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Nigerian singers, Burna Boy, Tems, Rema steal show with NBA All-Stars halftime performance

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The 2023 NBA All-Stars game played on Sunday, February 19, will go down on history as the trio of Nigerian singers, Burna Boy, Tems and Rema put up scintillating performances that organisers feel justified that in incorporating a special African-themed Afrobeat held at the Vivint Arena, adding flavour for the event.

In celebrating African contributions to the NBA including the league’s partnership with FIBA in creating the Basketball Africa League, the 2023 All-Star Game Halftime Show featured three of Africa’s most prominent Afrobeats/Afropop performers who were introduced by Cameroonian Toronto Raptors’ star, Pascal Siakam.

The halftime show which was always the major highlight of an All-Star game, opened with Burna Boy playing two of his hit songs, “Anybody” and “It’s Plenty,” followed by young Rema who wowed the crowd with renditions of “Calm Down” and “Holiday.”

Grammy Award winner, Tems, rounded up to close things out the huge crowd with her hits, “Crazy Tings,” “Free Mind,” her verse from Wizkid’s “Essence,” and her verse from Future’s “Wait For U.”

According to a post on the website of the NBA, the Nigerian “singers were all accompanied by dazzling visual effects, a dance team that incorporated both traditional and modern African dances, and a band that kept the vibe lively.”

“And just when it appeared that things were winding up, Burna Boy returned for renditions of his megahit “Last Last” which threw the crowd into a frenzy, including players who rocked to every bit of the song,” the post said.

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Culture

South African Jazz great Abdullah Ibrahim to embark on world tour at age 90

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Renowned South African jazz master and pianist, Abdullah Ibrahim, is set to embark on an unprecedented world tour to celebrate his extraordinary career which has spanned more than seven decades, as well as celebrate his 90th birthday which comes up on October 9.

Ibrahim’s management team which announced the planned tour on Wednesday, said the tour will also be marked with Ibrahim’s 90th birthday which will also showcase his dexterity as a jazz musician.

Music writer, Christine Lucia, who has followed Ibrahim’s career for more than 30 years and has studied the iconic star’s work as well as published research articlesabout him, said the planned tour was a way of letting the world have a feel of him in his twilight years.

A profile of the distinguished pianist reveals that he was born on 9 October 1934 in Cape Town.

Ibrahim grew up in Cape Town’s District Six and his compositions are characterized by his upbringing and his experiences with racism and political upheaval.

His music has evolved over seven decades, reflecting social change and personal introspection.

Ibrahim is the finest jazz pianist-composer that South Africa has ever produced and has been described as the country’s equivalent of the US jazz star, Duke Ellington, because his “legacy lies not only in his live performances or multiple recordings but also in his large number of compositions.”

“He was brought up going by the name Dollar Brand and was shaped personally by his mixed-race parentage and by growing up in the mixed-race area of central Cape Town formerly known as District Six,” Lucia wrote about the star.

“He was shaped by the violent political landscape of racism and oppression. As a young man he was also shaped by his conversion to Islam in 1968, which is when he took the name Abdullah Ibrahim, and by his practice of martial arts and Zen, a form of Buddhism.”

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Wizkid, Davido’s online battle gets nasty as they exchange ‘dirty’ tweets

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The online battle between two of Nigeria’s biggest music stars, Ayodeji Balogun, aka Wizkid, and David Adedeji, popularly known as Davido, has continued to generate more controversies as the two have refused to back down, going as far as exchanging insulting tweets.

The fight between the two superstars was reignited on Monday when Wizkid threw a shade at Davido while responding to a fan’s request on X for a new music.

Wizkid reportedly posted a leaked video of Davido begging someone believed to be a female associate.

While on it, the Grammy award-winning singer also dissed the successful music producer and label owner, Don Jazzy, calling him a social media ‘influencer’.

The post generated serious uproar on the micro-blogging platform, with fans of both music stars taking up sides and attacking one another.

In response, Davido, on Monday night, dropped a series of cryptic tweets believed to be responses to the “Ojuelegba” crooner.

In one of the tweets, Davido said:

“Dem no know your Gbedu”, which many believed was aimed at Wizkid who said he had earlier hinted that he would drop his much anticipated ‘Morayo’ album in May.

Davido followed up with another tweet:

“When light comes, darkness vanishes. Let get active.”

He went further by posting a video of his wife, Chioma, with the caption, “They were trying to distract us, baby no mind dem”.

Wizkid took up the challenge with his own tweet which came with a dig:

“U and all ur crew plus ur pant washer songwriter go to sleep at night thinking you got anything on me in music 🤣😂 wish u all well ✌️”

He followed it up with another tweet:

“U know what..no point. delusional niggas 😇 pray for y’all.”

Davido quickly responded with another tweet:

“WE NOT DELUSIONAL YOU’RE A SICK MAN,” which was a confirmation that there is no love lost between both Afrobeat stars.

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