The Nigerian musician Jahborne officially dropped his new album titled M.O.N.E.Y earlier this week. The album which had already been released online before the official release dropped under UK based Roll-A-Dice Entertainment and is distributed exclusively in West Africa by Happyboys Entertainment.
Madly criticised for his album art cover which shows him holding dollar bills instead of naira bills. A speaker says "at least he should potray what is album or songs are about since his first single of that album is titled Egba Mi"
Another speaker say "How many times have you ever seen US Artist hold pounds bills"
The first single off the album titled Egba Mi featuring W4 is already enjoying massive airplay both on radio and on TV. The next song to be promoted is titled "Follow Me (Han Le Le)" and was officially released nationally to radio yesterday 5th of November 2009. The video according to the management of Roll-A-Dice Records will be shot in the UK in a couple of weeks.
For women dealing with domestic violence, singer Rihanna has a bit of advice: "Forget about love."
"Come out of the situation and look at it for what it really is," she advised during an interview on "Good Morning America" on Thursday. "Love is so blind."
Yes, that wall of silence Rihanna built after being beaten in February by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown has finally crumbled.
Her refusal to speak about what happened the night of the Grammy Awards in February -- a leaked photo later revealed Rihanna had been shockingly battered -- was out of shame, she told Diane Sawyer on "Good Morning America."
"There are a lot of women who experienced what I did, but not in the public, so [that] made it really difficult," she said. "I just thought 'Oh my God,' here goes my little bit of privacy. Nobody wants anybody to know, and here I am, the whole world knowing."
That photo, allegedly distributed by two Los Angeles Police Department officers, made a bad situation worse, she told Glamour magazine.
"It was humiliating; that is not a photo you would show to anybody," the songstress said. "I felt completely taken advantage of. I felt like people were making it into a fun topic on the Internet, and it's my life. I was disappointed, especially when I found out the photo was [supposedly leaked by] two women." Video: Rihanna: I'm embarrassed Video: Rihanna a role model? Video: Rihanna's revelations I've put everything I've wanted to say for the past eight months into my music. --Rihanna RELATED TOPICS
* Rihanna * Good Morning America * Domestic Violence
Rihanna told "Good Morning America" that Brown was definitely her first love, but that the more in love they became, the more dangerous the relationship turned. It was a reality she was too embarrassed too admit.
"I didn't want people to think that I fell in love with that person," she said. "That's embarrassing that that's the type of person I fell so far in love with, so unconditionally, that I went back."
People put her on a pedestal "with all these expectations," she said, "but I'm a human being, and I'm not perfect." Now, she can admit it was a mistake to give the relationship a second chance.
Nearly 10 months have passed since her secret came tumbling out for the world to see, and Rihanna said it was her fans who helped her finally speak up about domestic violence.
"It's pretty natural for that to be the first reaction; to [want] to go back," she told Sawyer in the interview. "The minute the physical wounds go away, you want to go back. [But] when I realized that my selfish decision for love could result [in] some young girl getting killed, I could not be easy with that part," she said with tears in her eyes.
"These are young girls, and I didn't realize how much an impact I had on these girls' lives until that happened," the singer admitted. "It takes a woman eight or nine times before she leaves, and ... that's not what I want to teach people. It was a wake-up call, big time."
The details of her decision will be the topic of a follow-up interview on "20/20" Friday. Brown was sentenced to five years of probation and six months of community service in August for the assault.
In an appearance on "Larry King Live" in September, Brown said he still loved and was in love with his former girlfriend. But, he said, "nobody taught us how to love one another. Nobody taught us a book on how to control our emotions or our anger."
He added, "I'm not trying to fall on the fact that I'm young -- I'm just saying it's a lot of stuff that I wish I could have changed that night."
While Brown said in the Larry King interview that he couldn't believe it all happened, Rihanna has no doubts.
"I am strong," Rihanna said in the interview, voice unfaltering. "This happened to me -- I didn't cause this. I didn't do it. This happened to me, and it can happen to anybody."
