Ven launches out...

21 year-old sensational singer, VEN, is out with a single, This Is Real Love.

VEN got signed onto BLUES & HILLS Music early this year and has been working round the clock in the studio.

A graduate of Biochemistry from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, VEN is out to join the league of the new generation of Nigeria's hip-hop scene.

You can hear this amazing song here:
http://www.4shared.com/get/hlSarQTA/02_This_is_real_Love_1.html

Salman Rushdie and the Cannes

One of the greatest living literary voices, Salman Rushdie is in the news again. His amazing novel, Midnight's Children, which I've read over and over again, has been filmed by the equally amazing Deepa Mehta in Sri Lanka, a country I cherish so much.

And the Cannes Film Festival is on.

I've seen amazing pictures of celebrities from the Red Carpet and it is a good feeling I have that the art of filmmaking is celebrated glamorously, hoping that one day, writers will start walking in the same lane, smiling into the cameras.

Interacting with leading Indian editors

Today, I was invited to the High Commission of India, in the midst of other Nigerian journalists to interact with 10 leading Indian editors.

They represented Mayalala Manorama & The Week, Daily News & Analysis, Navbharat Times, Outlook India, Economic Times, The Telegraph, Prajavani, Headlines Today and Mr. Devaart Chakravorthy from XP Division, Ministry of External Affairs.

The interactions were based on the elections and on the impact the Osama's will make on Nigeria. It was a wonderful session for me until a journalist from the Guardian goofed by asking the Indian delegation: "Do you have any newspaper in English language?"

I squirmed like a bird, looking at a moth.

BLUES & HILLS Launches tonight...

I'm launching BLUES & HILLS Consultancy's website tonight.

BLUES & HILLS has been struggling to develop itself into a brand which will champion the management, representation and appreciation of the arts. With the vision to be at the forefront of arts consultancy in Nigeria, B & H will recruit young writers, musicians, visual artists, filmmakers, photographers and designers and represent them professionally, helping them curb the stress of image making and publicity surrounding their works. This is to help the young artist succeed in his career, in a very competitive society.

The vision behind the recruitment is to find ways to market these talents, throw them into the consciousness of the people and envisage them being successful and happy people in their chosen careers. This is an extraordinary feat as most artists in Africa work their way through, without managers and agents and this in a way hinders them from achieving more. It is hoped that B & H will help make things easy for them, as the brand will be accepted all over the world.

We are interested in your success as an artist.

Ricoslim - Dream ft Samklef (OFFICIAL VIDEO) AJEfilms/Samklef production

Rico Slim was in my office today. We talked about his career. He is a smart artiste. He knows what he wants. However, I think anyone would mistake his humility for lack of confidence in his art. I'm beginning to believe that there are more younger people out there shaking their worlds, but it's still difficult to hear their voices.

I've always been a fan of SamKlef, especially the single, Labalaba with Skales. And you can always feel the freshness surrounding these guys.

The lyrics will definitely help you.

DREAMS

RICO SLIM a.k.a R.I.C ft. SAMKLEF.

INTRO: Yo!, R.I.C

Samklef on the song

Yes, u know.......

Yo!, dreams

Yeah, ok.

VERSE 1

I have a dream

Matter of fact I have two dreams

Cos I am a happy boy

Never have mood swings

But the industry will wanna make you do things

The truth is I never let go of my

DREAMS

Yeah, straight from my heart mehn!

Bad belle dem, Baba God pass dem

Cos I’m the future and they are like past tense

I never see them, I only see my

DREAMS

Yes na I go dey dream on

Cos they are ups and downs like a see-saw

But free ya’ll cos me i go dey move on

Coz one day I’mma fly like a G4

DREAMS

Yes, till I see more

I go write more songs I go flow more

Coz I have these dreams and I’m so sure

Yes I’m so sure, that one day my..............

CHORUS

Dreams oh!

Sey someday one day

gbo gbo wa ma so ri re (3x)

Ajo ma ko ile mole

Ajo ma lowo lowo

Ajo ma ko ile mole

Ajo ma so rire

VERSE 2

I always used to have big dreams of performing on a stage

And they be talking millions when they wanna pay mehn

Cos I’m sick with the flow like a patient

So I’m praying

AMEN

See I wanna fly high like a plane

And have more hits than Don Baba Jay mehn (Yeah)

And maybe money and fame mehn

So everybody will be calling my name mehn,...

