Afrobeats Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Tems has announced her anticipated debut album after a stellar showing at Coachella this past weekend.Last night (April 15), Tems took to social media to announce her first-ever studio album, ‘Born In The Wild’, which is due to arrive in May, though a concrete release date has yet to be revealed.The album’s tracklisting and other information, including guest features, have yet to be announced as well.Watch the announcement trailer for Tems’ ‘Born In The Wild’ below.A post shared by TEMS

the first round of artists was released – confirming Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj and 21 Savage as this year’s headliners.Today (April 11), the second wave of artists hsa been unveiled. Flo Milli, Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang will join Nicki Minaj, Future, Ice Spice, Sean Paul and more on Friday’s line-up, while Valiant and Jocewavy have been added to the stacked Saturday bill, headlined by 21 Savage and also featuring J Hus, Asake, Sexyy Red and others.On the closing day – which is headlined by Doja Cat – fans can now see Nemzzz, Don Toliver and Rich Amiri perform alongside the likes of Rema, Tyla, Teezo Touchdown and more.Don Toliver and Flo Milli last performed at the popular event in 2022, whereas Destroy Lonely and Homixide Gang (both signees of Playboi Carti‘s Opium label) took centre stage at last year’s edition.Tickets for Wireless Festival are on sale now are available here.Friday, July 12 Nicki Minaj Future Ice Spice Sean Paul Destroy Lonely Flo Milli Vanessa Bling Homixide Gang Veeze Ragz Originale DJ Target Remi BurgzSaturday, July 13 21 Savage J Hus AsakeGunna Sexyy Red Valiant Fridayy Skillibeng Byron Messia ShallipopiStrandz JoceWavy Kenny Allstar Seani BSunday, July 14 Doja Cat Don Toliver Rema TylaDigga D Uncle WafflesRuger Teezo Touchdown Rich Amiri Nemzzz Nadia Jae Snoochie ShyWireless announced last year that they would be relocating to Finsbury Park after moving the iconic festival to Crystal Palace Park in 2021 following the pandemic.There was an arrangement for the festival to take place at venues such as Hyde Park, Harewood House and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on a year-by-year basis.

Davido is taking legal action over a false news report on April Fool’s Day, which he has deemed “extremely irresponsible”.The Afrobeats artist shared a statement on X/Twitter yesterday (April 2), notifying his followers of a prank story that alleged he had been arrested in Kenya after cocaine was found on his private jet (via BBC News).“Fam, it has come to my attention that false reports regarding an arrest circulated online on April 1st, which has since led to a barrage of calls. I want to assure my fans that these reports are entirely untrue,” Davido began.“I successfully completed my scheduled shows in Uganda and Kenya and have since returned home to Nigeria.”He continued: “I’d also like to note that I have never been arrested by anyone in any country for any crime in the world.

Wizkid has argued that he no longer wants to be called an “Afrobeats” artist any longer.Last night (March 17), the Nigerian artist took to his Instagram stories to tell fans that his upcoming album is “done.” In the process, he warned that his sound would be different to his earlier its and shared his frustrations with being labelled an “Afrobeats” artist.“If you like Afrobeats, please don’t download my album!” said Wizkid. “I’m not a fucking Afrobeats artiste! Don’t call me that, hoe! I’m not Afro anything, bitch!'”Wizkid announces his new album “Morayo” is done and that it’s not Afrobeats. He also makes it clear he’s not an Afrobeats artist.

Taylor Swift track.The new insight into the listening habits across the US last year was shared by data provider Luminate, which recently unveiled its 2023 roundup.As reported in the findings, Taylor Swift continued to dominate the music consumption of those living in the United States – with her music accounting for 1.79 per cent of the on-demand streams (via Pitchfork).Elsewhere in the data, genres including Afrobeats, K-pop, and Latin music were listed as the fastest-growing genres in America, each increasing by more than a fifth, and regional Mexican music had the quickest expansion of any subcategory. This came as it saw a 60 percent growth spike compared to 2022, predominantly driven by listeners on the West Coast and in the Southwest.Hip-hop continued to be the biggest streaming genre in the States, however streams categorised as ‘current R&B/hip-hop’ fell by 7 per cent, and catalogue streams grew by 11 per cent.As for the findings on a global scale, the report by Luminate showed that English-language music streams faced a huge drop in 2023 – declining by 10 percent globally.

Stefflon Don and Jada Kingdom have traded shots at one another with new diss tracks, and it’s allegedly because of Burna Boy.At the end of 2023, it became fashionable for dancehall artists to perform (or deejay) over the iconic ‘Dutty Money Riddim’ – an instrumental that was popular in 2010 due to massive hits ‘Go Go Club’ by Vybz Kartel and ‘Bike Back’ by Blak Ryno.On Sunday (January 7), Don teased her contribution to the Riddim on Instagram. In a video, you can hear the British-based star slate an unnamed woman for her promiscuous ways: “Never fuck a man to go land pon a jet / You never fuck my man, dutty gyal, we did lef’.”Fans took to social media to share theories that Don was referring Kingdom, following last year’s rumours that the ‘Heavy’ singer and Don’s ex-boyfriend Burna Boy had been in a secret relationship.The Afrobeats juggernaut even namechecked Kingdom in his verse for the remix of Byron Messia’s song ‘Taliban’: “All the best pum pum deh yah Kingston / So me buy a Birkin fi Jada Kingdom.”Kingdom called out Don on Instagram, saying that “it’s weird” that the latter wanted to start the feud over a man who “is for everybody.”Don decided to rework her initial song – now called ‘Dat A Dat’ – and deliberately called out “Twinkie,” which was a play on Kingdom’s nickname Twinkle.