The assault has noticeably changed Rihanna, who embraces a tougher, edgier stance on her next album, "Rated R," due out November 23. iReporter: "Rihanna is Superwoman"
"I have grown up a lot since my last album. It [represents] exactly where I am at right now," she told Glamour magazine for an upcoming issue. "I've put everything I've wanted to say for the past eight months into my music. [My new album] is super fearless, which is exactly how I feel right now. I am in a really good place."
It's a place she reached with the help of her support system: her family. Her mother, she said, gave her and her younger brother "the tools to survive" as they grew up in an average home in a humble neighborhood in Barbados.
"I would never have dreamed that my career would be this successful," she said. "But [my mom] made us feel anything was possible and instilled in me such confidence."
That kind of confidence has helped the singer come forward about a very personal issue.
"The positive thing that has come out of my situation is that people can learn from that," she told Glamour. "I want to give as much insight as I can to young women, because I feel like I represent a voice that really isn't heard."
Chris Brown had a change of heart and is now talking about what happened the night he physically assaulted his girlfriend Rihanna, according to an MTV news release issued Thursday.
Brown told CNN's Larry King two months ago that he would not discuss "what actually happened on that night, just out of respect for Rihanna and myself."
But MTV has taped what the network bills as "the most revealing and candid interview yet" with Brown, in which "nothing is off limits."
"Young people, we do before we think," Brown told MTV, according to the release.
The show airs at 6 p.m. ET Friday, just hours before ABC's news magazine "20/20" broadcasts the third and final segment of its interview with Rihanna.
Brown, who pleaded guilty in June to attacking Rihanna in February, was sentenced in August to five years of probation and six months of community labor.
The excerpts released in advance by MTV shed little insight into Brown's thinking about what happened between the two hip-hop stars while riding in a rented Lamborghini in Los Angeles, California, on the eve of the 2009 Grammy Awards show.
MTV host Sway Calloway, in the hour-long interview taped at Brown's Virginia home, asked about the singer's thoughts as he looks back on the attack.
"My thoughts is like, 'Why did it happen? Like, 'What was I thinking? What is wrong with you?' That's what I'm thinking with myself. That's what my thoughts are, basically, now," Brown said. "It's like, 'How do we get past it? How do you, Chris' -- talking to myself -- 'how do you go from point A to point B? How do you learn from your mistakes, turn it into a positive and help other people with the situation and at the end of the day become the person that you want to be?' "
Brown was widely criticized for his response in September when Larry King asked whether he remembered the attack.
"I don't," Brown said. "It's like it's crazy to me."
"I'll just look at it and like, wow, like, I'm in shock," he told King. "Because, first of all, that's not who I am as a person, and that's not who I promise I want to be."
MTV said that in its interview, Brown "speaks openly" about the criticism he received for that statement to King.
Brown told MTV that although many fans still support him, he realizes some people want him locked up.
"I'm confused right now as far as the public perception," he said in the MTV interview. "Like, I think with my fans, they still love me. They support me, but definitely, definitely you have those people that don't support you, so, it's like kind of 50-50 to me. Like, I got the people that will come out and support me, and then there are people that don't want to see me do anything. They want to see me kind of basically in jail."
Brown also uses the MTV appearance to promote his upcoming album, telling the music channel that he poured his emotions into the recordings, MTV said.
"He goes into detail about his ongoing anger management therapy, court-mandated weekly group sessions and his community labor sentence, all of which have helped him evaluate his past behavior and express his feelings in his new songs," MTV said.
The former Sports Illustrated cover girl is back in modeling shape -- but not because she wants to retake the catwalk.
Tyra Banks has regained control of her eating habits.
On the "Tyra" show this Wednesday, the host revealed her longtime struggle with chronic stomachaches.
"I would get major attacks," Banks, 35, said. "I would be in bed for days, it was so painful."
