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KANYE WEST DELIVERS ‘BEAT OF THE YEAR’ WITH CONSEQUENCE ‘BLOOD STAIN’ COLLAB

Kanye WestĀ reminded rap fans of his production prowess on Pusha T'sĀ chart-toppingĀ Its Almost Dryā€” but according to longtime collaborator Consequence, Ye’s finest moment behind the boards in 2022 comes courtesy of his new

Ā album.

On Friday (June 10), the former G.O.O.D. Music rapper released his new single “Blood Stain,” boasting the “beat of the year” from Mr. West. Reminiscent of Ye’s early beatmaking blueprint, the track pairs a sped-up soul sample with driving percussion and a stuttering bassline.

Consequence is no slouch on the mic, either. “It’s two sides to every claim or a story/For every Megan, there’s a Lane for a Tory/I learned from Shawn Corey and added some choreography/Then did what Garnett did to the NBA lottery,” he raps.

“Blood Stain” serves as the lead single from Consequence’s upcoming albumNice Doing Business With You, the follow-up to 2016’sĀ A Good Comeback StoryĀ EP, which featured appearances from Q-Tip, Lupe Fiasco, Ryan Leslie and others.

The song was originally scheduled to be released in April but was delayed due to Consequence’s bout with COVID-19. “For 4 nights My lungs were on Fire and I couldn’t sleep,” heĀ revealed on twitterĀ last month while teasing the music video. “Thankfully, the worst of it is behind me so I will be rescheduling the release date shortly.”

“Blood Stain” is just the latest in a long line of Consequence and Kanye West collaborations. The Queens, New York native appeared on Kanye’s The College DropoutĀ andĀ Late Registration, as well as his early mixtapes. His 2007 debut albumĀ Don’t Quit Your Day Job!featured several beats from the Chicago rap icon.

Cons and Kanye’s long-running partnership bore more fruit earlier this year when theĀ DondaĀ track “Hurricane,” on which Consequence is credited as a co-writer, won Best Melodic Rap Performance at theĀ 64th Annual Grammy Awards.

“It’s like the honor roll on steroids,” he said:Ā Ā “And that got me my second BMI Award and I think ‘Hurricane’ will probably give me the third one. TheĀ DondaĀ cycle was completely different than what [Jesus Is King] was. Obviously, with the listening sessions and everything that’s going on and the hype was at an all-time high. It was crazy.”

Despite backing Kanye WestĀ up during his feud with DrakeĀ last year by dropping the diss track 'Party Time“Consequence recentlyĀ apologized to DrizzyĀ for fueling the rivalry, which was intensified by their respective albums,Ā DondaĀ andĀ Certified Lover Boy.

“Petty Energy ain’t it for 2022,” he wrote on Instagram while sharing an old text exchange with Drake’s producer Noah “40” Shebib. “A few years ago, Drake had Ye & I over to cook up n catch a vibe.

“As an OG, I owe @champagnepapi an apology for letting the competition over the LP’s spiral out of control. Pardon me for whatever was said about you or your loved ones. Keep doing you bro.”

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Kudos as Pepsi refreshes World Corporate Golf Challenge

Pepsi Nigeria garnered a lot of the attention of golfers and guests at the National Finals of the World Corporate Golf Challenge (WCGC), which was held at the Lakowe Lakes and Golf Estate, Lagos, last weekend.

Pepsi from bottling giants, Seven-Up Bottling Company (SBC), famous for its promotion of sports in Nigeria, was getting involved in the WCGC for the first time and made a big splash by spicing the occasion with a generous dose of entertainment to go along with the golfing action.

The company backed the event with Storm Band, the high-profile musical live music group, which thrilled the audience with its vast repertoire of music genres that include Naija hip-hop, juju, highlife as well as rhythm and blues.

 Similarly in action at the national finals the instance of Pepsi was DJ Xclusive, the premium-grade disc jockey with a resume boasting performances with A-Grade artistes such as Ne-Yo, Rihanna, Mario Winans, Brick, Lace, Nas and Fat Joe as well as featuring at the 2013 Big Brother House Parties.

In addition, the company ensured all golfers and guests were refreshed with their array or world class beverage products (Pepsi, Mirinda, 7Up, Aquafina, Lipton Ice Tea) and that everyone was also protected with 2Sure Santiser.

Speaking on the companyā€™s involvement, Norden Thurston, Chief Marketing Officer, SBC, said Pepsi is committed to the promotion of sports and entertainment in Nigeria.

ā€œOur involvement in the national finals of the World Corporate Golf Challenge speaks loudly to our corporate policy of supporting sports and entertainment. We are all about refreshing Nigeria and Nigerians and we are delighted to refresh everyone at the World Corporate Golf Challenge,ā€ Thurston said.

