The Vim Views & Versions - Blogs of a MIghTy African

My alter ago, Ayooluwaato Eze is back again. This time talking about Nigeria :-) The African Remix boys from Nigeria are back again! After remixing Soulja Boy's Crank that Soulja boy, Chris Brown's Kiss Kiss, Lil Wayne's Lollipop, and Beyonce's Single Ladies, they are remixing a Nigerian hip-hop classic, Pon pon pon by the famous Yoruba rapper, Da-Grin . Da-Grin passed away on Thursday, April 22. Many tributes poured his way from various Nigerian artistes, including this one called My pain which featured multiple Nigerian all-stars. Check out the lyrics for song coming soon here . As usual, the Naija Boyz are at their funniest best. They mention that they still have the Naija swagger. They make fun of children born to Nigerian parents in the US who have 'forgotten their upbringing'. The video featured a Nigerian-American kid insulting his mum and who is going to call 911. Nigerian mothers won't take that nonsense and 'go remind you why we come here...

Ghanaian rapper Asem is now a Journalist, and his latest single describes all the events and occurances in the Ghana Showbiz Industry during 2010. Okay, fylla, fylla o fylla!; A S E M with the fylla; This be the 2010 fylla; Ghana showbizness, 2010 I dey come summarize from beginning to the end He mentioned Obrafour (Rastaman) bouncing back on Okyeame Kwame's (Jerry Curls) back and how the song's hype didn't last long because the guy Obrafour featured, Guru, slacked. You'll remember Obrafour's Kasiebo track was a response to Okyeame Kwame and Obour's Killing the game . He also takes a shot at Kwaw Kese saying he's become his PRO, mentioning his name everywhere he goes. Kwaw Kese recently released his Killa bewu last show which dissed Asem, KOD and Jon Germain . He acknowledges that Tema is the home of great rap fever but stipulates that the money is still in Accra. He says even Tema boys stole the show at the Ghana Music Awards, it's he Asem whose ...

I received some invites from a couple of people to test out Google's Baraza earlier. Just recently, Google Baraza was launched in different places in Africa. Baraza, which means ‘taskforce’ or ‘council’ in Swahili, is a newly launched question and answer service that will also be integrated into search results on Google Search. From the earlier notice One of Google’s goals in Africa is to make the internet more locally relevant and bring more people online. One of the challenges of the internet in Africa is that there is a lack of local content online. At Google, we find that users search for information about local businesses, entertainment, health, etc but often don’t find it because the information is not yet available online. In order to help bring more local content online, Google engineers have created Baraza to allow people in countries across Africa to ask questions and post answers to questions from others. If you have any questions about Africa, go and ask it through Bara...

Last month, I blogged about the upcoming The first African Leadership Network gathering . My thoughts dey there. This week, I received a press release from one of the organizers and wanted to share with you. It's in about two weeks. How times flies. I am personally excited about this though. Africa’s Top Emerging Leaders Gather in Ethiopia for Invitation-Only Meeting of the African Leadership Network Johannesburg, South Africa – October 15, 2010 – The African Leadership Network (ALN), today announced a first-of-its kind, invitation-only gathering of Africa’s top emerging leaders. Chosen from across Africa for their distinguished leadership in the business, government, and non-profit sectors, these young leaders will come together in the spirit of problem solving and action, focusing their combined passion and expertise on addressing the opportunities and challenges facing Africa. “We will rise beyond our challenges and capture our opportunities only if our continent’s top young lea...

At different times in my life, people meet me and say I look Nigerian. They say I look Igbo, sorry my Yoruba brethren and Hausa sistren. I didn't choose that and personally I don't like Igbos more than other Naija tribes. So, I play along and claim that I am actually Nigerian. Of course, you all know I am a Ghanaian. If you didn't, now you know. Especially when I meet some new Nigerians, I 'lie' and say I am Nigerian and my name is ..... I used to say Oluwadeyoato. Apparently, it doesn't make much sense, so I consulted with some Nigerian friends to come up with a new one. This is what we settled on - Ayooluwaato Eze. Yes, my Naija alter ego has a last name too. And I am from Kwara State . :-) Before I tell you about me, let me tell you a funny story. When attending the local Nigeriaat50 party, I was with a Naija girl and we met some of her friends. I introduced myself as Oluwadeyoato to them. I said I was from Kwara state. I was wearing green. Gotto rep my cou...