CHILL, what if I have all these

Will it make me happy at least?

But at least I’d be happy cos I getting all the cheese,

So I get down on ma knees, coz my life is on lease

You see?.So me I’mma live life

It’s a free world Jehovah gives life

Keep my eyes on the point like a stiff knife

So the day it’s all over, I’mma see Christ

CHORUS

BRIDGE

Every time I sleep it’s all I see

(i see my dreams)

No matter how them try they can’t stop me

(No, no!)

Make no body tell you sey you nor fit make am, lai lai!!

Make nobody tell you sey, yeah ah!

Oni so rire, yeah ah!!!

Oh, oh, oh, dreams!

No no!!!

Oh oh oh dreams!

Gbo gbo wa ma so ri re!

Oh oh oh oh!

The Figurine is back in town!

I went to LTV, Ikeja today to see The Figurine, directed by Kunle Afolayan again. This would be the second time I'll be seeing it. I will still see it tomorrow by 12pm and then I will go back to the office.

Truth is, I'm a religious fan of Kunle Afolayan. Yes, I keep thinking about his first film, Irapada, but the truth is that The Figurine is a refined story. It is that story that each character sticks to your heart, after seeing it. Each detail is paid attention to. Are there hitches? I didn't notice them. I paid rapt attention, studying the film like a piece of art. I tried to decipher what makes this story timeless. And I realised it's because of the passion that went into the making of the film and how excited the screenwriters would have felt when they knew they were going to revive Nollywood.

My favourite character in The Figurine is Linda Chukwu, played by the amiable Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi. She is smart, funny and above all, that character has a sweet charisma. More of such should be recreated in our cinema. The thing is that no matter how jovial and carefree she pretends to be, she is actually the most emotional in the film. What happens to her at the end is what will amaze you.

The Figurine is still showing tomorrow at LTV, Ikeja, by 12pm and 3pm, so please go see it before you become the last to and it will not augur well with you...

Film Review of DAISY

I have just seen this awesome movie, directed by Nigeria's Bond Emeruwa. It is called DAISY; shot in Ghana and Nigeria.

DAISY is a moving family drama, centred around two families - Ani and Appiah. These are Nigerian and Ghanaian families.

The Appiahs had lived in Nigeria and gone back to Ghana. And before they left, Mrs Appiah had a child at a certian hospital in Lagos and the child was a girl.

The Anis are still in Lagos. Yes, Mrs Ani is actually a lecturer in the Engineering Department of some university here in Lagos, and her husband too. But, the truth is that their daughter, Daisy is an underperforming student, which is the reason why her father, angrily, calls her, a 'nincompoop', when she is asked to withdraw from the department. On this day, we see the emotions displayed by Olu Jacobs, who plays the role of Daisy's father. That scene keeps replaying in my head. I've been through such moment before. And my father had stood that way, but, what my father didn't do was to call me a nincompoop. So, Daisy's father (not Olu Jacobs now!) actually goofed. Such venom could be mistaken and yes, if a father begins to sound way unkind to his daughter, suspicions might arise.

Daisy refuses to withdraw. She has passion for music. "She is busy running around with drop-outs," her mother says. She wants to be an artiste. Her eldest brother detests that and tries to punish her by lying against her to their father when her friend, the musician, in whose music video she has featured, comes to the house to see her.

For the most part, Olu Jacobs adds so much maturity to the level of his delivery. He knows when to hit the audience. He is sober, but at the same time, funny and appeals to anyone seeing his movie for the first time. Each scene is relevant to the heart of the story and connects properly. The mood of every scene is aptly and beautifully handled with the soundtrack. And if Bond Emeruwa had not directed this film, it may not have been as electrifying as it is right now.

Back to the story: Daisy's father begins to doubt the paternity of his daughter: "No member of my family will be an illiterate." That is what he says and that line for me is so unforgettable. If being a musician and dropping out makes one illiterate and Daisy's father thinks no member of his family would behave like that, then doubting the paternity of his daughter isn't the best option. However, that is how the story sets.

Now, we are besieged with emotional scenes that made me weep. Daisy's mother is shocked when her husband comes home and shows her a DNA report that contradicts the paternity of Daisy. Here is where the story really begins.

What I like more about the story, is the flow. It is deep, touching and beautifully told. It is one of those movies you finish watch and you go home and say to yourself, 'Nollywood hides talents."