16^th November was the release day for 50 Cent’s debut single “In Da Club” from Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (Shady/G-Unit/Aftermath/Interscope/UMe) which is now officially part of YouTube’s Billion Views Club.

Also making its debut this week, the award-winning music video for “In Da Club” featuring Eminem and Dr. Dre, is now available in 4K, fully restored from the original film. View HERE.

50 Cent, born Curtis James Jackson III, is an award-winning rapper, entrepreneur, actor and producer from Queens, New York.

Recognized as one of the most talented and prolific music artists of his time, the Grammy® Award winner rose to fame with his record-shattering debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin,’ has since sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and has been awarded numerous prestigious accolades.

Jackson has leveraged his star power to cross over with unparalleled success as an entrepreneur, actor and producer. From Get Rich or Die Tryin' being one of the fastest selling albums in history to creating one of the most influential deals in hip-hop with the sale of Vitaminwater, Jackson continues to break records.

Reaching 1 billion views on YouTube, “In Da Club” is the second Rap/Hip Hop music video from the Pre-YouTube era to achieve this milestone, the first being Eminem’s “Without Me”. 50 Cent joins a diverse and elite group of artists from this era to do the same, including Nirvana, Queen, Guns N’ Roses, Whitney Houston, The Cranberries and a-ha.

The video for “In Da Club” was directed by Philip Atwell (Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop, etc) and won Best Rap Video and Best New Artist at the 2003 VMA’s and was nominated for Video Of The Year.

Produced by Eminem and Dr. Dre, 50 Cent’s first “official” album Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was released in 2003 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

The album featured the hit single “In Da Club,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was nominated for a GRAMMY® for Best Male Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Song in 2004. 

Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was also nominated for a GRAMMY® for Best Rap Album that same year and in 2020, was officially certified 9x platinum by the RIAA and ranked 280 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time list.

He currently has the most watched new series on Starz, “Power Book II: Ghost,” and in January 2020 Jackson received a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame and awarded an NAACP award for Best Director in a Drama Series.

Jackson has carved out a thriving television and film career as both a best in class producer and star.

In 2005 he founded G-Unit Film & Television, Inc. which has produced a wide variety of content across numerous platforms and sold a myriad of shows to various networks. 

Among these is the critically-acclaimed #1 show on Starz, “Power,” in which he not only co-starred in, but also served as executive producer and director. 

In October 2018, Jackson and Starz/Lionsgate closed an unprecedented deal for Jackson’s G-Unit Film & Television, Inc.

The partnership, touted as among the most significant deals to date for an Executive Producer in premium television, will focus on expansion of the “Power” universe, with the recently announced spin-offs ‘’Power Book II: Ghost,’’ “Power Book III: Raising Kanan” and “Power Book IV: Force.”

Jackson also has new projects in development including “BMF Black Family Mafia,” which was picked up by Starz in April 2020, “Twenty Four Seven” on CBS All Access, “Female Sports Agent” and “Moment in Time” on Starz, and ABC recently picked up a second season of the series “For Life”, Jackson’s serialized legal and family drama which premiered February 2020.

Additional credits include the variety show “50 Central” on BET and “The Oath” on Sony Crackle, the networks most-watched new original series. Jackson’s successful film career has included roles in several blockbusters, most recently “Den of Thieves” co-starring opposite Gerard Butler, which Jackson has signed on to produce the sequel along with Butler. 

Jackson has also appeared alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in Antoine Fuqua’s boxing drama “Southpaw,” “Spy” with Melissa McCarthy, and reprised his role in “Escape Plan 3.”

The exceptional businessman serves as CEO of G-Unit Records, which he founded in 2003 and has since signed a host of multi-platinum artists.

Jackson continues to dominate the charts with hits like the recently released "The Woo" which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts, as well as hitting Top 10 on both the Urban (No. 1) and Rhythmic (No. 3) radio charts.

"The Woo" also has over 200 million streams on Spotify alone, with the video gaining over 70 million views on YouTube.

Jackson continues to extend his brand, which encompasses a broad spectrum of businesses including Sire Spirits, which Jackson formed in 2016, and a luxury Wine and Spirits company that owns Le Chemin du Roi Champagne and Branson Cognac. 

