fans.

The show had rough edges and the performances of the artistes could have showed more intentional stagecraft as the acts all seemed to do the same thing over and over. The artistes however gave an amazing account of themselves with some spontaneous brilliance and gave the fans something to relish. Also noticed were a number of fans with bells which seem to be Terry G's new favourite instrument and a backup dancer dressed in 'Cele' prayer clothing. The show was like the star of the day - eccentric, entertaining and full of surprises. 

DESPICABLE ME II: The Return of Gru

Despicable Me was the surprise smash hit of 2010 and made $540 million worldwide. For the initiated, the original story was about Gru, a middle-aged super-villain obsessed with the greatest crime ever in history who meets his match in the form of three cute little orphans and an  upcoming young super villain. It was the 10th most successful animated movie ever in the USA and a critics favorite

In the sequel, Gru (now a good guy) is recruited by the Anti-Villain League to battle a new super criminal. The movie doesn't disappoint in the area of humor as there are loads and loads of laugh worthy scenes but it  lacks the surprise factor that the original had, however like the first one, its a refreshing, enjoyable and sometimes naughty piece. Definitely worth checking out.

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LIVE: Terry G "Book of Ginjah" Concert

Terry G assembled an all-star repertoire for his "Book of Ginjah" Concert which took place at the Thisday Dome, Central Area, Abuja on the 5th of July 2013.

The roll call of artistes include Chuddy K, W4, Denrele, AY, Akpororo, Slizzy-E, Klint the Drunk... still loading so watch this thread to see who features.

Denrele shows love to a fan

July 4th,1976: The Miraculous Raid On Entebbe

Exactly 37 years ago, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) pulled off one of the most daring and successful rescue operations in history.

The Entebbe Airport terminal building 

The story began on the 27th of June 1976 when an Air France flight that originated from Tel-Aviv was hijacked by four terrorists from Palestine and West Germany who boarded the flight during a stopover at Athens Airport. The plane was forced to land in Benghazi, Libya for refueling and then took off for Entebbe Airport, Uganda.  When the plane landed in Uganda, four more terrorists joined the party and the Jewish passengers were separated from the rest and herded into the airport terminal. Non Jews were put on another plane and flown out of Uganda. Idi Amin was in full support of the terrorists and personally welcomed them. Ugandan troops were also posted to secure the area.

Wilfried Bose, one of the German
terrorists killed by the IDF

The hijackers made their demands clear - they wanted the release of 40 members of the Palestinian Liberation Organization being held in Israel and 13 others held in different countries. They gave an ultimatum that if the men were not released by the 1st of July they would commence the killing of the 106 hostages. The Israeli military knew that a military option or diplomatic would not be feasible in the limited time available. Miraculously Idi Amin the then Chairman of the Organization of African Unity extended the deadline till the 4th of July. By the 3rd of July the rescue operation was approved and on the 4th of July at about 2300 hours (11pm) an Israeli Lockheed C-130 flew into Ugandan airspace at approximately 100 feet to avoid detection.

The plane landed with the cargo bay open and 29 crack commandos led by Lt. Col. Yonathan Netanyahu stealthily stormed the airport in a convoy of cars identical to that used by President Idi Amin and raided the terminal where the Israeli hostages were being kept. The Israelis had a huge tactical edge because the terminal had been built by Israeli construction firm, Solel Boneh and the commandos had practiced the operation with a replica of the terminal over and over. Within 30 minutes of the assault the C-130 had taken off Ugandan soil headed for Israel via Kenya and the IDF commandos had rescued 102 of the hostages while losing four and lost one soldier, none other than the commander Lt. Col. Netanyahu. The commandos dispatched 7 of the hijackers and killed at least 45 Ugandan soldiers.

The Late Lt.Col Yoni Netanyahu

Jubilation as the hostages land on Israeli soil

The operation was a startling success and was a morale boosting victory against international terrorism that plagued the 1970's. It also inspired a number of movies, books and even copycat operations like the disastrous Operation Eagle Claw hatched by the US government to rescue 53 Americans held hostage in Tehran during the Iranian hostage crisis.

Black Solo's Releases Video For "Ekene Oma"

Black Solo recently released the video for his praise single titled "Ekene Oma". Born Solomon Bello in Enugu State, he was inspired to go into music by Bob Marley and Beenie Man and started as a reggae/dancehall artiste. He's an affiliated act with the likes of Tuface Idibia, Terry G and Odogwu (Faze's brother and manager).

Though not easily recognizable or a household name yet, he is one artiste who has been in the game for a long time and has a lot of street credibility. "Ekene Oma" is a traditional Niger Delta praise and worship song that channels the brilliant instrumentals of ''Jesus Bu Eze'',  Duncan Mighty's song from his 2008 debut album. Black Solo started off beautifully but wasted a beat he could have done so much with. It started out praising the good Lord but quickly descends into a ''hailing'' spree giving ''props'' to celebrities and chairmen. All in all quite a good song.

