‘The Rockstars’ nominations 2020 are in following a Pan African announcement tour seeing several African countries each reveal a set or part of the nominees for this year’s historic 1^st ever African influencer awards.

From East Africa, Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz takes the lead with a total of 9 nominations alongside fellow artist Vanessa Mdee who landed 8 nods, followed by renowned Tanzanian media personality Millard Ayo, who received 6 nominations.

US-based Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o received 7 nominations with both Kenyan world record holder Eliud Kipchoge receiving 6, with Khaligraph and Nyashinki featuring in the Hip Hop category.

Ugandan singer Vinka and Tanzanian hitmaker Alikiba are nominated in 5 categories with Halima Aden (Kenya/Somalia) and Ommy Dimpoz (Tanzania) receiving 4 nominations.

Kenya’s Wanuri Kahiu, Tanzania’s Wema Sepetu and Uganda’s Zari also received 3 nominations.

Global voting opens to the public online from Monday, 17^th February at www.TheRockstarAwards.com

Among ‘The Rockstars’ 2020 nominees, Maître Gims from the Democratic Republic of Congo and France, had the most nominations at 16, including nominations in the two big categories of the major overall global African ‘Rockstar’ category, the ‘StarBoy’ category.

Nigerian superstar Wizkid received 15 nods, with fellow Nigerian superstars Davido and Burna Boy each receiving 14 nominations.

South African sensation Sho Madjozi who’s just had a massive year with her global viral smash hit ‘John Cena’ got 13 nods.

East Africa’s total nods are at an impressive 150.

The countries with the most personalities nominated across individual categories, in order of most nominations is as follows: Nigeria 159, South Africa 146, Tanzania 62, Kenya 47, Uganda 32, Ethiopia 6, Rwanda 3, Angola 37, Senegal 27, Ghana 25, Democratic Republic of Congo 22, Namibia 18, Mali 14, Eritrea 13, Zimbabwe 11, Egypt 9, Cape Verde 8, Benin 7, Morocco 6, Somalia 6, Cote d’Ivoire 5 and Cameroon 3, with the rest of the nominee pool spread across the other African countries of origin.

‘The Rockstars’ aka The Rockstar Awards is the 1st Africa Continental awards in history for recognizing the most powerful, highly acclaimed and most influential personalities from the African continent.

The award ceremony also recognizes personalities from across the rest of the world, with influence on and relevant to audiences on the African continent.

‘The Rockstars’ recognize the most influential personalities of African origin on the planet across music, entertainment, gaming, film, content, social, media, sport, environment and conservation, sustainable fashion, beauty, arts, business and innovation.

Global voting opens to the public online from Monday, 17^th February at www.TheRockstarAwards.com

‘The Rockstars’ will broadcast and livestream LIVE in September 2020 and will reach audiences in more than 180 countries and territories across the African continent and worldwide.

You can see the full Rockstars’ nominations 2020 announcement list below, and online at www.TheRockstarAwards.com and www.RockstarTelevision.com

A section of muslim clerics from  Mombasa have joined the anti- sgr campaign being spearheaded by the Fast action business community.

Speaking to the press after meeting officials from the Fast action movement, the clerics called on the government to address the plight of truckers who according to them have now been rendered jobless after the government directed all goods from the port of Mombasa be transported by the SGR.

According to the clerics the county's economy has heavily been affected since the government issued out the directive.

Fast Action Business Community Movement [FABCM] chairman Salim Karama said the weekly protest will still continue.

The two groups also vowed not to support the building bridges initiative (BBI) being championed by President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga

"We are not going to support the initiative (BBI). Our weekly protests will stop continue" said Karama.

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta today set the ball rolling for this year’s Beyond Zero Half Marathon by flagging off a 100-men run at Karura forest.

The men only run, under the tagline ‘I will Run For Her’, is a precursor for this year's Beyond Zero Half Marathon slated for Sunday, March 8^th.

The event was held to coincide with the Valentine Day and the men were running to show solidarity and harness their engagement around issues of maternal and child health that affect their mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and the girl-child.

These include the repair and reintegration of women living with obstetric fistula, championing the country validation for the pre-elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis by 2021, promotion of good nutrition for all children, and advocating for social inclusion of children living with disability for equal access to health and education services among others. 

Unlike in the past editions of the marathon, participants will this year pick an intervention area they support within the broad maternal and child healthcare. 

The intervention areas include zero maternal deaths, zero child death, a healthy lifestyle for the elderly, zero new HIV infections and zero child marriages.

Others are zero Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), early screening for cancer, inclusion of persons with disability and better nutrition for all children.

The First Lady, accompanied by Cabinet Secretaries Amina Mohamed, Sicily Kariuki and Margaret Kobia as well as her Chief of Staff Ms Constance Gakonyo, National Aids Control Council CEO Dr Nduku Kilonzo and members of the Beyond Zero Secretariat, joined the men in a warm up exercise before the kick-off of the ‘men only’ run.

Among those who took part in today’s run held at  Karura Forest were Environment and Forestry Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko and Attorney-General Paul Kihara Kariuki. 

Also in the group of 100 men who participated in the morning run were Jubilee Insurance CEO Dr Julius Kipng’etich, Athletics Kenya President Lt. Gen (Rtd) Jackson Tuwei and Citizen TV sports journalist Mike Okinyi as well as his Capital FM counterpart Alex Isaboke among others.

