Category: Culture.

JUST IN: Virgil Abloh, CEO of Off-White Dies Of Cancer.

American designer, entrepreneur and founder or mega fashion label Off White, Virgil Abloh, has died.

The 36 year old who has been artistic director of Louis Vuitton men’s wear since 2018 died of cancer on the 28th of November 2021. It was announced on Louis Vuitton’s Twitter page.

Born on September 30, 1980, in Illinois, to Ghanaian immigrant parents, his mother was a seamstress while his dad managed a paint company.

Virgil, who is a trained architect, ventured into the fashion world with Chicago street fashion. He then bagged an internship at Fendi in 2009 alongside American rapper Kanye West. Both artistes then began a collaboration that would then launch Abloh’s career into founding Off-White.

L-R: Kim Kadarshian, Kanye West & Virgil Abloh for British GQ.

The first American of African descent to be artistic director at a French luxury fashion house, he was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2018.

Abloh battled cancer privately for years, but it never impeded or influenced the pace of his work as he only rose further and further toward the end of his life.

He met his wife, Shannon Sundberg, in high school. They married in 2009. He lived in Chicago with his wife and two children. Abloh was of the Ewe ethnicity of the Volta region in Ghana.

RIP.

Kanye West Battling Bi-Polar Disorder – Kim Kardashian Reveals.

Reality TV star, Kim Kardashian has finally reacted to her husband Kanye West’s recent rants on Twitter.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.

For over two days now, Kanye West, 43, has shared troubling tweets, calling out his wife Kim Kardashian, mother-in-law Kris Jenner and many others.

West recently revealed he has been trying to get a divorce from Kim Kardashian for a year now after she met (possibly had sex with) Meek Mill at a hotel over prison reforms. He also referred to his mother-in-law as “Kris Jong-Un” as he accused her of teaming up with his wife to put out a statement about his behavior without his approval.

Kim, Kanye with their children North, Saint, Psalm and Chicago West.

The father of four, who suffers from bipolar disorder, further accused the Kardashians of “white supremacy.”

Kim Kardashian has now released a statement via her Instagram stories to address her husband’s mental health and his experience with bipolar disorder.

In the statement, the reality star suggested that Kanye’s battle with bipolar disorder is playing a major role in his ongoing Twitter rants. But she made no mention of the divorce amid claims she is meeting with lawyers to talk about a possible divorce.

This has been a truly difficult period for the West family. Hopefully they see it through unscathed.

Rishi Kapoor: Ace Bollywood Actor Dies Of Cancer.

Bollywood actor Rishi Kapoor, famed for his romantic roles, has died of cancer aged 67.

He was part of the Kapoor acting dynasty which has long dominated Bollywood, the Hindi film industry.

The actor made a huge splash in 1973 with his first lead role in Bobby – a teenage love story.

He played the romantic lead in dozens of films for over two decades, after which he made a successful transition to character roles.

Rishi Kapoor debuted as a child actor in 1970 in his father Raj Kapoor’s film, Mera Naam Joker.

Several of his films in the 1980s and 90s – Khel Khel Mein, Karz and Chandni – became massive box office hits.

He was a skilful dancer and some of his films had songs that are massively popular even today.

Kapoor made a successful on-screen pair with actress Neetu Singh. In one of Bollywood’s most enduring love stories, they took that romance off-screen as well when they got married in 1980. 

Their son, Ranbir Kapoor, is a successful Bollywood star in his own right.

The news he had lost his battle with cancer came a day after the death of Bollywood actor Irrfan Khan .

Kapoor was diagnosed with leukemia in 2018 and returned to India last September after a year-long course of treatment in New York.

He was taken to hospital on Wednesday morning after he complained of breathing difficulties, his brother Randhir Kapoor told the Press Trust of India.

The actor’s family confirmed his death in a message saying his life had ended peacefully.

BREAKING: Prince Charles Tests Positive For Coronavirus.

The Prince of Wales has tested positive for coronavirus and is working from home with mild symptoms.

A Clarence House spokesman said he was “displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual”.

Prince Charles, 71, and the Duchess of Cornwall, 72, are now self-isolating at their home in Scotland.