Many of the golfers who participated in the event were full of praise for Pepsi . One of the participants, Adebiyi Fetuga, who is also Chairman of the Lagos State Golf Association, expressed delight at Pepsiā€™s support, saying: ā€œPepsiā€™s involvement brought a lot of glamour to this yearā€™s edition. They were just all over the place with their very special hospitality. Very impressive.ā€

Another participant and keen golfer, Jenkins Alumona of Flykite Productions, organizers of the DStv Premium Golf Day, described Pepsiā€™s involvement as a game changer.

ā€œThey have added a lot of glamour to the WCGC this year. The post-game entertainment was really nice,ā€ he said.

The WCGC national finals had previously been held in Abuja and Uyo, capital of Akwa Ibom State, before being held in Lagos.

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Ladipoe drops new single ‘Big Energy’

 Superstar rapper Ladipoe has dropped a new single he calls ‘Big Energy’ which is another smooth blend of rap and pop. The single was released on Friday 10th June, 2022.


Artist: Ladipoe

Song Title: Something

Genre: Hip Hop, Afropop,

Date of Release: June 10th, 2022

Producer: Killertunes

Stream Below

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Ms Marvel: bringing South Asian music to the Marvel Cinematic Universe

 In case you ain’t heard or seen it, the Marvel Cinematic Universe now has its first on-screen Muslim superhero:16-year-old Kamala Khan aka Ms Marvel.



Played by newcomer Iman Vellani, Kamala Khan is an aspiring artist working on superhero fan fiction, who becomes a superhero herself when she finds a magical bangle that allows her to harness cosmic energy. (Interestingly, it seems sheā€™s able to channel the trauma of Partition and the spirit of her great-grandmother, who went missing at the time, through the bangle.)

The first episode of this much-anticipated series dropped this week and itā€™s already melting hearts everywhere. Not only does it provide much-needed representation onscreen and in the superhero genre, Ms Marvel puts Kamalaā€™s South Asian heritage front and centre.

From SP Balasubramaniam, AR Rahman and Ahmed Rushdi to Ishq Bector, Raja Kumari, and Ritviz, there are plenty of South Asian artists on the Ms Marvel soundtrack and it looks like audiences couldnā€™t be happier.

As if that wasnā€™t enough, initial reviews for the show have been largely positive, praising the representation of South Asian Americans and Vellaniā€™s acting debut in particular.

Some of the other songs to keep an eye (and ear) out for in Ms Marvel is ā€œRoziā€, rapped entirely in Urdu by are Pakistani hip-hop artist Eva B and ā€œDisco Gullyā€ by Angus Campbell, Kully Bhamra, and Ishq Bector (of 2008ā€™s ā€œAye Hip Hopperā€ fame). And itā€™s only episode one!

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How musician Gingger Shankar composed a female empowerment anthem for Ms Marvel

 The Marvel Cinematic Universe is debuting its first Pakistani-American superhero with its latest outing Ms Marvel. The show has been creating a non stop buzz on social media for its bold, diverse casting. 


The cast includes debutante Iman Vellani, who plays Kamala Khan aka Ms Marvel, along with other noted South Asian actors such as Farhan Akhtar, Fawad Khan and Mohan Kapur. Indian-American musician Gingger Shankar, daughter of L Subramaniam  and Viji Subramaniam, has composed the track Rozi, sung by Eva B, Pakistanā€™s first female rapper. In an interview, Gingger tells us more about how she got the part and whatā€™s next on the cards:

Tell us about the song you composed for Ms Marvel. 
The track is called Rozi. It is an anthem for womenā€™s empowerment and has Indian, Pakistani, hip-hop and cinematic elements to it. Eva and I worked on it through the pandemic between LA and Pakistan, and we are thrilled for folks to see it debut on the show.

How does it feel to be part of a franchise like Marvel?
When I heard about Ms Marvel, like many desi folks in our industry, I was eagerly awaiting the release. Our community was buzzing with excitement. Seeing the incredible women behind the show (creators Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Sana Amanat and Meera Menon) resonated so deeply with Eva and myself. During that time, we were creating these anthe-mic tracks talking about what it is to be a woman. For this to be the debut of our musical colla-boration is so meaningful. Iā€™ve always been a fan of Marvel, but if you had told me five years ago that we would be creating a hip-hop track with Pakistani and Indian influences, with the first female Pakistani rapper I wouldnā€™t have believed it! I think it makes me more of a fan honestly. 

Tell us about your experience collaborating with Eva B.
It has been so magical. I first started working with her about three years ago. I had came 
across her video Gully Girls (a play on Gully Boy) and I was blown away by her personality, her swagger and overall message. We started working on a project together when the pandemic hit. From the first track, we knew we had something special. We are currently working on a full length album.

Tell us about your next project. 
Iā€™m working on The Gray Man, a film starring Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans and Ana de Armas. I got to work with one of my favourite music collaborators, Devin Parker, for the trailer of this thrilling film. The music is extremely cinematic, with influences of hip-hop, Indian and Western classical strings and.