In April 2020, Jackson released his second New York Times Best Selling self-help book Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter.

50 Cent’s Official Artist Channel on YouTube featured multiple classics throughout November, all remastered in HD for the first time. 

Titles available now include: “Baby By Me,” “Do You Think About Me,” “OK, You're Right,” “Get Up,” “I Get Money,” “Straight To The Bank,” “Still Will,” “Ayo Technology;” “Amusement Park,” “Window Shopper,” Best Friend,” “Wanksta,” “P.I.M.P.,” “21 Questions” and “Heat.”  

YouTube Stats:

• “In Da Club” is the second Rap/Hip Hop music video from the Pre-YouTube Era To Hit A Billion Views, the first being “Without Me” by Eminem.
• In 2020, the video has averaged over 400,000 views per day.
• Over the last 12 months 50 Cent has earned over 1.2B views on YouTube.

Afro-pop star Martha Mukisa delivers a powerful anthem about unconditional love with Ex Wo. 

Merging highlife guitars, African folk percussion, R&B rhythms, pop story-telling, and sensational vocals, "Ex Wo" hits the bulls-eye as an instant African classic.

The music video stars Martha Mukisa directed by Elly V. Mugisa at Black Magic Films

The audio was produced by Steyn.

In the song , she confesses her love and promises to stick to her lover and never to let go.

"Ex Wo" is available on all music platforms.

Watch ''Ex Wo'' on you tube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj1bcb58htQ

Over the past year, there has been a clear appetite for fresh African content to star on global streaming platforms. Netflix has recently enjoyed much success with its first two African original series: Queen Sono and Blood & Water.

Realness Institute today announced its partnership with global streaming service Netflix to create an Episodic Content Development Lab for writers in Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria.

The Writer’s Lab submission will go live at the end of November on realness.institute/episodic-lab and will be open to writers from Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria with Film and TV experience in any genre (fictional or factual) or language.

This partnership will result in 6 writers selected to work on projects that will be developed and commissioned by Netflix.

The selected writers will be paid a stipend of 2000 USD per month to participate and will be expected to be available full time for a period of 3 months, from June to September 2021.

Kenya’s Dorothy Ghettuba is Netflix’s lead for African Original Series. She says of the partnership, “At Netflix, we believe that great stories come from anywhere and can be loved everywhere. We strongly believe that Africa has a wealth of untold stories.”

Adding, “As we grow our slate of Originals in Africa, partnerships with organizations like Realness will help us achieve our goal of investing in writers who will bring diverse genres of authentic, local stories that cater for every mood and will ensure our members see their lives reflected on screen.”

Co-founder and Creative Director of Realness Institute, Elias Ribeiro, added, “We had fun shaping the program with the Netflix team. We all share a love for storytelling and Netflix’s writer-centric approach is very much in line with our ethos.”

Since the 2015 inception of Realness Institute, a non-profit organization committed to fostering a new wave of African storytelling, they have delivered 5 editions of its Screenwriters’ Residency and recently the first Creative Producer Indaba as a Development Executive Traineeship.

Realness Institute will be expanding their offering in 2021 to the episodic content space.

This is a further step towards the Institute’s mission to empower storytellers on the continent and the diaspora and push the African audio-visual industry forward. Netflix brings its expertise in episodic content development, production and insight into global content trends.

“This program is a response to the dramatically changing broadcasting ecosystem which has a very important role to play in building a thriving media ecosystem in local markets and providing episodic creators with distribution opportunities,” adds veteran Ethiopian broadcaster and Realness Institute Director of Development and Partnerships Mehret Mandefro.

If you are looking to purchase a phone with trendsetting features and at a discounted price, then this is your day as the official sale for the realme C12 goes live in Kenya today.

Kenyan smartphone lovers have an opportunity to own one of realme’s latest gadget through online platforms such as Kilimall and other trusted offline platforms. The phone was launched in Kenya alongside realme 7i early last week in a double launch for the festive season.

Retailing at Kshs 14,999 the realme C12 comes with a 6000mAh mega battery that supports reverse charging and can last for 57 days on standby before running out of charge. The battery gives realme C12 users enough time with their phones without the inconvenience of the power getting depleted fast.