Discover Blogly is The FADER's curated roundup of our favorite new music discoveries.

This time last year, Black Sherif was the subject of our first GEN F profile of 2023, the year after he released The Villian I Never Was, No. 49 on our 50 best albums of 2022 list.

Burna Boy and Seyi Vibez have shared a TG Omori-directed music video for their joint track “Giza,” a cut from Burna’s latest album, I Told Them… The clip opens on a gladiatorial, Mortal Kombat-inspired fight scene in which two teenage boys duel for their lives as a crowd watches on from a two-tiered balcony and a man in a bamboo hat soundtracks the battle with a wooden flute. As the camera pans above the building, a hulking pyramid appears in the background.

Burna Boy has announced that he is set to return to London Stadium for a show in June 2024.The Afrobeats star made history in June this year when he became the first-ever African artist to headline a UK stadium, where he brought out special guests Stormzy, Dave and J Hus.The Nigerian artist has announced now that he’ll be returning to London Stadium as part of his ‘I Told Them…Tour’ on Saturday, June 29, 2024 for a special performance alongside his band, The Outsiders.Tickets will go on sale this Friday (November 24) at 10am GMT from here or here. Alternatively, there will be a priority sale ahead of general release on Wednesday (November 22) from 10am GMT here.“London holds a special place in my heart, the energy and love from my fans here is unmatched,” said Burna Boy in a statement.

Music distribution giant UnitedMasters has announced Afrobeats star Davido and groundbreaking Dominican rapper Tokischa as headliners for SelectCon 005, now in its fifth year.

Police in Nigeria have detained Naira Marley following the death of MohBad in Lagos last month, The Guardian and BBC News report. MohBad, a rising star in the Afrobeats scene, died at age 27 on September 12. Prior to his death, the cause of which is unknown, MohBad alleged that Marley had assaulted him and made threats against his life.

J Hus and Burna Boy have been announced as the headliners for the inaugural Afro Nation Nigeria, happening later this year.Earlier this month, it was announced that Afro Nation Nigeria will take place on December 19 and 20 this year at Lagos’ Tafawa Balewa Square. This will be the second time Afro Nation has been held in Africa – last December, it was staged in Ghana.Yesterday (September 26), the festival revealed the first acts on the 2023 line-up, confirming Burna Boy and J Hus as the headliners.

Burna Boy‘s scheduled live show in South Africa has been cancelled due to a fraud claim against one of its organisers.The Nigerian artist had been set to perform at the 90,000-capacity FNB Stadium in Johannesburg last Saturday (September 23), but the gig was shelved in the days leading up to it amid rumours of poor ticket sales (via IQ).But promoter Ternary Media Group has since claimed that it called off the concert after CEO Sedote Nwachukwu was accused of stealing R10m (£435,000) from the company.“Due to pending legal proceedings relating to an upcoming Burna Boy concert in Johannesburg, the event has been postponed,” a spokesperson for the firm said, per Times Live.Ternary Media Group said it has relieved Nwachukwu of his duties “until further notice” amid the allegations made by his business partner Gregory Wings.Nwachukwu has denied stealing the money, and has made a counter-claim against Wings.Speaking to Sowetan Live, Nwachukwu claimed: “The event in total sold almost over 20,000 tickets but Greg took 6,000 of the 11,000 tickets sold by Ticketpro.“I am being told that he went around selling and distributing them at night clubs and campuses.

Burna Boy is heading to North America on the heels of his new album I Told Them… for a run of tour dates. The shows begin November 2023 in Los Angeles at BMO Stadium and run for a month with stops in Seattle, Vancouver, Edmonton, Denver, Houston, and Austin.

Selena Gomez‘s reaction to Chris Brown’s MTV VMA nomination being read out at last night’s (September 12) ceremony has gone viral on Twitter.The singer appeared less than impressed by Brown’s nomination in the Best R&B category for his feature on Chlöe’s ‘How Does It Feel’. In a clip circulating online, Gomez is seen scrunching her nose when Brown’s nomination comes up.Gomez won the award for Best Afrobeats at the ceremony thanks to her feature on Rema’s ‘Calm Down’. Brown, however, lost to SZA’s ‘Shirt’.In 2009 Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting his ex-girlfriend Rihanna.

