Pastor Iren claps back
Plus: Reactions to John Boyega, New Tiwa Savage song, Latest on Shallipopi and his record label, the Kutis, Gbemi OO and Toolz...
Welcome to The Feed, where we’ve curated the latest in Nigerian pop culture for your consumption. I wasn’t sure if we needed to put out the John Boyega video to drive home that he is dismayed by the state of Nollywood, but I’m grateful we did. The video, which you’ll see further down, has ignited an important conversation about how the industry can improve.
When Peter Obi said we go to vigils every day, I knew what he was talking about. I knew he meant that religion was a huge distraction from the real problems that we have with the economy and how we should feel about the economy. But not everybody saw it like that. We have the reaction from Pastor Iren.
Then we have to help Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé bring home the Goodreads Choice Awards. Details on how to vote and more in Bookshelf.
We have created this form for feedback, and we’d like to hear your thoughts in the coming days. Please feel free to share some with us.
Celebrity
→ Pastor Iren claps back: Don’t come between a pastor and his business. Pastor Iren responded to Peter Obi’s comment from last week about Nigerians spending too much time in church for vigils. I’m not sure why the pastor took what seemed like a hyperbolic speech literally, but…
“No church has vigils every day,” he said. “It is part of my privileged role in Christ to set the record straight on something like this…If you saw someone who goes to the gym every day, you wouldn't think he’s wasting economic hours…Don’t you see that the bias is hidden?” he said.
PS: How much do you think his agbada cost? Asking for a friend.
→ Matchy coupling: I spy with my little eye Made Kuti and his wife Nedo Kuti being cute on Instagram. I remember when I first interviewed them, they also wore matchy looks.
Online Entry
→ Bad presenting? A video of a Hip TV presenter asking skit maker Gilmore if he amassed his wealth from content creation or fraud went viral last week. “We’ve seen content creators buying luxurious cars, houses…Some people may begin to doubt. Is this still content creation?” the presenter said. Gilmore shut down the rumours, asserting that being wealthy from content creation is very possible.
“I don't think anybody can be on set making videos, editing videos and still be doing anything you guys think they are doing. How many hours do we have in a day? What you don’t know, you don’t know,” Gilmore said. Watch the full interview here.
→ Long-distance coupling: Internet couple Toni Tone and Taye Naija really opened up about dating in a new interview with We Need to Talk. They also talked about being in a long-distance relationship. Did you know that?
→ Pupil hyped: Did your primary school teacher ever tell you he feels safe around you? Definitely not those my Intro Tech teachers. See here what this Nigerian teacher who went viral says to his students.
Bops
→ A new Shalli: Shallipopi is out from the record label Dapper Music. In an interview with Naija FM, he said his contract “expired,” and everyone is “on good terms.”
→ Davido’s Awuke: Davido and YGMarley's "Awuke" debuted at #9 on this week's Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart.
→ New music:
>> Mayorkun has released a new single, “Innocent,” featuring Fireboy DML.
>> Johnny Drille and Don Jazzy have dropped their collab album Hard Guy Confessions.
>> Ajebo Hustlers has dropped a new single, “Ave Maria” with Victony.
>> Ruger has released his new single “Toma Toma” with Tiwa Savage.
>> Reekado Banks has dropped a new single, “Solo,” about Nigeria’s Independence.
>> Wizkid has dropped his new music, “Kese (Dance),” off his Morayo album.
>> Hayor P has released a new single, “Fefenefe,” featuring Bad Boy Timz.
>> Balloranking has released the video for his new song “Pretty Kele.”
>> Ayra Starr has teased a new song, “Gimme Dat.”
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>> Young Jonn has shared a teaser of his “Big Big Things (Remix),” dropping tomorrow.
→ Recommendation: The 7 Greatest Apala Music Albums of All Time
Cine Club
→ AFRIFF 2024: We finally released the thinly veiled video of John Boyege calling out Nollywood creators for not taking feedback well, having a difficult reputation in Hollywood, and not making films that meet global standards.
>> The ripple effect has been staggering, with debates about how the industry can move forward taking centre stage. Director Niyi Akinmolayan said on X, “I’ve said this before, that the real money is going to come when international projects can be made here in Nigeria. That's how the crew quality improves… that’s how we learn best practices. Until that time, we will just be chasing license fees without any meaningful growth.”
→ Stange promotions? I'm not sure what this video really was about, but Mo Abudu joined Basket Mouth for a skit promoting his new film A Ghetto Love Story. Watch below and draw your own conclusions.
→ New C.J. Obasi: La Pyramide, the latest from Mami Wata creator C.J. Obasi, is among 38 feature projects due to be presented at the Red Sea Souk Project Market. The market is part of the Red Sea International Film Festival, a Saudi Arabian film festival that will take place December 5-15.
→ Mavin’s film era: Mavin Records has released Chapter EX, its debut short film, in collaboration with Savant Production.
→ Multi decline: Multichoice said that between April 2024 and September 2024, it lost 243,000+ subscribers on GoTV and DSTV.
→ CEAN Numbers: Queen Latifa has now raked in over ₦322 million at the box office.
→ Recommendation: The 15 Best Action Nollywood Movies Streaming on Netflix and Elsewhere (Nov. 2024)
Pod Gems
→ Menisms is back: The hosts of Menisms Podcast are back with a new season. Their first guests were Off Air hosts, Gbemi OO and Toolz.
→ That Toke White Dress: Toke Makinwa joined Madame Joyce for the latest episode of her podcast. She spilt the tea on why she wore white for her Thanksgiving event last month.
Baffs
→ GQ Men of the Year: Did you see Adekunle Gold looking dapper at the 2024 GQ Men of the Year party?
Bookshelf
→ Bring home the bacon: Nigerian author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s latest work, Where Sleeping Girls Lie, has been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards 2024. Vote here.
→ Ms Loverman: Mr Loverman author Bernardine Evaristo has partnered with the Royal Society of Literature (RSL) to create the RSL Scriptorium Awards. This annual award offers 10 writers the opportunity to stay in Evaristo’s cottage for up to a month. See details here.
→ New book: The Catch, the debut novel by Nigerian-British author Yrsa Daley-Ward, will be released on June 3, 2025. Preorder here.
One good article
My One Good Article this week is this rather hilarious #NairaLife piece that former Zikoko editor, Fu'ad Lawal wrote. What I found very interesting is the audacity (and I mean this in a positive way) of the subject, who earned ₦900k per month, to describe himself as “not rich.”
I have been paying special attention to our relationship with money and how having lot of it is such a status symbol. Sometimes the most wealthy have this idea that saying they have more than most somehow underscores a kind of lack of humility on their part.
Read it here and please share your thoughts.