RED CARPET - ENGLISH HD
Metadata
- RED CARPET - ENGLISH HD
- October 3, 2022
- Language English
- Transcript/Script HOST: Hello and Welcome to VOA's Red Carpet! I am your host, [NAME]. On this episode of Red Carpet, We take a look inside the death of rising Nigerian Afrobeats star Mohbad, Sudanese filmmakers who fled war screen their film in Nairobi, and Malawian producer Tapps partners with international music firms to take Malawian music global. Let’s get on with the show! ENTERTAINMENT ROUNDUP Let’s start with some highlights of the latest entertainment news around the world. In music news, Grammy-winning singer Usher has been confirmed as the headliner of the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show in Las Vegas. The NFL, Apple Music and Roc Nation announced the news with a video of a phone conversation between Usher and Kim Kardashian, who revealed the exciting news to him. In film news, Hollywood's writers union reached a preliminary labor agreement with major studios, a deal expected to end one of two strikes that have halted most film and television production and cost the California economy billions. The three-year contract still must be approved by leadership of the Writers Guild of America (WGA,) as well as union members, before it can take effect. And the Africa Entertainment Awards USA (AEAUSA) has announced its nominees for the 2023 edition, which will take place on November 20 in New Jersey. The awards aim to celebrate and honor African talents in various fields of entertainment, such as music, film, comedy, fashion, and sports. Some of the nominees include Bonang Matheba for Best TV Host; Nasty C for Best Male Artist; K.O for Best Hip Hop Artist; Sho Madjozi for Best Female Artist; Burna Boy for Artist of the Year; and Davido for Best Collaboration. Fans can vote for their favorite nominees on the AEAUSA website. The Unanswered Questions Surrounding Mohbad’s Death and Its Implications for the Nigerian Music Industry. HOST: Let’s get some more music news. The death of Nigerian singer Mohbad has sparked outrage and grief among his fans and fellow artists. The 27-year-old Afrobeats star, who was signed to Naira Marley's Marlian Music label, died on September 12 in mysterious circumstances. VOA’s Kahli Abdu takes a look into the case and its implications for the Nigerian music industry. Let's take a look. ((Narration)) Mohbad, whose real name was Ilerioluwa Olademeji Aloba, was a rising talent in the Nigerian music scene. He had collaborated with artists like Davido, Zlatan and Bella Shmurda, and was known for songs such as Peace, Feel Good and Ronaldo. His death has raised many questions and suspicions, as some sources claim that he died from an ear infection, while others allege that he was poisoned or overdosed on drugs. To shed more light on the matter, I spoke to David Hundeyin, an investigative journalist who has been following the case closely. ((David Hundeyin – Investigative Journalist (Male)) “So, suffice to say that this is an artist who apparently was much loved on the streets, who had many public issues with his with his prior record label and management team before, in the years and months preceding his death, and whose death is now, I think, known to have occurred under suspicious circumstances. The police have announced that they are treating it as a murder investigation. There are all sorts of questions about what exactly happened now. What we do know for a fact is several people have come out, several prior separate artists who were friends of his or who were part of the record label he was signed to- the so-called Marlian Music, founded by the Nigerian artist Naira Marley. ((Narration)) An angle that has generated a lot of controversy is the role of Naira Marley, Sam Larry and the Marlian Music record label in Mohbad's death. Naira Marley is a popular Nigerian singer and rapper, who signed Mohbad to his label in 2019, but they parted ways in 2022 amid some disputes. Sam Larry is a socialite and show promoter, who is an associate of Naira Marley. Both Naira Marley and Sam Larry have denied having any hand in Mohbad's death, but many fans and critics are not convinced. I asked David Hundeyin about this aspect of the case and why Naira Marley is being suspected. ((David Hundeyin – Investigative Journalist (Male)) “The Malian records entity might have been, in fact, a convincing cover for a drug trafficking operation, and that Naira Marley might not, in fact, have ever left his prior iteration as a gangster on the streets of London to become