The phone is equipped with Helio G35 Octa-core 64 bits processor that lets the user enjoy gaming without the phone slowing down or restarting. This makes it perfect for kids to play games during their free time as they wait for schools to reopen.

Living in an information and technology age, personal data protection is a priority for every phone user. realme C12 has a screen-to-body ratio instant fingerprint sensor that allows only the phone user to have access to the phone once authenticated. 

In addition, with a 6.5-inch 20:9 screen, realme C12 brings a larger field of view, provides an excellent game, audio, and video experience for the user to enjoy a wider field of view brought by the large screen and less visual disturbance while giving them an experience of the near-full screen.

Other realme brands that are on the Kenyan market include realme 7i, realme C3, realme C11, realme C15, realme 6, realme Band, Air Neo, and Buds Q with the brand saying it is committed to enabling Kenyans to dare to leap through their innovative gadgets.

To mark the official entry of the realme C12 and realme 7i in the Kenyan market, realme will run a giveaway campaign for the realme 7i from today to 27^th of November. They will also have the realme C12 giveaway where lucky winners will walk away with brand new realme smartphones. To learn more about the giveaways follow @realmkenya on Instagram and @realme on facebook.

After successfully hosting the inaugural Kambasome golf tournament last weekend at the Mombasa Golf Club  focus now shifts to Nyali Golf club for the annual Kenya Port Authority[KPA]  golf tournament  to be held this weekend.

Mombasa businessman Elijah Ibua registered his first victory this year after being crowned the overall winner of the inaugural Kambasome golf tournament at the Mombasa Golf Club.

Ibua who is the host club’s member collected 38 points after defeating over 100 golfers during the tournament played under strict rules of the COVID-19 pandemic health protocol.

There was no awarding ceremony but the results were posted on the club website to abide by the government ban on public gatherings due to the surge of the number of infected people in the country following the second wave of the pandemic.

Playing on improved 18 handicap Ibua managed to post19 points on the first nine holes and similar number of points on the second nine holes before being crowned overall winner under the hot weather.

Visiting golfer from the Railway Club Joseph Kimondo won the men’s title after posting 38 points.

Playing on 17 handicap he scored 21 points on the first nine holes and managed to score 17 points on the second nine holes.

The one day event which attracted six professional golfers saw Kimondo’s club mate become his runners-up after posting 37 points.

Adam Boru played on 18 handicap to score 17 points on the first nine holes and managed to score 20 points on his second nine holes.

Vincent Muriungi from Mombasa Club scooped the third trophy playing on 24 handicap after he managed to post 36 points.

Nyali golfer Joyce Masai won the lady’s title after posting 32 points playing on 10 handicap.

She managed to score 15 points on her first nine holes and 17 points on her second nine holes.

Christine Kinyeru from the host club was the lady’s runners-up after she managed to post 32 points.

She managed to score 18 points on first nine holes and 14 points on the second nine holes.

Mary Kandu from Nyali club took the third lady’s award after she posted 30 points playing on improved 15 handicap.

She managed to score 18 points on the first nine holes and 12 points on the second nine holes.

The best senior award was won by George Gachanja from Mombasa club with 33 points playing on 15 handicap.

Hawil Odoo from Nyali club won the best junior ward after posting 30 points playing on 36 handicap.

In the special Kambasome award the first trophy went to Jackson Kitulu from Railway club after posting 34 points.

The Mombasa Golf Club secretary Paul Munyao won the second trophy after he posted 31 points playing on 16 handicap.

The third slot went to Steven Kisevu of Machakos club after posting 26 points playing on 26 handicap.

Sarova Hotels and Resorts, Kenya’s first indigenous hospitality company has this year clinched top accolades at the 14^th edition of the World Luxury Hotel Awards for outstanding service in the Industry.

Sarova Whitesands Beach Resort & Spa clinched the best Luxury Family Beach Resort in the region while Sarova Mara Game Camp won the best Tented Safari Camp at the world’s most prestigious and exclusive awards which recognize the best facilities and service quality the hotel industry has to offer.

The region’s leading Hospitality Group which is committed to hospitality excellence has positioned its properties as all year-round destinations catering to guests' varied tourism interests with its diverse offering.

