Entertainment
2019 Felabration: ‘Fela Lives And The Fire Remains With Him’
Lights amplify and pronounce things. When lights shine, both good and bad things get clearer.
Since Fela died, Felabration has been the light under which Fela’s legacy gets amplified.
Last week, abami eda would have been 83. For the finale of this year’s Felabration, lights are peculiar to everything; life, accreditation, sales, brand amplification and so forthIn the dark
In the dark of the south entrance to New Afrika Shrine, men of counter-cultural ways perpetrate their business. “Loud, Arizona” is their language of choice – call it advertisement or an invitation to treat.
Along these paths, other people also transacted legitimate businesses of all kinds; food, drinks, money transfer and even ice cream. Also in this dark, two people were reportedly shot – at about 1:00 am, sporadic shots were fired at the entrance.
Under the spot-light
On your way in, your accreditation is an invisible stamp that can only be verified under ultraviolet rays. These rays will meet you at the entrance to the shrine – call it scrutiny.
More importantly, brands like Chelsea, Nigerian Breweries and Boomplay took the moment to shine New Afrika Shrine lights on their respective brands. The awareness they crave must have been achieved. When you are a Kuti, the spotlight is always on you. The light always confronts every seed of Fela’s loins – children and grandchildren.
On this day, they delivered like they always do. Together, they delivered the performance of the evening. Femi, Femi’s son, Made and Femi’s brother, Seun teamed up for a saxophone masterclass. It was also telling that under the light of the stage, they gave Made the stage to shine.
The hilarious part was when Made held one note for about 10 minutes while his dad and uncle tried to distract him; they pulled his ears, clothes and nose – he didn’t budge. When it was over, Seun and Femi hugged Made for a job well done.
R&B star, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has recounted the early-career challenges she faced, revealing that she was once booed out of the stage while performing at a school event.
Speaking in an interview with Newsmen, the Crazy Tings crooner shared that she wasn’t only booed but was also harassed with plastic bottles.
“I remember one time I was going to perform at my school as an up-and-coming singer and I thought I was going to receiving a standing ovation.
“But I got booed. They even threw plastic bottles at me,” she recalled.
Tems explained that despite the embarrassing incident and other such rejections, she remained determined to pursue a career in music.
The Tide Entertainment reports that Tems admitted that some of the initial rejections she faced could be due to her conviction to stick to her originality instead of doing covers or familiar sounds like most of her peers.
The Grammy-winning singer said looking back now, she is glad that she didn’t compromise her style despite the initial pressures.
A close associate of late singer Mohbad, Primeboy, has appealed for the artiste’s burial nearly three years after his death.
According to him, Mohbad’s body remains in the mortuary since September 12, 2023, pending burial arrangements.
The Tide Entertainment reports that in a statement Primeboy urged the family, public, and government to permit the burial, stating, “It’s been almost three years since Mohbad left us. His body is still in the mortuary. I’m begging the family, I’m begging the public, I’m begging the government, please let’s bury our brother. He deserves a befitting burial.”
It would be recalled that Mohbad’s death sparked public outrage, protests, and investigations. Ongoing autopsy examinations, police inquiries, and legal proceedings have delayed burial arrangements amid family disagreements and public scrutiny.