an artist in Nigeria, but that the artist persona was merely a cover for what the real purpose of the so-called Marlian Music was. Now, some of the allegations that have been made include the allegation that some artists who were signed to the label were being forced against their will to act as as drug couriers, and to run other errands, which, you know, where skirting the limits of legality without their consent. But there was a significant amount of physical abuse. There were allegations of sexual abuse, which obviously, you know, have not been proven to be substantiated. But these allegations have been made. And essentially that's when Mohbad specifically made the decision to disassociate himself from Marlian Records, to go independent, to go solo, and to stop making music with Marlian Records, and to stop associating with the so-called Marlian gang that they came after him and turn his life into a living hell. So, there have been videos which have emerged which seem to corroborate these accounts of events. The videos that show him getting beaten up multiple times, one time on a video shoot, another time at a club, and, you know, several videos like that, which, you know, to be honest, we don't really know why these things weren't made public at the time.” ((Narration)) Mohbad’s death has also exposed the rifts and conflicts within the Nigerian music industry, where many young artists struggle to make a name for themselves and face exploitation, intimidation and violence from their rivals or labels. One of the people who has been vocal about these issues is Samklef, a music producer and singer who has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Wizkid, whom he helped launch into stardom in 2010, producing big hits like ‘Don’t Dull’ and ‘Pakurumo’. He says that Mohbad suffered from a problem that has been an issue in the Nigerian music industry for a while. ((Samklef – Music Producer (Male)) “This Mohbad case has been going on for a very long time. The only difference is that [in] Mohbad’s [case] the record label became violent. They started treating him like, you know when you’re [dealing with] a drug lord kind of case, like a gangster kind of stuff. For like all the other celebrities, they blacklist you. What's the difference?” ((Narration)) The police is still carrying out an investigation after the autopsy of Mohbad’s body, which was exhumed on September 14. The NDLEA has not confirmed or denied the allegations of Mohbad’s involvement in drug-related activities or what transpired while he was in their custody. Meanwhile, Naira Marley, Sam Larry and the Marlian Music label have denied any wrongdoing or connection to Mohbad’s death, and have expressed their condolences to his family and fans. As the mystery of Mohbad’s death remains unsolved, his fans and colleagues continue to mourn and demand justice for him. Malawian Musician Tapps Partners With International Music Firms To Promote Local Talent. HOST: Malawi's acclaimed and veteran music producer Tapuwa “Tapps” Bandawe popularly known as ‘Tapps’ says he has struck a working partnership with global Music agencies to promote local Malawian musicians and music at a global level. Under his local music promotion label Pamudzi Soundscape, Bandawe says the deal seeks to open doors for Malawian music and musicians to over 250 global digital stores and streaming services such as Spotify, iTunes and Amazon. VOA’s Red Carpet talked with Bandawe at his studio in Malawi’s commercial capital, Blantyre. Let’s take a look. ((Bandawe in his studio producing music)) NARRATION: Bandawe says the deal also seeks to ensure that Malawian music appears in Hollywood movies, documentaries, Netflix series and adverts worldwide where Malawian musicians will be paid at the same rate as other international artists. ((More videos of Bandawe his studio)) Global music agencies he has partnered in the deal include Shamiso Music and Entertainment based in South Africa, Christian Tattersfield based in USA and Mark Ashelford based in UK. [SOT: BANDAWE IN ENGLISH 25 SECS] “We are giving Malawian this opportunity, they give us their music as long as it is of good quality, we get it on digital platform and also we help to market them here and there and also that main onus is on the artists to market themselves. So really that what it is, it’s a digital deal that we are giving to Malawians at no cost to themselves” ((Video of music by award winning Malawi musicians Tygrin who has made it on the international music seen)) Bandawe says only a few of Malawian musicians like award winning hip hop artist Try Grin have made it on the international stage but many continue to struggle because they tend to copy foreign music. [SOT: BANDAWE IN ENGLISH 30 SECS] “So, what artists tend to do is to copy from South African genres, Nigerian genres. Now the problem is when you take it international, you go to the UK, the UK person will say ‘this sounds Nigerian, is Malawi in Nigeria? No, Malawi is a separate country, and this sounds like Amapiano is Malawi in South Africa?’ No guys, they need to hear something authentic, they want to hear Malawian music” ((Videos of Bandawe playing samples of Malawi traditional music from his phone)) Bandawe says he is currently working with Department of Culture, Copyright Society of Malawi and Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority by going into districts and record original Malawian traditional music. [SOT: BANDAWE IN ENGLISH 16 SECS] “Now, what we are encouraging the new artist or the new sound artist is that the Malawian artist and Malawian producers, lets listen to our original music and let’s take from their and lets incorporate it into a new vibe.” ((Music video by gospel Artist Manong’a)) Renowned gospel artist, Gloria Manong’a welcomes Bandawe’s initiative. [SOT: MANONG’A IN ENGLISH 33 SECS] “This issue of online marketing needed a lot of awareness to our country musicians. So adapt to that system it has been a problem to an extent that only few could know how to sell their music worldwide. It doesn’t mean that we don’t do well, it doesn’t meant that we don’t know how to sing, it doesn’t me we don’t know how to produce good music but we were left behind we could not know” ((Video of Manonga in the studio)) Manong’a who is also a former president of Musicians Union of Malawi says the challenge now is for Malawi musicians to be creative enough to fuse local and international genres to maintain their Malawians identity on the international market. [SOT: MANONG’A IN ENGLISH 29 SECS] “The only thing that we can ask is that there should be some people who can support us in terms of fusion as we produce out music. You know we are living in modern world were by we need to know how to fuse out cultures music with other culture’s music, like a mixing up so that we can spice up you know things have gone wider.” British Yoruba designer Tolu Coker shows at London Fashion Week HOST: Now to fashion. Known for championing new talent, up and coming British Yoruba designer Tolu Coker showed at London Fashion Week bringing an all Black cast to the runway. Here’s more. ((NARRATOR)) Her varied collection which featured shorts teamed with corset style tops and neutral coloured skirt and trouser combinations was driven by 'her Yoruba roots and a yearning to commemorate slices of familial history. ((Tolu Coker, Fashion Designer (Female)) “IRAPADA' is what the collection is called, and it means 'redemption' in Yoruba. And it's about going back to oneself. And often there's a loss of something. To go back to, something, to regain something. And that's what I wanted to celebrate.” ((NARRATOR)) The Yoruba people are an ethnic group from West Africa and Coker, who was born in Britain to Nigerian parents, explained she wanted Black models only for her catwalk to ''do justice'' to the story she was telling. ((Tolu Coker, Fashion Designer (Female)) “I think sometimes we don't understand the importance or the significance of the stories, the bodies that carry the stories. And I think for me, that was what was significant.” ((NARRATOR)) Coker is part of the British Fashion Council's (BFC) NEWGEN programme, which, now in its 30th year, provides financial support and mentoring for new designers. ((Tolu Coker, Fashion Designer (Female)) “It's it's tough. It's definitely tough. I think, you know, financially it's difficult, but I think having things like NEWGEN - they're really life changing, you know, you really need these opportunities to be able to tell your stories. And I think, you know, my models, they weren't they're not just my models. A lot of them are my peers. A lot of them have been in the studio late night. You know, my friends have been working everywhere from like PR and is like right you're sales person now and everyone just kind of chips in and you know it's like it's they don't just see as my thing it's like our thing.” ((NARRATOR)) Most of Coker's collection is made from deadstock and waste materials that she gets from fabric partners around the world. Sudanese Filmmakers Who Fled War Screen Work in