How Tems will support women in music
Plus: Sola Sobowale new film, Veekee James fashion, New BNXN songs, PSquare drama, Kayode Peters, Joel Kachi Benson Emmy win, Burna Boy album, Tekno new song and more...
Welcome to The Feed, where Dennis is delighted to see women supporting each other in the harsh Nigerian music industry. It can be very tough, but I think the new youngins, Ayra Star, Tems, and FAVE, have been able to stave off the industry's cattiness.
This week, Tems rolled out an ambitious program, the Leading Vibe Initiative, to support women in music. “Through a series of workshops, masterclasses, and panel discussions, participants will gain hands-on training, access to world-class tools,” it said.
Offering workshops and masterclasses that educate women is a step in the right direction. But I tend to think that actually signing a woman, hiring a woman as her manager, working with female producers, or giving a woman money to make a music video will be her putting her money where her mouth is. Either way, no other women in the industry are doing this, and it certainly is a step in the right direction.
At Zikoko, we are excited about Angélique Kidjo making history as the first African artist to join the Hollywood Walk of Fame, so much so that we broke ranks and featured someone who isn’t of Nigerian descent in this newsletter.
The Okoye brothers are still feuding, and we have the latest in their public dispute. Then, new movies are coming this weekend and into next week. We have their trailers.
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
→ Supporting women: Tems has launched The Leading Vibe Initiative, a platform that she said will support women in music. “From my self-taught journey with no roadmap, I created this initiative to support African women in music, those breaking barriers, building boldly, and leading the next wave,” she said.
She added that the program will offer “immersive programming for emerging women artists, songwriters, and producers. Through a series of workshops, masterclasses, and panel discussions, participants will gain hands-on training, access to world-class tools, and connections to established industry executives and leaders.” Click here to apply.
→ Fueding Okoyes: The feud between the Okoye brothers, Peter, Paul and Jude, continued this week with a post from Peter, who said he wasn’t interested in being a part of the P-Square group that first made him famous. “Judeboy & Rudeboy, that’s the new JPsquare. Make una manage them. It’s their time. I dey on my own, dey run my own race. I am my own Square,” he said on X.
→ Consciously coupling: This week, we are not over these images from Moses Bliss and his wife, Marie Bliss, as they took their son to church for the first time.
Online Entry
→ Kayode Peters: Nollywood is mourning the passing of Kayode Peters, fondly known as KP. The director and producer, known for My Flatmates, died on June 28, 2025, in Toronto, Canada, after a long illness. He was 49.
→ #WeareallNatasha: A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the immediate recall of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, ruling that her six-month suspension from the Senate was excessive and unconstitutional. Justice Binta Nyako stated the suspension denied her constituents representation and lacked legal grounding, as existing rules do not specify limits for suspending lawmakers.
→ #FreeTsulange: A Magistrate Court in Kano State has sentenced TikToker Umar Hashim, known as Tsulange, to one year in prison for “indecent conduct” in a public space. The charge stems from a viral video where he was seen bathing in public while wearing a bra. The court offered him the option of paying a ₦80,000 fine in lieu of serving jail time. He was ordered to pay ₦20,000 to the Kano State Censorship Board to cover the costs of the investigation and prosecution.
Bops
→ BNXN the Captain: BNXN has dropped his sophomore album, CAPTAIN.
→ Blaqbonez's next project: Blaqbonez's next album, No Excuses, will drop on August 22.
→ No Sign of Weakness: Burna Boy has released the track list for his next album, No Sign of Weakness. The project, which will drop on July 11, features Mick Jagger and Shaboozey.
→ The Best New Music This Week:
>> Tekno has dropped a new song, “Power Bank,” with Regina Daniels as his muse.
>> BNXN dropped “Jies” from his CAPTAIN album.
>> Zlatan released “Happy Day.”
>> Blaqbonez dropped “Go Crazy.”
>> Dremo is also back in the game with a new single, “Daily 2k.”
→ Recommendation: FAVE dropped by COLORS for a performance of her new single, “Intentions.”
Cine Club
→ Ifeoma Fafunwa's acting debut: The trailer for Wingonia Ikpi's latest, The Lost Days, about a woman struggling with cancer, has dropped. The cast includes Ifeoma Fafunwa, Bimbo Manuel, Baaj Adebule, Cynthia Clarke, and Durotimi Okutagidi. It will begin streaming on Prime Video on July 11, 2025.
→ Sola Sobowale latest: The trailer for Adebayo Tijani and Tope Adebayo Salami's Her Excellency has dropped. The cast includes Femi Adebayo Salami, Sola Sobowale, Odunlade Adekola, Faithia Williams, Yemi Solade, Bimbo Ademoye, Aisha Lawal, Kie Kie (Bukunmi Adebowale), and Jide Kosoko. It’s currently showing in cinemas.
→ Naija at the Emmys: Nigerian filmmaker, Joel Kachi Benson, won the Emmy for Outstanding Arts and Culture Documentary for Madu, his Disney film on Nigerian ballet dancer, Anthony Madu.
→ Nigerian box office:
Pod Gems
→ Menisms: The hosts of Menisms are back at it, talking dating in Lagos this week.
→ ISWIS: The host of I Said What I Said opened up this week about adulting.
Baffs
→ Crochet livin’: This crochet look Veekee James wore really got Instagram talking.
Bookshelf
→ Cover Girl: A collection of short-form writing by Báyò Akómoláfé will be published by Ayin Press later this year as a book, Selah: A Báyò Akómoláfé Reader.
→ Online Editing Program: The Caine Prize for African Writing said it will resume its Online Editing Program for writers later this year. Applications will close on Monday, July 28, 2025. Accepted writers will be part of a 12-week program to receive “tailored editorial support, guiding participants from early drafts to polished, publishable short stories.” Click here to apply.
One Good Article
This week, my One Good Article is this piece that my new colleague Princess Briggs wrote about nurturing children. It’s part of our long-running series, What She Said, which we recently rebooted.