Thanks to the help of nutritionist Heather Bauer, Banks re-evaluated her eating habits by keeping a food diary.
"I switched up my unhealthy eating habits for healthier eating habits, and I haven't had a tummy attack since December '08," she said.
Banks is now revealing how she lost almost 30 lbs. since her famous "Kiss My Fat Ass" incident in early 2007.
But don't worry, Banks assures fans that she hasn't turned her back on the curvy club.
"I feel good about my curves and my imperfections -- my booty, my boobs, my thighs -- I embrace it all," she said. "Now I really can say ... kiss my fat -- and still fat -- ass."
Nutritionist Bauer suggest that to "get your shape in shape" like Banks, the first step is to keep a record of what you eat. "You have to write everything down," she said, explaining that this will let you identify what foods make you feel good and which do not.
Add Banks: "It's about working with what you've got, and knowing, and learning what's right for your body."
Nigerian-born international musician Alban who is a Stockholm, a Sweden-based musician and producer and popularly known worldwide for his famous single"It's My Life" and believed to have sold 11 million records worldwide recently say whats been going on between himself, and fellow artist D'banj and Danfo drivers at the listening party of his joint album with Charlie boy that was taking place at the Sheraton Hotel,Nigeria on Monday 2nd of November 2009.
"I called D'banj to talk about the possibility of doing a collabo with him, guess what he told me?
He asked me to talk to his manager! na wa o An accomplished international act like me, no problem sha.
Even the Danfo Drivers, I took them to Sweden and treated them to the best of everything from airflight to Limo, i even got them a show to perform at a night club. So we did a remix of their song Kpolongo and they went back to Nigeria. I dont know what happened with them and their manager, i just got a call that if i release the song we did, we'll be going to court.
Thank God for Charlie (Charlie Boy), he is a cousin and a friend, we have an album together now and i dont have to worry about managers or court cases."
Kanjii Mbugua storms the stage amid cheers as fans crane their necks to see the Kenyan musician.
His twisted hair and baggy T-shirt are a far cry from his formally dressed fans. He belts out "I'm Just a Man," one of his trademark songs, and dashes across the stage.
But the 31-year-old Nairobi, Kenya, resident is not a hip-hop or rock artist. And don't call his music rap, either.
"I'm a socially conscious musician with a strong gospel background," Mbugua said. "I want to use my music to communicate with our youth about their great potential ... of being the solution to Africa's problems."
Mbugua is among a generation of young Kenyans who are borrowing a page from groups like U2 and using their songs to address social issues, a clear indication that a fear of authority is waning.
After years of feeling shortchanged by political leaders, some Kenyans are using music to call out politicians in the mostly conservative nation. Their message -- in a mixture of English and native languages -- is popular with locals.
In "Mteja," a popular collaborative song by seven Kenyan musicians, a list of government failures scrolls across the video.
"Only 17 percent of Kenyans have access to drinking water," a message reads. In the background, the group croons about corruption, bad infrastructure and lack of accountability by politicians.
Kenyan musician Eric Wainana became a household name after he released the song "Nchi ya Kitu Kidogo," which translates from Swahili as "Land of Petty Bribery." The song, which became an unofficial anthem, left government officials uncomfortable. State-run broadcasters did not play it for years.
But the music is not limited to politics. It reaches out to youth with messages such as "wrap it up" -- use condoms -- to fight teen pregnancies and diseases such as AIDS, a scourge on the continent. Video: In his father's footsteps
About 22 million people are living with HIV in Africa, two-thirds of the world's afflicted, according to the United Nations. Two million people died of AIDS two years ago, and three-quarters of the deaths were in Africa.
"Music stars ... can help fast-track awareness about HIV into the hearts and minds of African youth," Michel Sidibe, director at UNAIDS, said to mark the MTV Africa awards this month. Sidibe called African musicians role models for young people and "protagonists in the fight against the pandemic."
The concept of using music and media outlets to fight AIDS and social injustices is not entirely new.