Nairobi. HOST: When an award-winning Sudanese filmmaker documented the journey of Sudan’s martial arts team, which traveled by road to Kenya for an international championship in 2019, he did not know that four years later he would be taking a similar path as he did in the film Journey to Kenya but for completely different reasons. VOA Nairobi Bureau Chief Mariama Diallo recently attended the screening of his movie and those of other Sudanese filmmakers and has this story. ((NAT POP – JOURNEY TO KENYA MOVIE CLIP WITH CHANTS)) ((NARRATOR)) It is a journey ((MANDATORY COURTESY: “Journey to Kenya”/Ibrahim Snoopy and Indeepvision)) the group thought would take two to three days from Sudan to Kenya via Ethiopia to participate ((END MANDATORY CG)) in an international jiu-jitsu competition in Nairobi, ((MANDATORY COURTESY: “Journey to Kenya”/Ibrahim Snoopy and Indeepvision)) but it turned out to be full of surprises, [[FOR RADIO - Award winning Sudanese filmmaker Ibrahim Ahmad - also known as Snoopy - told VOA]] ((CG: END MANDATORY)) ((Ibrahim “Snoopy” Ahmad – Sudanese Filmmaker (Male)) “It took us six days, you know, days sleeping in the car, days sleeping at a gas station in the car, and I remember, there was a coup in Ethiopia; we had no internet, we couldn’t follow the map, so we lost the road.” [[For radio: In this clip, team member Zuheir.]] ((MANDATORY COURTESY: Journey to Kenya/Ibrahim Snoopy and Indeepvision)) ((Film Nats, Zuheir, team member)) “The hardest part for me was just sitting in the car...it was so long.” ((NARRATOR)) At the end, through insurmountable challenges at times, they made it to Nairobi two hours before the competition started. And they made their country proud. ((NAT POP CHANTS)) Screening the movie ((END MANDATORY CG)) for the first time in Nairobi felt different, Snoopy told us. He recently had to make a similar trip again because of the war in Sudan over the past five months. ((Ibrahim “Snoopy” Ahmad – Sudanese Filmmaker)) “Right now, I am living my movie, not living with the characters as a filmmaker and I went through the same thing. It was so painful because I traveled for 18 hours from Ethiopia to Kenya borders and from the Kenyan border to here 19 hours.” ((NARRATOR)) Rafa Renas, another filmmaker, also debuted a short documentary about an unusual beauty salon in Khartoum. ((MANDATORY COURTESY: “The Salon” / Rafa Renas and Phil Cox)) ((NAT POP – MOVIE)) “The Salon” is also a sanctuary for women across Sudan fleeing domestic violence. [[For radio: In this clip, one victim tells her story.]] ((Film nats, in Arabic with English subtitles)) “I got married in 2017. The first six months we were in a good place. After six months, my life turned 180 degrees. Then started verbal abuse, hitting.” ((NARRATOR)) With this film she’s trying to help people understand what some women in Sudan go through. ((END MANDATORY CG)) ((Rafa Renas – Sudanese Filmmaker (Female)) “The domestic violence, the harassment outside, the rape, there’s a lot going on. I am just trying to tell the story in a creative way like I am not attacking the men. I am just giving women space.” ((NARRATOR)) Last but not least, the audience got to enjoy the screening of another Sudanese filmmaker Yasir Faiz. ((MANDATORY COURTESY: “The Dog’s Shitter”/ Sadam Siddig and Yasir Faiz)) ((NATs POP MOVIE)) The award-winning, 15-minute film is based on the novel “The Waste Man”. The actual title is considered a bit crude. It rhymes with dog’s sitter. The thought of the main character’s daughter who turned 18 having a boyfriend brings up layers of her father’s Sudanese culture he thought he had left behind when he emigrated to the Netherlands 26 years prior. ((END MANDATORY CG)) ((Yasir Faiz – Sudanese Filmmaker (Male)) “It’s actually a film about an immigrant facing problems with the culture of the place he leaves in. He thinks that he has no problems but with this critical event, the problem came out.” ((NARRATOR)) While these filmmakers have found a new place to live in Kenya, they also hope to someday be able to document the war at home in Sudan. ((MARIAMA DIALLO VOANEWS NAIROBI)) CLOSER HOST: Thanks for watching VOA’s Red Carpet. I’m your host, [Name]. For more on your entertainment news, check us out on www.voaafrica.com or on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe. Until next time, goodbye everyone!
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Expiration Date October 29, 2023 23:59 EDT
- Embargo Date September 28, 2023 17:13 EDT
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America