Despite the pandemic Sarova Hotels has still managed to maintain its world class standards across with the safety of the guests at utmost priority.

Sarova Whitesands enjoys the most enviable location right on the edge of the resort, with magnificent panoramic views of the Indian Ocean towards Mombasa Island featuring four beautiful swimming pools, three restaurants, and a beachside nightclub while Sarova Sarova Mara is well positioned in the heart of the Mara as a tranquil natural ideal for the perfect getaway.

Sarova Hotels & Resorts Managing Director Jimi Kariuki lauded the entire Sarova fraternity for their diligence and unmatched dedication to offering quality services saying Sarova will continue to deliver the highest of standards in the industry.

World Luxury Hotel Awards is the pinnacle of achievement by luxury hotels, offering recognition for earning the respect of guests and industry players alike, and by awarding hotels, as voted for by the public, across over 100 different categories.

Winners are purely judged on service delivery and effective management voted by International tour operators, travel agents and hotel guests who get the opportunity to cast their valuable votes annually.

NRG Radio, has bagged not only one but two prestigious international radio awards.

The national urban youth station clinched the two awards on Thursday night at the awards ceremony which was held virtually in the United States for international media.

The awards were handed to the station for their work done during the World Coronavirus pandemic.

NRG Radio received the awards for the ‘Best Virtual Concert’ for the We Are One Africa Campaign and ‘Best Sales Promotion’ for the I Want Free Ads campaign during the pandemic.

NRG Radio’s virtual concert ‘We Are One Africa’ brought together millions of viewers from Africa and world over.

The concert saw Africa’s best artists entertain millions over four weekends with guests hosts like Betty Kyallo, Jalango and Tanasha joining the NRG Radio presenters to keep the viewers entertained during 3 concert hours every weekend.  

The Best Sales Promotion award was received after the station ran a campaign across the country to give away free airtime for struggling businesses that were finding it difficult to trade and attract customers during the pandemic.

This campaign ran throughout lockdown.

"We know that Covid-19 affected so many businesses. Our clients who would otherwise spend money on the station to push their products or services cut down or completely put a halt on any advertising expenditure  and it was our time as a station to give back" Kevin Mulei, NRG Radio’s CEO and chairman noted.

Speaking about the awards, Kevin was ecstatic.  “This is incredible news that we have won not one but two international radio awards and it makes it even more special as the votes were from our radio peers across the world”.

“These are unprecedented times for businesses in Kenya and world over. We had an option to wait out the situation or disrupt the gloomy atmosphere that came with covid and lockdowns and we choose the latter” Kevin noted.

The awards  organized by P1 Media- who are co-organizers of the international radio conferences Radio Days held across all continents for media organizations around the world saw NRG Radio scoop the awards after being the only station around the world at the awards with 2 nominations apart from BBC. 

Speaking from the awards Ceremony, Ken Benson from P1-Media Group US noted that he was so proud of NRG Radio. “It is quite an honor to win these awards which were voted on by your peers around the world” he added.

Uganda has for the third time in a row emerged as the top performer in this year’s Electricity Regulatory Index Report published by the African Development Bank.

The East African country, along with Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Kenya, the other top performers, have regulators with the authority to exert the necessary oversight on the sector.

However, the overall electricity regulatory frameworks of African countries is poorly developed, and most countries experience major regulatory weaknesses.

The ERI, a flagship report of the African Development Bank, is a composite index which measures the level of development of electricity sector regulatory frameworks in African countries against international standards and best practice.

“The African Development Bank has been at the forefront of efforts to mainstream electricity sector regulation issues in Africa within the broader sector discourse, recognizing the importance of establishing robust legal and regulatory frameworks to support the financial sustainability of the sector and attract private sector investment,” said Dr. Kevin Kariuki, Vice President, Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, at the African Development Bank.

The third edition of the ERI report was launched during the Digital Energy Festival of the Africa Energy Forum, on 5 November 2020.

The event brought together more than 70 stakeholders in the energy sector, regulators, international organizations, and development finance institutions like Africa50 and the World Bank.

Wale Shonibare, Director for Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulations, at the African Development Bank, said COVID-19 related restrictions had increased residential electricity demand and decreased industrial/commercial demand. This had resulted in shortfalls in the projected revenues of utilities.