Earlier this month, fellow blogger and Ghanaian, Jemila of Cicrumspecte.com informed me about Blog Action Day on October 15. I looked forward to this day and earlier, realised that Edward of Tagoe Blogger had blogged about MoneyGram quenching Asuboi's thirst . Blog action Day 2010 (BAD2010) tackles 'water' with the premise "Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s one in eight of us." Let's spread the word about providing cleaner and safer water, especially in Africa where water-borne diseases are a menace still. I've had some battles with unsafe water. In the final year in Presec, I had some 'traces' of Typhoid fever which drove me to the hospital for a couple of check-ups. I was given some medication and told to check the water I used. There had been a typhoid outbreak in Accra and a few people had died. So I wasn't going to joke around. Accra has a lot of documented water prob...

I found some exciting news from @TerryPheto's twitter yesterday. She tweeted on October 6th - Great News... HOPEVILLE has been nominated for an EMMY AWARD. Best TV Movie/Mini-Series. I had already blogged about the HOPEVILLE movie , which was released in South African theatres September 3rd. I am waiting patiently for it to be on DVD, which will take a while. The movie's trailer speaks volumes and am personally not surprised that the television show has been nominated for an International Emmy in the TV Movie/Mini-Series category. I have never heard of any African television show being nominated for an International Emmy. This is big! Local is lekker! Hopeville has already won an international award, it won for best drama and mini-series at the Rose d’Or Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland on 22 September, where it beat 85 other TV dramas. In the International Emmy competition Hopeville is competing against three other nominees: Germany’s The Author of Himself, the UK’s Small Isl...

One of my Presec mates (Odadee) posted on my wall this week "I hope I'm not the only one getting Conversations With Myself". Then I conf pass corn flakes dem conference for corn inside. After I asked him about it, he said "New Madiba book...heard about it on 60 minutes...I get chills whenever i hear about this man...same feeling i had when i watched Invictus i had today". Yep, same feeling I also had when I watched Invictus with a dear one last December. I can't even begin to describe Nelson Mandela in one blog post . That makes me think, why didn't I even blog about Invictus? I think I should. Then again, I am a bigger fan of movies than books. Dont judge me. I'll read this one . Because a book called "Conversations with Myself" is too good to pass up. Ayoba. I stumbled upon the story again on one of my favorite websites, Africagoodnews.com . Seriously, follow them on Twitter @sagoodnews. Yes, it started as sagoodnews.co.za and now they ha...

My favorite African re-engineer/inventor/ingenious maker/technologist Apostle Kwadwo Safo has a website. Kantanka DOT COM ! Check it out today. Sorry, I was too excited that I wouldn't even bother telling you more. Everything is on the website anyway. This information is too much for a tweet so we blogged it. Yes, me, myself and I. Well, maybe' we'll update this post later. Thanks to Esi Ansah, Barcamp Accra for the link. She is planning to go visit Apostle's site with her Ashesi students. #VIM!

My friend, @Skyllie of Afroziky sent me this movie trailer today. It was for a movie called Africa United. We saw a lot of 'AfricaUnited' around the Mzansi Mundial aka FIFA World Cup in South Africa in June-July 2010. There was even some images that many people used as profile pictures on Facebook. It seemed that Ghana's Black Stars, Nigeria's Super Eagles, Cote D'Ivoire Les Elephants, Cameroun's Indomitable Lions, Algeria's Desert Warriors and South Africa's Bafana Bafana were all playing for Africa . So once the Black Stars of Ghana were left standing, it was still Africa United. Or BaGhana BaGhana if you like. So a movie about football called Africa United is easily a must-promote, must-buy and must-watch for me. Africa United is an adventure drama from first-time feature director Debs Gardner-Paterson. Young Rwandan Dudu (Eriya Ndayambaje) heads to the football World Cup in Johannesburg with his sister, Beatrice (Sanyu Joanita Kintu), and his friend...

Sankofa Pictures sent me info about their shooting Mensa's new music video, No One Knows. Check this story out and visit this site to support the production of this music video. M3NSA recorded his 2nd Album ‘No. 1 MANGO STREET’ (which launches October 2, 2010), as a yearning shout out to the land of his birth. He pays homage and takes a nostalgic trip down memory lane, vividly depicting the rich, varied nuances of Ghanaian life from an adult, almost outsider perspective. This album, mixed and mastered by GRAMMY AWARD WINNING engineer Ed Reed, features a perfect blend of well-known and upcoming gifted artists with an authentic feel of West African high-life, beautifully fused with an organic hip-hop sound. This unique 14 track collection is excitingly new yet strangely familiar. From No. 1 Mango Street, we introduce to you, his 1st international single, ‘ No One Knows '. Our Cause "I believe it is impossible to make sense of life in this world except through art."-...

