Culture

Nigerian singer, Mr Eazi sells portfolio company, Vydia, for $1bn

Published

1 year ago

April 21, 2023

Nigerian Afro Beats singer, Oluwatosin Ajibade, popularly known as Mr Eazi, has, once again, shown his business acumen after he sold the portfolio company of his venture capital fund, Zagadat Capital, Vydia, for a reported $1 billion.

Mr Eazi who is also an established business mogul, announced on Thursday that Vydia, a digital audio and video distribution infrastructure company, was acquired by American firm, Gamma, for the princely sum.

Gamma, a music and technology firm owned by former Apple Music Executive, Larry Jackson, also confirmed the acquisition of Vydia, saying the deal “epitomises the vision of Gamma as an ideas company.”

The deal which is unarguably the biggest in the history of Afrobeats in Africa, has catapulted Mr Eazi into a consummate business mogul with hands in different lucrative business pies.

He is also the owner of music distribution platform emPawa which previously worked with artists like Fave, Joeboy, Darkavibes, and Bella Alubo.

Apart from making music, Mr Eazi is also a big time entrepreneur as he has backed several African-focused startups including PawaPay, an African mobile payments company, Talent City, an urban development startup, and Eden Life, a Lagos-based food delivery and lifestyle startup.

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Culture

Egypt reclaims 3,400-year-old stolen statue of King Ramses II

Published

9 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Egypt has received a 3,400-year-old statue depicting the head of King Ramses II that was stolen and smuggled out of the country more than three millennia a ago, the country’s Antiquities Ministry said in a statement.

According to the Ministry, the statue was stolen from the Ramses II temple in the ancient city of Abydos in Southern Egypt more than three decades ago.

Head of Egypt’s Antiquities Repatriation Department, Shaaban Abdel Gawad, who received the artefact said though the exact date the artefact was stolen is not known, the piece is estimated to have been stolen in the late 1980s or early 1990s.

“The statue is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo but not on display. The artefact will be restored,” he said.

He stated that Egyptian authorities spotted the artefact when it was offered for sale in an exhibition in London in 2013 before it was moved to several other countries before reaching Switzerland.

“This head is part of a group of statues depicting King Ramses II seated alongside a number of Egyptian deities,” Abdel Gawad said.

King Ramses II is one of ancient Egypt’s most powerful Pharaohs. Also known as Ramses the Great, he was the third pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty of Egypt and ruled from 1279 to 1213 BC.

“Egypt collaborated with Swiss authorities to establish its rightful ownership and Switzerland handed over the statue to the Egyptian embassy in Bern last year, but it was only recently that Egypt brought the artefact home, he added.

Culture

Ghana mourns as top gospel music icon Koda passes away

Published

1 day ago

April 22, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

The Ghanaian entertainment industry has, once again, been thrown into mourning following the death of renowned gospel musician, Kofi Owusu Dua Anto, known professionally as Koda, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 46.

According to reports, the gospel music icon and producer died from a kidney-related condition he had been suffering from for sometime.

Koda, renowned for hit songs like “Hossana”, “Nkwaa Abodo”, “Nsem Pii” and “Adooso”, was also a producer of repute who gained fame for his inspiring compositions and his captivating, soul-stirring vocals that struck a chord with audiences nationwide.

A local media reports that he worked with a lot of Gospel musicians in Ghana and Nigeria including popular Nigerian gospel singer, Nathaniel Bassey.