Burna Boy has shared his thoughts on the Afrobeats genre, criticising it for lacking any “substance”.The Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer made the comments in a new interview with Apple Music. Speaking with host Zane Lowe, he recalled his less-than-fond take on the genre, and pointed out how he believes the majority of Afrobeats music is lacking in any deeper meaning.This, he explained, is because he sees many of the artists as lacking any real “life experience”, which results in their final product being about “nothing”.“Half of them, [actually,] 90 per cent of them, have almost no real-life experiences that they can understand,” he claimed in the discussion. “That’s why you hear most Nigerian music, African Music, or Afrobeats, as people call it, is mostly about nothing, literally nothing.”“There is no substance to it, like nobody is talking about anything.

Burna Boy has enlisted Dave on his latest single, ‘Cheat On Me’ – taken from his upcoming seventh album ‘I Told Them’ – and announced details of an intimate London show.The ‘African Giant’ has teamed up with the Streatham rapper before on the latter’s smash hit ‘Location’ from his 2019 Mercury Prize-winning debut ‘PSYCHODRAMA’. The track currently has over 456 million plays on Spotify and is one of Dave’s most popular tracks.

Asake has played his first UK concert since the fatal crush at his gig in Brixton last year, and started the show off by paying tribute to the two fans who were killed.The tragic event took place at his show at London’s O2 Academy Brixton last December and saw two fans – Rebecca Ikumelo and Gaby Hutchinson – lose their life after there was a crowd surge at the venue.An investigation by the Metropolitan Police is still under way and, following the incident, the South London live music venue had its licence under review by Lambeth Council and has remained closed since.A 21-year-old woman also remains in critical condition in hospital after being caught in the crush, and police continue to appeal for information.Now, the Nigerian singer-songwriter and Afrobeats star has returned to the stage for his first live UK show since the event, and paid his respects to the victims.The returning gig took place in the city’s O2 Arena last night (August 20) – a venue which has four times the capacity compared to Brixton. Asake, whose real name is Ahmed Ololade, arrived on stage approximately an hour and 20 minutes later than planned and kicked off the show with a three-minute tribute poem to Ikumelo and Hutchinson.Backing performers dressed in white walked into view, before he appeared on stage, with flowers as a spoken word poem was recited in the background.“Up at 02:30 thinking Gaby Hutchinson could be me,” the poem read (via The Independent).

Burna Boy has shared the launch single ‘Big 7’ along with details of his upcoming seventh studio album ‘I Told Them’. Check it out below.Last month, the Nigerian star released his Brandy-sampling nostalgic song ‘Sittin’ on Top Of The World’ with Atlantan rapper 21 Savage.

Burna Boy will return with a new album next month. I Told Them… will be released on August 25 via Spaceship/Bad Habit/Atlantic Records.

In an era of the social media drip of snippets and IG Live previews, big ticket album releases right now can feel like the full stop on a conversation that began months (or maybe even years) prior. J Hus is different, though. Through a combination of lengthy absences from the spotlight and a refreshing musical unpredictability, his albums still feel like events that demand more discussion.

Jeremih has released his first song of 2023. Teaming up with Nigerian artist Adekunle Gold and rap icon 2 Chainz, the three musicians share a sexy new single, "Room." The song brings together the trio's unique styles in one track.

Over the past half-decade, permutations of dancehall music from around the world have gone from regional sounds to global sensations. In 2023, it just might be galala's turn.

Last Thursday (June 22), Burna Boy released a remix of his new single “Sittin’ On Top Of The World,” now with a guest verse from 21 Savage. Today (June 26), he’s shared the song’s official music video.

Amaarae is the latest artist to grace NPR’s Tiny Desk studio with her presence. It’s now common practice to squeeze a large ensemble into that famously small space, but the Ghanaian-American singer-songwriter outdid herself, bringing in an 11-piece backing band for a seven-song set — five tracks from her just-released sophomore album, Fountain Baby, and two from her 2020 debut LP, THE ANGEL YOU DON’T KNOW — that seamlessly fused buoyant Afrobeats grooves with smooth pockets of American R&B.

Trying to keep up with this week’s new music? Every Friday, we collect new albums available on streaming services on one page. This week, check out Asake's Work Of Art, Sigur Rós's ÁTTA, Killer Mike's Michael, and more.

Rebecca Ikumelo, aged 33 and Gaby Hutchinson, 23 died after people forced their way in an Asake show on December 15, 2022 leading to overcrowding and the gig being cancelled half way through.A third attendee, a 21-year-old woman, remains in hospital in a serious condition.“She was stunning, so, so beautiful,” Rebecca’s aunt, Mary Ikumelo, told BBC. “Such a beautiful individual, not only on the outside but also inside.”“Rebecca was a bubbly person,” her mother Yetunde Olodo added. “She was very outgoing, caring, loving.

J Hus has shared a new song titled "Who Told You." The track features a guest appearance by Drake, marking the first time the pair have collaborated together. Scroll down to listen to "Who Told You" now.

They call CKay "Africa's Boyfriend," and his new single is certainly swoon-worthy. The afrobeats singer released the original Sad Romance last Septebmer., and an expanded version is set for release this month.