Ruggedman, Sunny Neji arrested for $130k theft
Plus: Ogechi guys, Ireti Dolye gets matching tattoos, the cost of Davido's hair cut, Miss World, New music rom Burna Boy and more...
Welcome to The Feed, where Dennis is very sure he is not paying ₦2 million for a haircut but is happy for everyone involved in it. More details below.
Also, this week, we have the details of how Nigerians are faring at Cannes. How did Asa Asika and Davido meet? We have a timeline of their friendship.
Later, guess who went back to school for a master’s degree? Banky W. Also, you won’t believe who got a matching tattoo with a loved one and why they are our “consciously coupling” pair this week.
On Zikoko’s Her documentary, Aisha Salaudeen spoke with Omotara Tomisin, a football player who now draws henna. What?!
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Celebrity
→ Banky W goes to school: Banky W has graduated from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy with a Master’s in Policy Management.
→ When Davido met Asa: Davido’s manager, Asa Asika, had his wedding last weekend, and everyone was talking about it, so we wrote a timeline of how they met and what their friendship has been like so far. Please read it here.
→ More Davido news: Also speaking of Davido. How much does he spend on a haircut? His barber claims ₦2 million. How much will you spend?
→ Drille's philosophy of life: Johnny Drille's philosophy of life is spending time with his family. Watch below.
→ Consciously coupling: Ireti Doyle and her daughter got matching tattoos.
Online Entry
→ VeryDarkMan fined: VeryDarkMan has been ordered to pay ₦200,000 in damages to Falz and his father, Femi Falana, in their ongoing defamation case against him.
Bops
→ Where are the Ogechi guys? What happened between BoyPee, Hyce and Brown Joel, the group that rose to fame after featuring Davido on the remix of their hit “Ogechi”? Brown Joel spills the tea with HipTV.
→ Ruggedman accused of theft: Rapper Ruggedman, veteran musician Sunny Neji, Zakky Azzay, Boniface Itodo, and Raymond Lasisi have been arrested over allegations that they burgled the national secretariat of the Performing Musicians Employers' Association of Nigeria (PMAN) in Lekki, Lagos and stole $130,000.
→ Davido’s rise continues: Davido's “With You,” featuring Omah Lay, made Spotify’s Summer 2025 anthems list.
→ The Best New Music This Week:
>> Burna Boy has dropped a new song, “Tatata,” featuring Travis Scott from his upcoming album, No Sign of Weakness.
>> Seyi Vibez has dropped a new single, “Pressure.”
→ Recommendation: The 40 Greatest Davido Songs of All Time, Ranked by Fans
Cine Club
→ Cannes 2025: Akin Davides Jr. got a standing ovation at Cannes after his film with Sope Dirisu, My Father’s Shadow, screened.
→ The Smart Money Women returns: Arese Ugwu’s The Smart Money Woman is getting a spinoff. The author has dropped the trailer for Lara Unlimited, based on the life of Lara Thompson, “a top-performing oil executive with killer instincts.” Toni Tones will return to play Lara. The cast includes Zikora Ugwu, Natse Jemide, and Nicole Ikot.
→ Rest in power: Plus-size model and actress Monalisa Stephen, who died after a battle with low blood sugar and subsequent internal bleeding, was buried on Thursday, May 22, 2025.
→ Naija at TIFF: Nile Media Entertainment Group’s founder and CEO, Moses Babatope, has been appointed to the Advisory Committee of the Toronto International Film Festival’s newest venture—TIFF: The Market.
→ Leading ladies: Can Nollywood love stories stop failing its strong women? My new opinion piece dives in.
The idea that a woman’s life is incomplete without a man — and that she must shrink herself to keep him — is one of Nollywood’s oldest, most pervasive lies. A lie that keeps getting sold to us, wrapped in the glitter of romance.
But are these love stories even romantic? Who wants to be loved like this?
→ Nigerian box office:
→ Recommendation:
The 10 Best Nollywood Romance Movies to Watch on YouTube
12 of the Best Nollywood On-Screen Criers in Their Most Tearful Roles, Ranked
Pod Gems
→ How Timaya got his groove: Timaya dropped by Joey Akan’s Afrobeats Intelligence Podcast to discuss how he was offered ₦500,000 for his first album, True Story, by a marketer in Alaba market.
→ Falz has takes: Falz returned for the new episode of Menisms
Baffs
→ Miss World 2025: Miss World Nigeria 2025 winner, Joy Mojisola Raimi, has made it through to the next stage of the Miss World Talent Competition.
Bookshelf
→ 2025 Commonwealth Short Story Prize:
The BBC drama Mr Loverman, based on Bernardine Evaristo's novel of the same name, won two BAFTAs. Lennie James won Best Leading Actor, and Ariyon Bakare received the Best Supporting Actor award.
One Good Article
This week, My One Good Article is the story that my colleague Adeyinka wrote about a woman who became abundantly grateful that her husband chose her. It has a lot to do with body issues and is very insightful about how far fatphobia affects all of us.
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