The Duchess has also been tested for the virus but did not have it, the spokesman said.

“The Prince of Wales has tested positive for Coronavirus,” the spokesman said.

“He has been displaying mild symptoms but otherwise remains in good health and has been working from home throughout the last few days as usual. The Duchess of Cornwall has also been tested but does not have the virus. In accordance with Government and medical advice, the Prince and the Duchess are now self-isolating at home in Scotland. The tests were carried out by the NHS in Aberdeenshire where they met the criteria required for testing.

“It is not possible to ascertain from whom the Prince caught the virus owing to the high number of engagements he carried out in his public role during recent weeks.”

Nollywood Actor Pa Kasumu Is Dead.

Veteran Nollywood actor, Kayode Odumosu, popularly known as Pa Kasumu is dead.

Nollywood actress, Foluke Daramola-Salako, who broke the news on her Instagram page on Sunday, said the actor died after a brief illness.

Details later…

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9M2NraJmoZ/?igshid=147lbnxjmnjad

Dr Sid’s 5 Year Old Marriage Has Crashed.

Simi, wife of Mavin Records artiste, Sidney Esiri, popularly known as Dr Sid, has confirmed that their marriage of five years has crashed.

Simi, who publishes a fashion magazine, ‘Schick’, broke the news on Instagram on Sunday morning.

“A lot of you may have known that Sid and I are no longer together and are moving forward with the tough decision to divorce. Our priority will now be working together as co-parents to our beautiful daughters”, Simi’s post read.

She also denied reports that she was violent while they were married and prevented the singer from seeing their daughters, Sydney and Sarah.

Divorce rumours began trailing the couple after Dr Sid was conspicuously absent in a Christmas family portrait shared by his ex-wife.

Before now, it was revealed that Simi had moved out of their Lekki home to her own apartment.

He was also absent at their second daughter’s birthday which held at Simi’s home in December.

The estranged couple got married in a lavish ceremony in August 2013. In May 2015, they welcomed their first daughter in London. They welcomed their second child in December,2018.

In a 2016 interview with The Punch, Dr Sid revealed that they almost called off their wedding two days before they walked down the aisle.

“I remember us quarrelling two days before our wedding and even threatening to pull out. But, our love for each other has kept us going,” he said, adding that they grew past that stage and had been celebrating their wedding anniversaries and birthdays on social media.

Simi has also deleted all of her wedding photos, including the anniversary posts, from her handle. That’s not all, in her recent photos, she no longer wears her wedding rings.

She has also unfollowed her ex-husband on Instagram.

Nigerian Lecturer Caught On Video Sexually Harrassing Admission Seeker.

A lecturer at the University of Lagos has been caught on camera making sexual demands to offer admission to a ‘student’

The lecturer was exposed in a 13 minutes video by BBC Africa where an undercover journalist, Kiki Mordi, disguised as a 17-year-old admission seeker.

The investigation is part of a broader one that uncovers the sex for grade crises in West African Universities.

The lecturer, Boniface Igbeneghu, is a former sub-dean of Faculty of Art and head pastor of local Foursquare Gospel Church.

Mr Igbeneghu invited the ‘admission seeker’ to his office for ‘tutorials’ and at their first meeting asked: “how old are you?”.

After responding, the lecturer started commenting on her appearance.

“Don’t you know you are a beautiful girl? Do you know I am a pastor and I am in my 50s but if I want a girl of 17 years, all I need is a sweet tongue and put some money,” he said.

From the documentary published on Facebook by BBC Yoruba and seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the lecturer invited the ‘student’ for a second meeting where they held prayer session together.

After the prayer, he simply asked: “what age do you start knowing men. Be assured that your mother will not hear.”

While the reporter was yet to respond, Mr Igbeneghu described the secret place where lecturers meet to “touch students breast” at the staff club of the university.

“They call the place cold room,” he said. He then explained that ladies must pay to have good grades.

At the last visit, he told the undercover journalist that if she truly wants admission in UNILAG, “she must be obedient”.

