Entertainment/Arts/Culture
Tems Becomes First African Female Artist to have Seven Entries on Billboard Hot 100
Grammy-winning Nigerian singer, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has become the first African female artist to have seven entries on the U.S Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The singer hit the milestone after her song ‘What You Need’ surprisingly debuted at 93 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100 chart, bringing her total entries to seven.
Tems now tie her compatriot Burna Boy and South African group Seether as the African artists with the most Billboard Hot 100 entries, with seven each.
In 2022, Tems made history as the first African artist to debut at number one the Billboard Hot 100 chart with her collaborative hit with Future and Drake, ‘Wait For U.
’Tems is poised to break the tie with Burna Boy and Seether soon as J. Cole’s ‘Bunce Road Blues’ featuring her and Future is bound to debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart next week.
Entertainment/Arts/Culture
Tiwa Savage Unveils Music Foundation to Empower Young African Creatives
International Afrobeats star, Tiwa Savage, has unveiled the Tiwa Savage Music Foundation to support young African creatives across multiple areas of the music industry through structured professional training.
The foundation seeks to expand access to training and learning for producers, songwriters, sound engineers and other professionals.
The award-winning singer disclosed the initiative on Wednesday via her verified Instagram page, with a photo of herself surrounded by musical instruments.
Savage described the project as a step toward investing in homegrown creativity and building sustainable opportunities for young artistes.
She said the global rise of Afrobeats highlights the need to build strong creative ecosystems that go beyond performers alone.
“An industry cannot thrive on artists alone,” she said, noting that global success depends on producers, engineers, lawyers, publishers and innovators working within organised systems.
She warned that failing to invest in these roles could weaken the long-term sustainability of Africa’s fast-growing music industry.
Savage said her experience studying at Berklee College of Music in the mid-2000s shaped her understanding of education, access and the business structure of music.
She explained that exposure to global systems helped her appreciate ownership, organisation and professional discipline within the industry.
According to her, the foundation aims to provide similar opportunities to young Africans who lack access to world-class music education.
“Talent exists everywhere, but access does not,” she said, adding that Artificial Intelligence is already transforming music production and distribution.
She said structured learning was increasingly urgent for African creatives seeking sustainable and competitive careers in the global music industry.
Entertainment/Arts/Culture
I’ve been Paid N40m for Boxing Match with Carter Efe – Portable
Controversial Nigerian street pop artiste, Portable, has been paid the sum of N40 million for agreeing to engage in a boxing fight with popular streamer, Carter Efe.
Portable made this known in a video shared on his Instagram page.
Announcing the development, the singer explained that he was paid N40 million for confirming readiness for the fight, noting that Soso Soberekon, and E-Money have promised him N50 million each if he was able to defeat Carter Efe.
“I have received N40 million from the organisers. They paid me the money just for accepting to fight Carter Efe. I’m very sure that I will defeat him.
“Soso Soberekon, and E-Money said they will also give me N50 million each with a car if I defeat him.
”Carter has also agreed to fight the singer after Soberekon offered the winner N50 million.
Speaking in a video on his page, Carter told the organizers to fix the date for the match.
Entertainment/Arts/Culture
Burna Boy’s Associate, Rahman Jago Confirms Singer Convert to Islam
Rahman Jago, a socialite and associate of Grammy-winning singer Burna Boy, has confirmed that the singer has converted to Islam.
Burna Boy, who comes from a Christian background, sparked reports of his conversion to Islam after stating in a podcast a few weeks ago that he embraced Islam “at some point’ in pursuit of truth.
His religion has remained a subject of speculation since the podcast interview.
Recently, his associate Rahman Jago shared a video of Burna Boy praising Allah with himself and other men in what looked like a bar, on his X handle with the caption, “Allahu Akbar.”
Bashir Ahmad, former media aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, reposted the video, stating that the singer “seen so so happy” and urging Allah the make his journey with Islam easy for him.
Taking to the comments section, a curious fan asked Ahmad if the singer has truly converted to Islam. Ahmad responded that some of Burna Boy’s close associates stated that he converted but the singer is yet to confirm the report.
Quoting the curious fan, Rahman Jago stated that Burna Boy has now converted to Islam and he is now a Muslim.
“He converted. He is now a Muslim,” Jago wrote.


