5 July 2008
Lagos — For the third year running, THISDAY Newspapers, one of the leading newspapers in Nigeria has brought Nigeria close to the world through its annual music festival, which is today, adjudged the best in the African Continent. And between July 11 and October 14, Nigerians and the entire world would watch international artistes, and cultural icons performing alongside their Nigerian counterparts in a musical carnival billed to take place in Lagos, Abuja, Washington DC with grand finale in London. This year's festival is designed to revolutionise global perspectives on African issues, shifting focus from the problems to the opportunities and from treating the "symptoms" to curing the "diseases" and projecting positive images of Africa by showcasing the renaissance of Africa's music, fashion and the arts. FUNKE OLAODE profiles some of these renowned artistes and coutoriers who are expected to put up a superlative performances at the events.
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Raymond IV, the son of Jonetta Patton and Usher Terry Raymond 111 was born in Dallas, Texas in October 14, 1978. Simply known as by his first name Usher, is an American R&B and pop singer and actor who rose to fame in the mid-late 1990s. To date, he has sold approximately 30 million albums worldwide and has won five Grammy Awards. He spent the majority of his young life in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a child, he joined his local church choir where he discovered his ability to sing. As early as junior high school, Usher successfully entered local talent shows. Usher's family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in the belief that the city would provide greater opportunities for showcasing his talent. While in Atlanta, Usher attended the North Springs Charter School of Arts and Sciences. At age thirteen, Raymond competed on Star Search, where he was spotted by an A&R representative from LaFace Records, who arranged an audition for him with L.A. Reid. A contract with the company soon followed. Usher was introduced on "Call Me A Mack," a song he recorded for the soundtrack album to the John Singleton film, Poetic Justice. On August 30, 1994, LaFace released Usher's self-titled debut album. Sean "P Diddy" Combs produced several of the tracks and co-executive produced the album. Usher peaked at number twenty-five on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was accompanied by three singles: "Can U Get Wit It," "Think Of You," and "The Many Ways." After graduating from high school, Usher continued to hone his skills as a stage performer and laid the groundwork for his second album. In the closing months of 1997, Usher embarked on a series of tour engagements including a spot on Puffy's No Way Out tour, dates with Mary J. Blige, and the opening spot on Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope tour. My Way was certified 6x platinum in the United States. Usher received his first Grammy Award nomination as Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "You Make Me Wanna," which was also nominated for a Soul Train Music Award as 'Best Male R&B/Soul Single.' Since his foray into music, he has won many awards and equally featured with many international artistes. Usher is married to Tameka Foster and they are blessed with a son named Usher Raymond V.
Chris Brown (singer)
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American R&B singer-songwriter, dancer, music video director. At thirteen, Brown was discovered by a local production team who visited his father's gas station searching for new talent. Since then, he began his recording career and moved to New York, staying there for two years. Brown's local production team organized an audition before Def Jam Vice President Tina Davis, who currently works as his manager. At the age of 15, Brown was then sent to perform for L.A. Reid and was subsequently signed in 2004 to Jive Records. By early 2005, Brown began work for his debut album, working with the likes of Scott Storch, The Underdogs, Dre & Vidal, Bryan Michael Cox, Bow Wow, and Jermaine Dupri. Brown left school in late 2004 to begin working on his self-titled debut album which was released on November 29, 2005. In late 2005, he released his first studio album, Chris Brown, which spawned the Billboard Hot 100 number-one debut single, "Run It!" which was produced by Scott Storch and featured Juelz Santana. The album also produced two other top ten singles: "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" and "Say, Goodbye." Brown's second studio album, Exclusive was released worldwide in November 2007. It has spawned his second US number one hit, "Kiss Kiss" which was produced by T-Pain, who was also featured in the song . The third single, "With You", has reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has entered into the top ten in several countries across the world, becoming one of his most successful worldwide releases to date. Brown re-released Exclusive on June 3, 2008 as a deluxe edition, renamed Exclusive: The Forever Edition, seven months after the release of the original version. The re-release version features four brand new tracks, including "Forever", which becoming Brown's ninth top ten single, as it has reached number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 on May 2008, and a remix of "Picture Perfect" featuring will.i.am, Bow Wow, and Hurricane Chris. In support of the album, Brown embarked on his The Exclusive Holiday concert tour, visiting over thirty venues in USA. He started the tour in Cincinnati, OH on December 6, 2007 and concluded it on February 9, 2008 in Honolulu.
Mary J. Blige
Thanks to her illustrious career filled with hit albums such as My Life and Share My World, Mary J Blige has come to be known as the Queen of Hip Hop Soul at the age of five. She began singing in her church choir at the age of seven and reflects upon those church days with a smile. She grew up in the Yonkers's Slowbam projects, which were nicknamed "Slow Bomb" by the tenants for its rough reputation. Blige sought refuge in her music during these tumultuous times, and favored hip-hop sounds as well as her mother's musical influence, which included artists such as Otis Redding, Gladys Knight, Al Green, and Donny Hathaway. Her singing improved through her teens as she performed solo in several church and school talent shows. Prodded by her friends, she cut her first demo tape at seventeen in a local shopping mall. The demo was given out by her stepfather and eventually got into the hands of Uptown Records C.E.O. Andre Harrell. Harrell showed interest in Blige, but Sean "Puffy" Combs beat him to the punch.
Combs helped Blige fine tune her voice and created her image. In 1992, her debut album what's The 411? saw its first release go straight to No. 1. The album was so popular that it catapulted her to the top of female R&B. Next for Blige was a remix album, which aside from several guest appearances by some big hip-hop names, was uneventful.
Blige credits her upbringing to her unique musical style. "I grew up on old R&B and soul, then as I got older I got into the block parties. That's why my voice when I sing is almost like a rapper, on the beat." Her tough upbringing did not reside well with fans and media, and Blige quickly earned a reputation for being moody, frequently late and extremely demanding. Blige went on to tour, taking a break from the recording studio. She was able to record a track for the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, which featured several big names, including Whitney Houston, TLC, Brandy, and Toni Braxton. Her song from that soundtrack, "Not Gon' Cry", rose all the way to No. 2. Blige became her own executive producer and had the power to bring in big names such as Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Babyface, R. Kelly, and Malik Pendleton for Share My World. Nas made an appearance in the single "Love is All We Need," and the album debuted at No.1 on the Billboard charts. Despite the criticism of Share My World, she remains a favorite among R&B fans and remains the Queen of Hip Hop Soul.
Oswald Boateng
Ozwald Boateng a British Menswear designer who is well known in London was born in 1968 to a modern day bespoke tailor born in Ghana and brought up in the streets of London. Son of Kweshi (a school teacher) and mother Mary Boateng. Ozwald began tailoring at the age of 16 selling his mothers designs. Being a tailor and star fashion designer wasn't always in Boateng's life plan he went to college for computer science where he later was inspired by his girlfriend who asked him to make clothes for a fashion show at London Technical College. When he honestly replied I don't know how to make clothes, but she taught him. Sewing clothing became secondhand to Ozwald and from there he began to create custom clothing for himself that many of his colleagues took a liking too. He switched his major to Fashion Design when he attended Southgate College. His career began as a tailor and he later began to show his collection in runway shows in the late 1990's. By the time he was 18, Boateng's clothes were selling at stores in the King's Road section of Chelsea, and in 1993 he opened a store on Portobello Road a very trendy street in London. His true calling was creating custom/bespoke suits for men. In 1995 he opened a store just off of famed street Saville Row on Vigo Street for a more retail venture and later his ready to wear counterpart was selling in high fashion stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Barney's New York in the United States.
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