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Gangsta’s Paradise Crooner, Coolio, Dies at 59

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US rapper Coolio, known for the iconic hit Gangsta’s Paradise, has died at the age of 59.

His longtime manager Jarez Posey told US media the artist was found unresponsive on the bathroom floor of a friend’s house in Los Angeles.

Coolio started making music in the 1980s, but he cemented his place in hip hop history when he recorded Gangsta’s Paradise in 1995.

However Mr Posey told TMZ, which first reported the news, that paramedics believed he may have had a cardiac arrest.

Coolio, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr, won a Grammy for Gangsta’s Paradise, which was part of the soundtrack for the movie Dangerous Minds starring Michelle Pfeiffer.

The haunting track continues to be widely listened to and has just passed a billion streams on Spotify, according to his official website.

Over a career spanning four decades he recorded eight studio albums and won an American Music Award and three MTV Video Music Awards.

His other hits included Fantastic Voyage, Rollin’ With My Homies, 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin’ New), and Too Hot.

He was active right up until his death – Coolio was in the middle of a tour with other 90s stars including Vanilla Ice and Young MC, and they performed in Texas just a few days ago.

“I’m freaking out I just heard my good friend Coolio passed away,” Vanilla Ice wrote on Twitter.

The exact cause of his death on Wednesday has not yet been revealed.

Good people’

Snoop Dogg referenced Coolio’s world-famous track in his own tribute, writing: “Gangstas paradise. R I P.”

He also shared a picture of the two posing on the set of the music video for Gangsta Walk, a track they collaborated on in 2006.

“This is sad news. I witness first hand this man’s grind to the top of the industry,” fellow rapper and actor Ice Cube said.

MC Hammer described Coolio as “one of the nicest dudes I’ve known”.

“Good people. RIP Coolio,” he wrote, sharing a black and white picture of the rapper, and later posting a second picture of the pair together, along with Tupac and Snoop Dogg.

BBC

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GLO Supports Radio Voice, Sponsors Exclusive Premiere

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Digital solutions provider, Globacom, last Sunday sponsored the premier of Radio Voice, the much-anticipated movie produced by Richard Mofe-Damijo.

At the event held at the Alliance Francaise, Mike Adenuga Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos, Mofe-Damijo described the movie as “the triumph of the human spirit over adversity. It’s about the life of people on radio and their challenges and the things they have to go through; cyber bullying and the like, and succeeding against all odds. I don’t want to reveal everything about it; it’s a movie everyone needs to watch”.

Explaining why he is venturing into movie production, he explained, “It’s time when it’s time, you know. I’ve produced before but this is the first time in the new era, so to speak”.

Since launch in 2003, Globacom has carved a niche as the biggest corporate supporter of Nigeria’s entertainment industry. The company has signed on many musicians, actors and comedians as brand ambassadors, sponsored several entertainment reality shows including X Factor, Glo Naija Sings, Battle of the Year and Dance with Peter, and also hosted several music and comedy shows across Nigerian cities to avail talents in the industry the grace to their gifts.

Radio Voice is a motivational story of resilience, passion and transformation. It features notable Nollywood  giants including   Richard Mofe Damijo (RMD), who equally  produced the movie; Nse Ikpe Etim, Nancy Isime, Deyemi Okanlawon, Damilola Adegbite and Timini Egbuson.

Radio Voice has the support of the Office of the Vice President as it is meant to complement the Federal Government’s investment in the Creative Arts and Digital Transformation.

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Davido Chooses August for White Wedding with Heartthrob Chioma in Miami, US

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Afrobeat music singer, Davido, has announced that his Church wedding with Chioma will take place in August, 2025.

The singer disclosed this in a recent interview with The Breakfast Club.

He likened the upcoming event with the traditional marriage in Nigeria, which he said was a “Carnival”.

Davido said: “I’m doing my white wedding in Miami (USA) in August. The wedding I did was traditional; it was like a carnival in Nigeria, like a holiday. The whole world stood still. Me and my wife’s relationship was in the public eye, especially after I did that one song.

So, a lot of things happened. Even apart from losing our child, I messed up a lot of times so that full circle moment everyone was like finally she can get what she deserves.”

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Glo-sponsored African Voices Features Gospel Artistes, Nathaniel Bassey, Mercy Chinwo

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Reputable gospel artiste, Nathaniel Bassey and his equally accomplished female colleague, Mercy Chinwo will be starring this week on African Voices Changemakers, CNN International’s magazine programme bankrolled by telecommunications company, Globacom.

The 30-minute soar-away show anchored by Larry Madowo  will air on  DSTV Channel 401 on  Saturday at 8.30 a.m. with a repeat the same day at noon.  On Sunday, two more repeats will be shown at 4.30 a.m. and 2 p.m. and on Monday at 4 a.m. The same broadcast schedule will be followed next week.

The audience will be sharing the stories of the duo’s ascendancy to fame and their staing power in the genre of music.  Bassey’s musical prowess  has continue to draw attention in person and online, especially with The Halleluiah Challenge while Mercy Chinwo  serenades her fans with her voice, stage presence and charisma.

 Bassey, a native of Akwa Ibom State,  was born  27 August 1981. He has carved a niche for himself as a notable singer, trumpeter and gospel songwriter popularly known for his songs including “Yahweh Sabaoth”, “Ebenezer”, “Tobechukwu” “Imela”, “Onise Iyanu”, and “Olowogbogboro” and for his humility.

He studied International Relations and Politics at the University of Lagos before relocating to London where he studied Politics and later Music at the Middlesex University Summer School also in the United Kingdom and has successfully affirmed himself as one of the prominent and most listened-to gospel ministers in Nigeria. His music traverses different genres such as jazz, worship, hymns and medley. He is a Pastor of The Redeemed Christian Church Of God, King’s Court in Victoria Island, Lagos.

On her part, Mercy Nnenda Chinwo-Blessed  was born September 5, 1991. She is a Nigerian gospel singer, actress, and songwriter who began singing  in church at age six. In 2017, she signed a recording contract with EeZee Conceptz after which she released her first single “Excess Love” in 2018. She bagged a degree in Human Resources Management from the International Business Management Institute (IBMI).  She emerged the Gospel Artiste of the year at the AFRIMMA Awards in 2020 and won the Africa Gospel Music of the year, CLIMA Africa Award 2022, among other awards.

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