“To address these challenges, regulators will be required to play an even more critical and central role post-Covid, to ensure that the sector recovers with minimal and controlled impact on consumers and utilities,” Shonibare said.

Koffi Klousseh, Director of Project Development at Africa50, praised the ERI as a great tool for assessing the readiness of the electricity sector for private sector investments.

Main findings of the ERI 2020 report

• 69% of countries surveyed have regulatory mechanisms in place to facilitate electricity access.
• In 21 of the 36 countries surveyed, the utility is not involved in funding rural electrification. The government, NGOs and consumers do this.
• In 90% of the countries surveyed, the Executive holds the power to appoint board members and heads of regulatory institutions who report to them. This removes the core of decision-making independence from regulators, who are subjected to subtle and direct political pressure to skew key regulatory decisions towards the political inclination of the government in power.
• Most countries have legislation to deal with conflict of interest among commissioners and heads of regulatory institutions while in office. However, few have adequate mechanisms to regulate conflict of interest and other ethical issues, affecting the integrity of regulatory decisions.
• Political authorities have significant influence on the finances of regulatory authorities. In many instances, laws establishing regulatory institutions do not clearly indicate sources of funds for the institution.

Other participants also shared views on the sector:

Ziria Tibalwa Waako, CEO of Uganda’s Electricity Regulatory Authority: “Regulation is a catch-up game. If there are gaps, be happy to review your process and methodology.”

Foibe Namene, CEO of Namibia’s Electricity Control Board: “Regulatory independence is a balancing act between multiple stakeholders while maintaining high level of integrity in the regulatory processes and actions.”

Peter Twesigye, Head of Electricity Regulation Programme, Power Futures Lab, at the University of Cape Town: “Regulators should support utilities through tariffs to finance investments in the backbone feeders with outage management systems that will enable them to monitor reliability and the quality of power on these feeders.”

Download the ERI 2020 report here: https://bit.ly/3kknE7w

Kenya Correspondents Association (KCA) with support from from UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) is launching a project on Enhancing Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists through Devolution in Kenya.

The project which will be implemented over the next 12 months, will benefit 200 journalists working in TV, print, radio, newspapers, and online media drawn from eight (8) counties, namely; Bungoma, Kisumu, Kitui, Meru, Mombasa, Nakuru, Nyeri and Trans Nzoia.

The project aims at sensitizing officials from county governments on the importance of promoting freedom of expression as enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya 2010.

It will also include a systematic monitoring and documentation of the trends and actual threats to the safety of journalists and violations of freedom of expression in the counties.

Kenya Correspondents Association, a key media stakeholder in Kenya, with a network of media correspondents based in the counties, has launched the project in response to the increasing cases of threats to the safety of journalists and freedom of expression under the devolved units.

The counties have become important centers of power and economic influence where journalists are increasingly facing danger and impediments in accessing information in the course of their work.

Media coverage of governance, service delivery and corruption has resulted to increased threats to the safety of journalists and to freedom of expression in the counties.

The project will contribute to the collective efforts at improving the environment for the safety of journalists and expanded space for freedom of expression by citizens and stakeholders in the counties.

UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) is the only multilateral forum in the UN system designed to mobilize the international community to discuss and promote media development in developing countries.

The Programme not only provides support for media projects but also seeks an accord to secure a healthy environment for the growth of free and pluralistic media in developing countries.

Rising Nigerian recording artist, Alpha P, today releases “Wolves and Mustangs”, a 4-track EP, treating the Alpha pack (his fans) to full tracks of popular freestyles posted on his Instagram page earlier in the year and during the lockdown period.

Serving as the follow up to his debut EP “King of the Wolves” which dropped late last year, “Wolves and Mustangs” is an absolute blast from start to finish.

It captures Alpha as he works his magic with a collection of mellow trap vibes, ride out music and chilled playlist jams which reflects every side of his sound. With just a handful of singles and feature from Psycho YP, the EP see’s Alpha speaking on his truths, love, girls, mustangs and God.

“Wolves & Mustangs is a very special project to me. I’m glad that it’s out right now, and the whole world gets to see and listen to my vision.” he says.