Back to Base: It's The Headies Weekend
Plus: Burna Boy becomes the first African artist to headline Stade De France, Jude Okoye gets bail after two months, Portable receives ₦20 million from Burna Boy, Ayra Starr features Wizkid and more.
Welcome to The Feed. In case you missed the newsletter last week, Tomide is in charge until Dennis returns from his leave. Speaking of leaves, it’s now pertinent that Afrobeats stars should take time off the internet once in a while. Back in the days when we knew little about music stars and celebrities, talking less hid their follies, and we also seldom knew their lame takes or watched them become shameless trolls—which is good for world peace.
Unrepentantly stuck in his mischievous ways, Burna Boy took to his Instagram story to claim that he made the first version of “Laho” with Shallipopi. He claimed that the original version was now the official remix.
Some listeners think the African Giant’s verse is mid, others think the song didn’t need a remix, but the feature is good for the Edo-born Pluto King.
In more news about Burna Boy, there’s news that the Nigerian singer has been dragged to a New York court by Haitian music icon Fabrice Rouzier for using elements of his 2002 jam “Je Vais” without permission. According to court gist flying around, Burna Boy and French-Haitian singer Joe Dwet File (aka Joe Gilles) are accused of “copying and pasting” without credit. A lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York claims the duo jacked elements — from composition to sound and even video material — from Haitian legend Fabrice Rouzier’s 2002 track “Je Vais” for their collab “4 Kampe II,” which dropped on March 28, 2025.
For Dennis’ column, Made in Nigeria, he chatted with Akinola Davies Jr. The filmmaker opens up about getting into filmmaking late, his secret for making successful arthouse films, why he calls himself a Nollywood filmmaker, and what being selected for Cannes means for the future of Nigerian films. Read it here.
Yo! HERtitude 2025 is happening tomorrow! Women from different backgrounds will meet, connect with each other, party, let down their hair, and have the most amazing fun ever. Don’t miss out on the hottest all-babes party in Lagos. You can still get your tickets here ASAP!
The 17th Edition of The Headies Awards is happening on Sunday, April 27, 2025. Zikoko’s culture writer Tomide Marv and some other music journalists, music industry executives and Afrobeats nerds give their winners predictions at the coming award show. Read their predictions here.
Celebrity
→ Burna Boy at Stade De France: On April 18, 2025, singer Burna Boy sold out an 80 thousand capacity stadium called Stade De France in Paris. He brought out other artists like Nigeria’s Fireboy DML, Senegal’s Youssou Ndour and British rapper Santan Dave amongst others. Watch highlights below:
→ Burna Boy Gifts Portable: After Portable and Speed Darlington decided to throw hands instead of subs, Portable came out on top in their boxing match. Next thing? The “Zazoo Zeh” crooner got a ₦20 million “thank you” package from Burna Boy for dealing with Speed Darlington. It seems life’s sweet when your punches land.
Portable has splurged the money on a new ride.
Online Entry
→ For my Zikoko Pop, I talked to twelve Nigerians about separating the art from the artist. Please, read it here.
→ Jude Okoye back from detention: Court finally grants Jude Okoye, the older brother of the P-Square duo, bail from Ikoyi Prison, after meeting up his bail terms in an ongoing ₦1.38 billion money laundering trial. I wrote a timeline of the situation involving the brothers. You can read here:
→ Davido’s 5IVE Review: I wrote in my review that Davido’s fifth album, 5IVE, isn’t his best work, but it’s a foundation for more to come. Read the review below:
Bops
→ “Gimme Dat”: Ayra Starr’s new single, “Gimme Dat”features Wizkid and it’s out now.
→ The Best New Music This Week:
>> Rising singer Fola teams up with Kizz Daniel on new single, “lost.”
>> Runtown is back with new music, “Do Me.”
>> Tiwa Savage also dropped a new song, “You4Me.”
>> Underground rappers Droxx and T.O.D SZN release their collabo track “Samurai Jack.”
→ Recommendation:
>> All the “Album of the Year” Winners at The Headies, Ranked
Cine Club
→ Naija at 2025 Cannes Film Market: OSAMEDE is a historical fantasy epic set against the backdrop of the 1897 British invasion of the Benin Empire. The story follows an orphaned girl who unravels a hidden power within her, linked to the legendary Aruosa stone — a sacred artifact gifted to humanity by Osanobua, according to Benin mythology. The cast includes Ivie Okujaye Egboh, Lexan Aisosa Peters, William Benson, Tosin Adeyemi, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, and Alexander Bud.
→ CEAN Numbers:
Recommendation:
>> All the Nollywood TV Series Streaming on Netflix, Ranked
Pod Gems
→ The Obi One: Is football your thing? Watch two football giants, Mikel Obi and Yahaya Toure, chat in the latest The Obi One Podcast.
→ Tea With Tay Podcast: Mike Folarin sat with Taymesan to talk about the cost of chasing a dream.
→ Lights, Camera, It’s My Turn: This fresh new talk show is all about giving Nollywood its flowers, one star at a time. From the veterans to rising talents lighting up our screens, it celebrates the stories, personalities, and artistry behind the fame. It’s created and hosted by actress and producer Tope Olowoniyan.
Subscribe to get a front-row seat to the heart of Nollywood.
Baffs
→ Tobi.RTW: Nigerian ready-to-wear fashion brand Tobi.RTW brand unveils “Ìràwọ́ – The SS25,” its Spring/Summer 25 collection. The collection name translates to “star” in Yoruba.
>> See more looks from the Ìràwọ́ collection below.
Bookshelf
→ New Wins: Nigerian author Samuel Kọ́láwọlé wins a 2025 Whiting Award for his debut novel THE ROAD TO THE SALT SEA.
→ Prize Winner: Four African authors (Irenosen Okojie, Maud Blair, Sulaiman Addonia and Caleb Femi) have been longlisted for the 2025 Ondaatje Prize, awarded annually by the Royal Society of Literature.
One good article
This week, My One Good Article is the story that my colleague Adeyinka wrote about a Nigerian couple. In it, the subjects share how they share how one spontaneous meetup turned into back‑to‑back visits, why they’ve decided to take things slow as their connection deepens and how intimacy isn’t clouding their judgment..