Watch how music and politics mix for Nigeria's Femi Kuti
In 1998, UNAIDS teamed up with MTV to launch Staying Alive, one of the largest HIV awareness programs aimed at youths.
But the campaign, which used films and Web content, did not reach its intended audience in Africa, where most people do not own a television set and have no access to the Internet.
Grassroots approaches involving musicians who play in open fields and school auditoriums reach bigger audiences in developing countries.
"We have about 800 to 1,000 people every time we perform," said Mbugua, who recently toured high schools and universities as part of Music With a Positive Influence or MWAPI, a collaborative effort among various musicians in Kenya.
As the African music scene has become more vibrant in the past 10 years, so has the influence of the artists. But they are not without their critics, who say the flamboyant lifestyles of the musicians are not in tune with their message.
"They are always in newspapers chasing women and dressed like gangsters," said Jane Kamau, 23, a college student. "Why should I listen to them and consider them role models?"
Ugandan singer Daniel Kigozi, who uses the stage name Navio, said judging his counterparts based on outer appearances is wrong.
"The dressing is just a representation. ... What people admire is the struggle, where they come from," he said. "They know their audience, they know their story because they have lived it, nearly all of us have been affected by bad governments or indirectly by HIV."
Kigozi, 25, said African singers can connect with the youth in a way the older generation never will.
"They have the lingo, they can address the issues in a straightforward way through music," he said. "Some of the youth just need something to look up to, someone to listen to, someone they can connect with."
Energetic, infectious and combative, the music of Nigerian musician Femi Kuti has moved audiences around the world. But the man is just as passionate about getting people to change their world as much as move their feet.
Son of Afrobeat pioneer and political activist Fela Kuti, Femi inherited his father's zeal for both music and activism.
Kuti was signed to Motown Records in 1994 and his music blends Afrobeat with more current soul, R&B and jazz. He's worked with rappers Mos Def and Common and continues to explore his music and collaborations.
While the music matters, the man himself remains just as politically motivated as his father. Kuti's nightclub in Lagos, the New Afrika Shrine, had become a Mecca for West African music and creative expression, until it was closed by the authorities earlier in the summer.
It was also homage to his father and continued his legacy of using music to inspire, change and motivate.
Kuti recently told a reporter for All Africa Global Media that the Shrine was a place of worship where people can honor "great black people, who fought for the emancipation of Africa through music."
Freeing the "Shrine" from being under lock and key is just one of his crusading missions, as with his band, The Positive Force, Kuti remains outspoken about Nigeria, corruption and the positive changes that Africa can achieve.
Watch Femi Kuti on African Voices on Saturday, October 31, 12.30 and 18.30 GMT; Sunday, November 1, 18.00 GMT.
Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- The H1N1 virus has afflicted another celebrity victim.
Shawn Stockman of the R&B group Boyz II Men has been diagnosed with the illness, fellow group members Wanya Morris and Nathan Morris told CNN.
The pair said Stockman was unable to accompany them to Atlanta on Tuesday for a scheduled performance at the 2009 Soul Train Awards.
"We tour eight months out of the year, and we are always traveling around," Nathan Morris said. "It's hectic for us always being in airplanes and airports. He got sick, and it hit him pretty hard." Video: Boyz II Men in the studio RELATED TOPICS
* Boyz II Men * Swine Flu * R&B
The Grammy-winning and platinum-selling group, known for their No. 1 singles "End of the Road" and "I'll Make Love to You," has a new album out in stores in November called "Love." Wanya and Nathan Morris still planned to perform at the awards show as a duo, according to the group's manager.
"We go all over the world really, so I am surprised it hasn't happened earlier, to be honest," Nathan Morris said. "I talked to [Stockman] today, and he is doing much better."
Stockman joins a growing list of stars who have fallen prey to the swine flu, including the Backstreet Boys' Brian Littrell and "Harry Potter" star Rupert Grint.