“Do you want me to kiss you? Switch of the light, lock the door and I will kiss you for a minute. That’s what they do in cold room.”

The lecturer went to the bathroom and upon his return, he locked the door, switched off the light and embraced the ‘admission seeker’.

“You are too stiff. I can call you to come any day. If you don’t come, you know you are gone,” he threatened the undercover journalist.

This revelation is coming a year after a student of Department of English, accused a professor of the same university of sexual harassment.

In May 2018, Joy Nwanna, a student of the institution, accused Olusegun Awonusi, a professor of English and former Vice-Chancellor of Tai Solarin University of Education, of “habitual sexual harassment”.

When contacted, the university spokesperson, Taiwo Oloyede, told BBC that the institution has zero-tolerance for sex scandal.

She did not provide any response to the “cold room” allegation.

When contacted on Monday, she did not respond to PREMIUM TIMES calls and text messages.

Via: BBC

OFFICIAL: Jay-Z is Hip-Hop’s First Billionaire.

Jay-Z’s got something else to brag about — he’s the first hip-hop artist to be worth … ONE BILLION DOLLARS.

Jay’s net worth is officially in the 3-comma club, according to a new Forbes report that totaled all of his income from multiple business ventures and subtracted “a healthy amount to account for a superstar lifestyle.”

When it’s all said and done, here’s a breakdown of the value of his stakes in the empire he’s created:

$310 million for Armand de Brignac champagne.

$220 mill in cash and investments, including a $70 million stake in Uber.

$100 mill for D’Usse cognac.

$100 mill for Tidal.

$75 mill for Roc Nation.

$75 mill for his music catalog.

$70 mill art collection.

$50 mill in real estate.

A whole billion when added together. Needless to say, this doesn’t include the net worth of his other half, Beyonce. The couple has been worth more than a billion combined for quite some time now.

Jay’s claim as the first hip-hop billionaire could actually be contested by Dr. Dre, who said he’d accomplished the feat way back in 2014 after his $3.2 billion deal with Apple.

Forbes said Dre jumped the gun though, and was only worth $800 million at the time.

Via: TMZ.

2019 Grammy Winners: The Complete List.

At a ceremony dominated by female performers and presenters, Kacey Musgraves won album of the year and Cardi B became the first woman to win best rap album as a solo artist.

Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” won four awards and Gaga’s “Shallow,” from the movie “A Star Is Born,” won two.

See the complete list of winners below:

Record of the Year

“This Is America” — Childish Gambino

Album of the Year

“Golden Hour” — Kacey Musgraves

Song of the Year

“This Is America” — Donald Glover and Ludwig Goransson, songwriters (Childish Gambino)

Best New Artist

Dua Lipa

Best Pop Solo Performance

“Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?)” — Lady Gaga

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

“Shallow” — Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

Best Pop Vocal Album

“Sweetener” — Ariana Grande

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Best Rock Performance

“When Bad Does Good” — Chris Cornell

Best Rock Song

“Masseduction” — Jack Antonoff and Annie Clark, songwriters (St. Vincent)

Best Rock Album

“From the Fires” — Greta Van Fleet

Best Alternative Music Album

“Colors” — Beck

Best R&B Performance

“Best Part” — H.E.R. featuring Daniel Caesar

Best Urban Contemporary Album

“Everything Is Love” — The Carters

Best R&B Album

“H.E.R.” — H.E.R.

Best Rap Performance

“King’s Dead” — Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future and James Blake and

“Bubblin” — Anderson .Paak

Best Rap Song

“God’s Plan” — Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Brock Korsan, Ron LaTour, Matthew Samuels and Noah Shebib, songwriters (Drake)

Best Rap Album

“Invasion of Privacy” — Cardi B

Best Country Solo Performance

“Butterflies” — Kacey Musgraves

Best Country Album

“Golden Hour” — Kacey Musgraves

Best Jazz Instrumental Album

“Emanon” — The Wayne Shorter Quartet

Best Latin Pop Album

“Sincera” — Claudia Brant

Best Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album

“AztlĂĄn” — ZoĂ©

Best Americana Album

“By the Way, I Forgive You” — Brandi Carlile

Best Song Written for Visual Media

“Shallow” — Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper)

