ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT - The African Mirror

Mar

20

2021

No Zoom for intimate 2021 Oscars

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

THE Oscars ceremony in April will be an intimate, in-person gathering, held without Cand limited to nominees, presenters and their guests, the producers said on Thursday. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the show to hand out the highest honors in the movie industry will be held both at the Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles and the traditional home of the Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Everyone will be tested, and there will be a COVID-19 safety team on site throughout the evening on April 25. "There will not be an option to Zoom in for the…

Mar

19

2021

By The African Mirror

Kanye West is the richest black man in America

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER RAPPER Kanye West has officially joined the billionaire boys club. According to Forbes magazine, West is now worth $6.6-billion, largely due to profits from his fashion brand Yeezy, and his multiple collaborations with Adidas and Gap. His new net worth makes him the richest black person in America and in the country’s history. The rapper’s sneaker and apparel business Yeezy recently entered a combined partnership with Adidas AG and Gap Inc., increasing the value of the brand between $3.2-billion and $4.7-billion by UBS Group AG. The 43 year-old’s new net worth is significantly higher than what was…

Mar

17

2021

By The African Mirror

Nadia Nakai and Khanyi Mbau joins search for Africa’s next trender

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

MPHO RANTAO SOUTH African rapper Nadia Nakai and media personality Khanyi Mbau have been named as two-thirds of a judging panel for a new African show that’s looking for the continent’s next Online sensation. Called ‘The Next Big Trender’, the show will consist of five up and coming African stars completing a set of tasks that will be by a panel that consists of Nakai, Mbau and Nigerian comedian Olalekan “Lekan” Olaleye. The show will be aired on new channel Honey, on Dstv channel 173. Khanyi Mbau and Lekan Olaleye join the judging panel. Picture: Instagram The five contestants are…

Nov

25

2025

By JOVIAL RANTAO

A son returns home: Jimmy Cliff and Africa’s reggae revolution

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

WHEN the news reached us that Jimmy Cliff had crossed his final river at age 81, something more than a musician departed - a bridge between Africa and her scattered children grew quieter. The man who sang "Many Rivers to Cross" with such aching beauty had finally reached the other shore, leaving behind a legacy that transformed not just music but consciousness itself across our vast continent. From the shanties of Soweto to the bustling streets of Lagos, from the highlands of Addis Ababa to the coasts of Mombasa, Jimmy Cliff's voice carried a message that Africans understood in their…

Mar

17

2021

By The African Mirror

Danish director says making Oscar-nominated ‘Another Round’ kept him sane after daughter’s death

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

HANNA RANTALA THOMAS Vinterberg was four days into shooting 'Another Round', which has just earned him an Oscar nomination for best director when his daughter Ida, who was due to act in the movie, died in a car accident. The Danish director says that nomination, plus another for best international feature film, honour 19-year old Ida's memory. Much of the movie, which follows a group of teachers who make a pact to consume a small amount of alcohol each day in the hope it will improve the quality of their lives, was filmed in Ida's former high school, with scenes…

Mar

16

2021

By The African Mirror

Burna Boy and Wizkid scoop Grammy Awards

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

NIGERIAN superstar Burna has won his first career Grammay Award at a ceremony marked by historic feet by women and the Blue Ivy, the youngest winner at 9. Burna Boy won the Grammy Award for the Best Global Music Album for his album Twice as Tall. In an acceptance speech given in English and Yoruba, Burna Boy described the achievement as a big win for his generation of Africans all over the world. “Africa is in the house. This is a big win for my generation of Africans all over the world. And this should be a lesson to every…

Mar

16

2021

By The African Mirror

Oscar nominations met with surprise, gratitude, disbelief

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

NOMINATIONS were announced on Monday for the Academy Awards, the highest film honors. The awards will be presented on April 25. Following are reactions from key nominees, in statements or posted on social media: GARY OLDMAN, NOMINEE FOR BEST ACTOR FOR 'MANK' "After such a stressed pandemic year, there is a kind of comfort and reassurance in knowing that we soldier on in many ways with important traditions. In our industry there is nothing more traditional than the Academy Awards, which hopefully sends a sign of hope that we will get out of this. ... Not to trivialize the current…

Mar

15

2021

By The African Mirror

Kenyan gospel and Nigerian Hausa songs win streaming service Mdundo new users

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

EDWIN WAITA WHEN Danish national Martin Nielsen moved to Kenya to work with a venture capital firm, he quickly switched gears after spotting an opportunity in streaming music and selling downloads. Fast forward eight years and the Kenya-based company he co-founded and now leads, Mdundo, is listed on the Danish stock market and is posting rapid growth in users in the African markets it serves. Africa has been attracting international audio streaming firms like Sweden's Spotify and Apple Music, keen on capitalising on growing internet users and rising demand for legal content. "The market is getting bigger," Nielsen told Reuters.…

Mar

14

2021

By The African Mirror

Album Review | Emeka Ogboh’s sounds of Lagos

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

LLOYD GEDYE THE artist has released a debut album after more than a decade of sound installations, incorporating his recordings from the streets of the Nigerian city into his new work. At the end of last year, 200 missing posters were dotted around the German city of Dresden. However, they weren’t for a missing person but for the Benin Bronzes. The city’s Museum für Völkerkunde holds five pieces from the former royal palace of Benin, which British soldiers looted in 1897, and the missing posters were the work of Nigerian sound and visual artist Emeka Ogboh. In an interview with the ArtNet…

Mar

13

2021

By The African Mirror

Why Indian films are popular in Ghana — and have been for decades

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

OVER the past ten years, Indian television series have become a feature in many households across Ghana as they’ve become available on cable and satellite channels. KATIE YOUNG, Post Doctoral Researcher, Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick Indian television series, including romantic dramas (such as Til the End of Time) and historical dramas (such as Razia Sultan), have gained popularity. One show loosely based on Jane Austen’s classic novel Sense and Sensibility called Kumkum Bhagya has even been dubbed in Twi, an Akan language spoken in southern and central Ghana. Based on the success of the show, the stars of…