Look out for a cameo in the video by none other than ''ex''-militant warlord, Ateke Tom.

Hostilities Escalate Between Boko Haram & ''Civilian JTF''

The violence between Boko Haram and the vigilante group in Borno State popularly called ''Civilian JTF'' took a bloody turn on Wednesday afternoon when the vigilante group invaded the Jajeri Ward behind Baga market in Maiduguri at about 1pm. The group led by their leader Abubakar Maulum stormed the terrorists stronghold and a fierce exchange of gunfire as and free use of locally made bombs was said to have erupted. Several people are said to have died in the fire fight..

This battle came a day after a group of about 200 youth missed the Borno State ANPP Chairman, Alhaji Mala Othman by whiskers when they descended on his GRA home on tuesday chanting ''Sai Mun Kawo Karshensu'' (we must bring an end to their activities). The vigilantes have openly accused him of being a sponsor of Boko Haram. They were outraged when security operatives attached to Alhaji Othman helped him escape and angrily burnt the house to the ground.

While the efforts of the group should be applauded and encouraged, its not very comforting to note that these vigilantes seem to have moved from being an unarmed, intelligence gathering posse to an armed posse armed with guns and the know-how to fabricate bombs. It would be wise for the JTF to mop the guns up and limit the activities of the boys.

"Fighting" Father Smith: The Hardest Priest in the World

Father David B. Smith

Father Dave Smith is the resident priest and rector of Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Sydney in "down under" Australia. This very unusual man of God is a 6th Degree black belt holder in karate, professional boxer and former Kickboxing champion who literally "fights the good fight". 

As a young pastor he cooked up plenty of ways to get the youth of Sydney off the streets and into the Trinity Youth Center, away from drugs and gang violence outside. He was known to walk through the streets of Sydney and challenge tough youth to combat in the Ring. The deal would be if he lost the fight he would buy a round of coffee and donuts but if he won the vanquished would have to come to church the next Sunday. He has been constantly been referred to as a pretty mean character in the Ring by opponents he has faced. The said "meanness" is confined to the gym as the father of three is known for being very gentle and soft spoken when he's outside it.

Father Smith (left) vs  MMA Fighter Pitbull Grimma

The father of three recently attempted to enter the Guinness Book of Records for fighting 120 consecutive rounds over a period of 8 hours. This was used to raise money for a Sydney Youth Center that rehabilitates drug and alcohol addicts. 

NLC Kicks Against Abolition of Minimum Wage By Senate

NLC President Mr. AbdulWaheed Omar 

The Nigerian Labour Congress has condemned the plan by the Senate to remove the Minimum Wage Law from the Exclusive List.

The move, the NLC said, was inimical to the well-being of the weak and economically disadvantaged persons in the country.

The NLC President, Mr. Abdulwahed Omar, who stated this in a statement  on Sunday, added that the initiative had serious implications for national security, productivity and well-being of the low-income earners.

He noted that if given the opportunity to fix their respective minimum wages, state governments would not hesitate to pay minimum wages as low as N1,000 to their workers in spite of the huge resources available to them.

 He said “The Nigeria Labour Congress notes with concern efforts by the Senate to remove the national Minimum Wage Law from the Exclusive List in defiance of reason, popular opinion and protection of the interest of the weak and the vulnerable.

“The removal will unnecessarily expose Nigerian workers, especially, those in the low-income bracket, with grave implications for security, productivity and national well-being, as most state governments if given the latitude, will pay wages as low as N1,000 per month in spite of the relatively enormous resources available to them.

How Chelsea Owner Roman Abramovich Changed Professional Football

Roman Abramovich

Almost exactly ten years ago, in 2003, a close friend and die hard Chelsea Football Club Ultra fan called ND used to keep going on and on about a Russian billionaire who had bought over his club and how they were going to dominate England and blah blah blah. Of course I and other non-fans laughed him down. As time went by I got familiar with the baby faced and humble looking money bag but wasn't convinced that Chelsea would do anything different. After all they had fantastic players over the years like Gianfranco Zola, Marcel Dessailly, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Gustavo Poyet but they had been known more for winning the then named Carling Cup and scarcely anything else.

In April 2004, "doubting thomases" like myself and ahem! Arsenal supporters got to understand that there was nothing usual about the business when Claudio Ranieri's boys  knocked Arsenal FC out of the Champions League in the quarter finals. It was significant because that Arsenal was one of the strongest ever, boasting of titans in their prime like Thierry Henry, Vieira, Edu, Reyes, Ljungberg, Kolo Toure and other players who just a season before had gone unbeaten in a whole season. It was a coup especially as Chelsea almost had a tradition of losing to them.

The impact of raw seemingly unlimited cash bought success to Chelsea and paved the way for the likes of mega buck football fans to take over teams like Manchester City, PSG and Monaco.

Here's a year by year tracking of the "Chelski" era.