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical

Pharrell Williams

Best Music Video

“This Is America” — Childish Gambino

Best Comedy Album

“Equanimity & the Bird Revelation” — Dave Chappelle

Best Musical Theater Album

“The Band’s Visit” — Etai Benson, Adam Kantor, Katrina Lenk and Ari’el Stachel, principal soloists; Dean Sharenow and David Yazbek, producers; David Yazbek, composer and lyricist

Best Instrumental Composition

“Blut Und Boden (Blood and Soil)” — Terence Blanchard

Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A-Cappella

“Stars and Stripes Forever” — John Daversa

Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals

“Spiderman Theme” — Mark Kibble, Randy Waldman and Justin Wilson, arrangers

Best Recording Package

“Masseduction” — Willo Perron, art director

Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package

“Squeeze Box: The Complete Works of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic” — Meghan Foley, Annie Stoll and Al Yankovic, art directors

Best Album Notes

“Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris” — David Evans, album notes writer

Best Historical Album

“Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris” — William Ferris, April Ledbetter and Steven Lance Ledbetter, compilation producers; Michael Graves, mastering engineer

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical

“Colors” — Julian Burg, Serban Ghenea, David “Elevator” Greenbaum, John Hanes, Beck Hansen, Greg Kurstin, Florian Lagatta, Cole M.G.N., Alex Pasco, Jesse Shatkin, Darrell Thorp and Cassidy Turbin, engineers; Chris Bellman, Tom Coyne, Emily Lazar and Randy Merrill, mastering engineers

[Can the Grammys please anyone?]

Best Remixed Recording

“Walking Away (Mura Masa remix)” — Alex Crossan, remixer

Best Immersive Audio Album

“Eye in the Sky – 35th Anniversary Edition” — Alan Parsons, surround mix engineer; Dave Donnelly, P.J. Olsson and Alan Parsons, surround mastering engineers; Alan Parsons, surround producer

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album

“Steve Gadd Band” — Steve Gadd

Band Best Gospel Performance/Song

“Never Alone” — Tori Kelly featuring Kirk Franklin; Kirk Franklin and Victoria Kelly, songwriters

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song

“You Say” — Lauren Daigle; Lauren Daigle, Jason Ingram and Paul Mabury, songwriters

Best Gospel Album

“Hiding Place” — Tori Kelly

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album

“Look Up Child” — Lauren Daigle

Best Roots Gospel Album

“Unexpected” — Jason Crabb

Best World Music Album

“Freedom” — Soweto Gospel Choir

Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media

“The Greatest Showman” — Hugh Jackman (and Various Artists); Alex Lacamoire, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Greg Wells, compilation producers

Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media

“Black Panther” — Ludwig Göransson, composer

Best New Age Album

“Opium Moon” — Opium Moon

Best American Roots Performance

“The Joke” — Brandi Carlile

Best American Roots Song

“The Joke” — Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth and Tim Hanseroth, songwriters

Best Bluegrass Album

“The Travelin’ Mccourys” — The Travelin’ Mccourys

Best Traditional Blues Album

“The Blues Is Alive and Well” — Buddy Guy

Best Contemporary Blues Album

“Please Don’t Be Dead” — Fantastic Negrito

Best Folk Album

“All Ashore” — Punch Brothers

Best Children’s Album

“All the Sounds” — Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats

Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books and Storytelling)

“Faith – A Journey for All” — Jimmy Carter

Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano)

“¡MĂ©xico Por Siempre!” — Luis Miguel

Best Tropical Latin Album

“Anniversary” — Spanish Harlem Orchestra

Best Regional Roots Music Album

“No ‘Ane’i” — Kalani Pe’a

Best Music Film

“Quincy” — Quincy Jones; Alan Hicks and Rashida Jones, video directors; Paula DuprĂ© Pesmen, video producer

Best Country Duo/Group Performance

“Tequila” — Dan + Shay

Best Country Song

“Space Cowboy” — Luke Laird, Shane Mcanally and Kacey Musgraves, songwriters

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

“My Way” — Willie Nelson

Best Engineered Album, Classical

“Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11” — Shawn Murphy and Nick Squire, engineers; Tim Martyn, mastering engineer

