Entertainment
Spotify launches platform for tracking growth of Afrobeats
Spotify, the streaming platform, has launched a new website dedicated to gathering data and tracking the growth of Afrobeats.
The company announced the platform, titled ‘Afrobeats: Journey of a Billion Streams’, in a statement on Thursday.
Spotify said the platform will house Afrobeats-related data, including infographics and visual elements.
The organisation added that the initiative is aimed at promoting Afrobeats, which has become one of Africa’s “biggest cultural exports”.
Spotify added that the website will be updated on biweekly basis and will educate listeners on new “Afrobeats moments”.
“The site will act as a repository for this cultural phenomenon housing text, infographics, and visual elements, including Spotify streaming data and results from the Spotify commissioned April 2023 Afrobeats survey. The survey, conducted by research firm Kuvora, tracks the rise of Afrobeats and its cultural impact over decades,” the statement reads.
“The site will be updated on a biweekly basis for the next 8 weeks but will remain active beyond this as an always-on resource, with frequent updates on new Afrobeats moments. It will also include an interactive experience for fans to discover and connect with new knowledge on Afrobeats.
“The site will also include key Afrobeats timelines over the years, interesting Spotify data, excerpts from interviews with industry experts and man on the street videos from key markets in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, managing director of Spotify in sub-saharan Africa, said the website will enhance understanding of Afrobeats.
“There is no doubt that Afrobeats as a genre is here to stay, and will only continue to shatter more ceilings. In 2023 alone, the genre has been played for more than 223 million hours with streams exceeding 7.1 billion on Spotify,” it added.
“We created this site for both new and longtime fans of the genre, who would like to have a better understanding of how and where this explosive sound came to be.”
Entertainment
Rapper NBA YoungBoy pleads guilty in drug fraud case
NBA YoungBoy, the US rapper, has pleaded guilty to charges connected to a prescription drug fraud scheme.
The Louisiana rapper appeared in a courtroom in Logan, Utah on Monday, where he admitted to two counts of third-degree felony identity fraud, two counts of third-degree felony forgery, and six counts of misdemeanor unlawful pharmacy conduct.
YoungBoy, who is still serving 27 months on federal charges, also entered a “no contest” plea for 36 additional charges. He initially faced 46 state charges.
The plea deal reduced the felony charges to Class A misdemeanors.
Spencer Walsh, the judge, suspended a prison sentence, instead imposing a $25,000 fine.
The judge acknowledged YoungBoy’s prior agreement to serve over two years in prison and five years of probation for a related federal case resolved in September.
Authorities revealed that YoungBoy orchestrated the scheme from his home in Huntsville, Utah, where he posed as a doctor, using stolen identities to call in fraudulent prescriptions.
His associates allegedly collected the drugs from area pharmacies.
During sentencing, Walsh offered words of encouragement for the 25-year-old artiste.
“I’m sure that in your future, once you’re done with your federal prison time, you can be really successful on federal probation and have a really bright future where you can reach your full potential in every aspect of your life,” he said.
YoungBoy, known for his 2018 debut studio album ‘Until Death Call My Name’ and projects like ‘AI YoungBoy 2’ (2019) and ‘Sincerely, Kentrell’ (2021), is also facing an unresolved federal gun case in Louisiana.
The rapper, born Kentrell DeSean Gaulden, recently announced plans to release his new album, ‘I Just Got a Lot on My Shoulders’, on December 6.
Entertainment
Nancy Umeh welcomes third child via surrogacy after secondary infertility battle
Nancy Umeh, the Nigerian chef and public health scientist, and her husband have welcomed their third child via surrogacy.
Surrogacy is when a woman carries and delivers a child for a couple or individual. This is done by fertilizing eggs from the surrogate or an egg donor with sperm from a donor to create an embryo.
In an Instagram post, Umeh shared a video capturing the process of childbirth. She said she opted for surrogacy because she battled “secondary infertility” for seven years after the birth of her last child.
Secondary infertility is the inability to conceive or carry a baby after previously giving birth without any assistance or trouble.
Umeh expressed her excitement while appreciating her surrogacy agency for the support. She also thanked the surrogate who she described as “an angel”.
“Our princess is here. Talia Tobechukwu Umeh,” she wrote.
“Too stunned to speak right now. I can’t believe we are parents again. Our last son is 8 years old and we have tried for 7 whole years.
“An angel carried our child for us. An angel sent from God through Meet Surrogate Mothers. I can’t believe we are holding our child.”
In an accompanying caption, she wrote: “Somebody pinch me. 7 years later. God bless you indeed Meet surrogate mothers. #parents again #secondary surrogate”.
The chef tied the knot with her husband in 2015. They now have three children.
Umeh is the older sister of popular Nigerian dancer Korra Obidi.
Entertainment
‘It hurts’ — Don Jazzy laments not having partner
Michael Ajereh, the Nigerian music executive better known as Don Jazzy, has lamented his relationship status.
In an Instagram post on Monday, the founder of Mavin Records expressed his desire to participate in a trend ‘suspect challenge’.
The ‘suspect challenge’ is a new social media trend in which couples take turns to playfully tease each other.
The 41-year-old entrepreneur said he would like to join the trend but has no partner.
“Suspect wants to do suspect challenge but no suspect partner,” he wrote. In the accompanying caption, the music executive lamented that “it hurts”.
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