A friend posted as @Barcamp Takoradi's Facebook status update: "#Takoradi Born; Cecil Nutakor is the Winner of the Global Students Entrepreneur Awards 2010. http://is.gd/fNLIB/ We want him at BarCamp Takoradi. #BCTdi" Congrats to Cecil. Here is the story from the GSEA website Winner Announced! The GSEA has confirmed student entrepreneur Cecil S. Nutakor of Ghana, student at Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration, Greenhill College, and owner of Equinox Intercom Limitied, to compete at the 2010 GSEA Global Finals in Kansas City, MO, USA. Equinox Intercom Limited is an electronic learning and electronic business application service provider with the aim of developing and providing products and services to the next generation of mobile empowered students and entrepreneurs in Ghana and West Africa. Check Cecil Senna Nutakor out on Facebook . On his Facebook profile, he lists himself as the Founder & CEO of Equinox Intercom Limited since August 2006 in Ac...

On Sunday evening, a number of Facebook friends asked their friends to turn to CBS and watch the second episode of Amazing Race (TAR17) taking place in Ghana. I thought it was cool but I didn't really bother watching the show. I don't own a television or watch TV anyway. A couple of friends who watched the episode seemed proud of Ghana and even homesick by the images. So today, when I was doing my 'once in awhile check-up on Ghanaweb news' and found video links to the Amazing Race Ghana episode, I had to watch. And I am really glad I did . After waking up to a bright sunny day in Eastnor Castle in the UK, our amazing racers are told their next stop will be Accra, Ghana. Yay! They leave London with about $137. Some of the racers are quite excited to go to Ghana. No one mentions that Ghana is a great footballing nation though. I was saddened by that but anyway, #VIM! One guy mentions "Accra is in Africa, so pretty sweet". One lady says "We're going to...

Which new actor/actress would debut to Ghanaians in Shirley Frimpong-Manso's latest movie? Damilola Adegbite. Yes, a Nigerian. Actually, the last name is familiar, I may know one of her in-laws. '6 Hours to Christmas' is the latest movie from the Sparrow Productions stable. ' 6 Hours to Christmas ' will premiere new movie on 29th October,2010 at the Natioanl Theatre. It follows Life and Living it , Scorned , The Perfect Picture , A Sting in a Tale (ASIAT) , and Check mate . What's the worst that could happen 6 Hours to Christmas? It's going to be interesting how Christmas in Ghana is portrayed in the movie. Shirley's movies have tended to show Ghana's middle to upper class and the belief would be that this movie would do the same. We'll see what Sparrow has up their sleeves. Here's the story/synopsis It looks like it's going to be a typical 24th December day for suave creative director, Reggie and perhaps a slightly more memorable one as ...

If you've followed my blog for awhile, you'll know how much I love the Ghanaian movie 'I sing of A well' (ISOAW). I interviewed the director, Leila Djansi , about it. I went through thick and thin to be able to watch a preview of the movie when it wasn't available anywhere. I then reviewed it , calling it one of the best African movies of all time. Now, it is available for you to buy and watch. At this link , it costs under $5. Get it today! The movie won multiple awards at the African Movie Academy Awards earlier this year. In a February 8, 2010 interview with yours truly, Leila Djansi answered "I have no idea yet" to the "When will the movie, ISOAW, be out on DVD or VCD?" question. She then told me it was in the hands of the distributor. The movie is finally able for purchase. It's been a long time coming, but it will be worth it. I will rather have great African movies be premiered, do the rouns at film festivals for a while before they a...

So I learnt a lot about weaves when I recently watched Chris Rock's Good Hair. I had wanted to see the movie in theatres but it was only in a select few. So I watched the movie online. The movie blew me away. My Nigerian friend showed me this clip that blew me away as well. It's about hair and almost as funny as Chris Rock's documentary. I did a little search and found out the lady in this video is a Nigerian comedian called Helen Paul. Here is the video that's going viral. The hair video Good hair blog entry coming soon