Producer of the Year, Classical

Blanton Alspaugh

Best Orchestral Performance

“Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11” — Andris Nelsons, conductor

Best Opera Recording

“Bates: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs” — Michael Christie, conductor; Sasha Cooke, Jessica E. Jones, Edward Parks, Garrett Sorenson and Wei Wu; Elizabeth Ostrow, producer

Best Choral Performance

“Mcloskey: Zealot Canticles” — Donald Nally, conductor

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance

“Anderson, Laurie: Landfall” — Laurie Anderson and Kronos Quartet

Best Classical Instrumental Solo

“Kernis: Violin Concerto” — James Ehnes; Ludovic Morlot, conductor

Best Classical Solo Vocal Album

“Songs of Orpheus – Monteverdi, Caccini, D’india & Landi” — Karim Sulayman; Jeannette Sorrell, conductor; Apollo’s Fire, ensembles

Best Classical Compendium

“Fuchs: Piano Concerto ‘spiritualist’; Poems of Life; Glacier; Rush” — Joann Falletta, conductor; Tim Handley, producer

Best Contemporary Classical Composition

“Kernis: Violin Concerto” — Aaron Jay Kernis, composer

Best Dance Recording

“Electricity” — Silk City and Dua Lipa featuring Diplo and Mark Ronson

Best Dance/Electronic Album

“Woman Worldwide” — Justice

Best Reggae Album

“44/876” — Sting and Shaggy

Best Improvised Jazz Solo

“Don’t Fence Me In” — John Daversa, soloist. Track from: “American Dreamers: Voices of Hope, Music of Freedom”

Best Jazz Vocal Album

“The Window” — CĂ©cile Mclorin Salvant

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

“American Dreamers: Voices of Hope, Music of Freedom” — John Daversa Big Band featuring DACA Artists

Best Latin Jazz Album

“Back to the Sunset” — Dafnis Prieto Big Band

Best Traditional R&B Performance

“Bet Ain’t Worth the Hand” — Leon Bridges and

“How Deep Is Your Love” — PJ Morton featuring Yebba

Best R&B Song

“Boo’d Up” — Larrance Dopson, Joelle James, Ella Mai and Dijon Mcfarlane, songwriters

Best Metal Performance

“Electric Messiah” — High on Fire

Best Rap/Sung Performance

“This Is America” — Childish Gambino

Sound City MVP Awards Festival: Burna Boy Wins Big.

Burna Boy enjoyed a huge night at the SoundCity MVP Awards festival 2018, picking up four awards including the prestigious African Artist of the year.

The awards which went down on Saturday, January 5, 2018, Burna Boy expectedly made a big impression winning awards in major categories: ‘Listeners Choice’, Song of the Year, Best Male MVP and African Artist of the year off the back of his smashing single, ‘Ye.’

Despite starting hours behind its scheduled time, the awards pulled off a befitting spectacle as before a gathering of music lovers and constellation of stars.

HERE IS THE FULL LIST OF WINNERS:

  • BEST MALE MVP: Burna Boy.
  • BEST FEMALE MVP: Busiswa.
  • BEST HIP HOP: AKA.
  • BEST POP: Davido.
  • BEST COLLABORATION: Soco – StarBoy FT Wizkid, Terri, Spotless & Ceeza Milli.
  • DIGITAL ARTISTE OF THE YEAR: Mr Eazi.
  • VIDEO OF THE YEAR: Heal The World – Patoranking.
  • BEST GROUP OR DUO: Navy Kenzo.
  • SONG OF THE YEAR: Ye Burna Boy.
  • BEST NEW ARTISTE: Teni.
  • VIEWERS CHOICE: Somiso – Wande Coal.
  • LISTENERS CHOICE: Ye – Burna Boy.
  • AFRICAN PRODUCER OF THE YEAR: Phantom.
  • AFRICAN ARTISTE OF THE YEAR: Burna Boy.
  • AFRICAN DJ OF THE YEAR: DJ Neptune.