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Egyptian composer, Mina Samy makes history as first African to make top 5 in ‘Call for Score’ list

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Foremost Egyptian film composer and music producer, Mina Samy has made history after he was ranked as the first African to be listed in top five composers at the “Call for Score” 2023 competition organized by the Film Scoring Academy of Europe and the European Recording Orchestra.

Samy was the only Egyptian and African to secure a place in the top five spot out of a total of 700 competing composers from around the world in the list released on Thursday.

The listing made it the second win of 2023 for Samy who, in January, received the “Silver Medal” of outstanding achievement in Music Composition at the Global Music Awards.

In a report by Egypt Today, Samy’s career in the film-music industry features an array of remarkable achievements, starting with him receiving the Sawiris Arts and Culture Scholarship in 2021.

“He pursued his master’s degree in Film Scoring at London’s Royal College of Music, where he was appointed as the President of the Film Scoring Society for the 2022/2023 term,” the authoritative media outfit wrote.

“Throughout his studies, Mina Samy kept himself busy in the industry, working alongside top professionals and organizing master-classes in collaboration with award-winning film composers and specialists to share their knowledge.

“He also collaborated with filmmakers from prestigious institutions including the Royal College of Arts and London Film School.

“He has composed for various short films that have received official praise at UK film festivals and globally, and his work features prominently in prominent advertising campaigns such as the the UAE governmental Census 2023, a Covid awareness campaign by the WHO and UNICEF Egypt directed by acclaimed Egyptian director Tamer Ashry, and a Bosch Gulf campaign,” the media stated.

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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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