The First Lady, who received the participants at the end of the run, later planted a tree at Karura Forest to signify the importance of the event and her commitment to environmental conservation.

Proceeds from this year’s Beyond Zero Half Marathon will be used to host Medical Safaris, a large-scale outreach program conducted collaboratively with the county governments and over 15 medical service providers. 

The Beyond Zero initiative provides free healthcare services at the medical safaris. So far, Beyond Zero has held five successful medical safaris in Nairobi, Nyandarua, West Pokot, Kisumu and Narok counties.

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has assured the Art of Music Foundation of her total support.

Speaking when she met the foundation's board members at State House, Nairobi, the First Lady thanked the Foundation for its role in the improvement of the lives of underprivileged children in the country through music and the arts.

The officials who were led by their chairperson Ms Rachel Gota and the foundation's founder Ms Elizabeth Njoroge briefed the First Lady on the various activities their organization is undertaking to inspire the youth to realize their dreams and transform their communities.

Ms Njoroge was accompanied by the foundation's vice chairperson Dr Julius Kipng’etich, board secretary Peris Thiiru as well as board members Irene Mukiri, Judith Njonjo and Duncan Wambugu.

The First Lady, who is the patron of the foundation, assured the officials of her continued support saying, "you can count on me to be part of your initiatives".

In her brief to the First Lady, Ms Njoroge pointed out that since its establishment in 2008, the organization has grown from the first batch of 14 beneficiaries drawn from Korogocho slum to reach over 1,500 youth spread across the country.

She said, the organization has partnered with other well-wisher institutions and individuals to start a school's initiative through which it teaches music to 50 students in primary schools in Nairobi, Kiambu and Mombasa counties.

“ we use the transformative power of music to break barriers and catalyse change. Our students have been able to attain diplomas and degrees in music, with some being employed in some of the prominent education institutions in Kenya such as St. Andrews Turi and in Arusha to teach music,” Ms Njoroge said.

Kevin Obara, one of the beneficiaries of the foundation's music training programme, recently came back from Germany where he attended a sponsored training on the repair of musical instruments.

He is  currently a freelance technician of musical instruments as he plans to set up a fully fitted workshop in Nairobi.

From his little earnings, Mr Obara has built his mother a house and is educating his siblings.

“The students once they excel they work hard to support others in same circumstances. Self confidence and selflessness amongst the children encourages us so much to continue with this initiative,” Ms Njoroge told the First Lady.

Ms Gota commended the First Lady for her passion in helping the underprivileged in society especially children in slums saying her support has continued to be a source of encouragement to many.

On his part, Dr. Kipng’etich said the foundation is seeking to expand its activities so as to benefit many more  children across the country.

He expressed hope that the government will partner with their institution and help scale up the programme through the new Competence Based Curriculum  (CBC) currently being rolled out.

“The transformation that we find in building confidence is great. To learn music one has to be disciplined in training," Dr Kipngetich said.

He added: "With the track record of Ghetto Classics we expect to get more well wishers on board to support our programmes.”

Dr. Kipng’etich said the role of the First Lady as the patron of the institution has inspired confidence in its stakeholders and called for stronger linkages between state institutions and social workers so as to successfully improve the lives of the less fortunate Kenyans.

Apart from Ghetto Classics, the Art of Music Foundation runs a musical and leadership training programme as well as the National Youth Orchestra of Kenya, which is a musical group that brings together talented young musicians from all walks of life.

Gospel Musician Manolo presents his first single for 2020 titled "Fiti".

The song talks about the freedom and joy one experiences by being right with God.

The audio was produced by Majic Mike and the visuals directed by Kevin Bosco Jnr who has done great videos for a host of top music stars in East Africa including Ali Kiba.

Watch "Fiti" by Manolo here: https://youtu.be/8vZP9DZjxIc

The song is now available on all digital stores including Itunes, Boomplay, and Mdundo for streaming and download.

A little bit about Manolo

‘Manolo’ real name Emmanuel Mwongela is a top Kenyan Gospel Singer, Freestyle Rapper, Poet, Songwriter, and Instrumentalist. His genre is Afro Pop and Afro Rap

Manolo is popular among the Kenyan Urban Youth especially fans of gospel music and is set to grow more in popularity as a solo act from the year 2020 onwards.

Manolo began his professional career in music in 2012 as the lead member of Recapp, an urban gospel group based in Kenya.

He had formed Recapp with his friends while they were still in high school and as part of RECAPP, they released a total of 2 albums – Ambition and Proud to Be a Christian. Some of their popular songs are 5 Stones and Worldwide.

The group boasts of a whooping eight Groove Awards Nominations between the years 2014 and 2018 and headlining several major concerts in Kenya and Tanzania such as Groove Awards Ceremonies and J & T in Tanzania. 

After a successful 6 year career with the group, Manolo branched out on his own in 2018; to explore a new and different path as a solo artiste.

Multiple award-winning African pop diva Yemi Alade premieres her most anticipated music video for the single SHEKERE, featuring multiple Grammy award-winning music icon Angélique Kidjo.

The stunning collaboration is a result of the relationship that the two share, transcending music which led to Angelique Kidjo’s call for Yemi Alade to revamp her classic hit titled “Wombo Lombo”.

SHEKERE on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwoV1-ykm9E

The SHEKERE music video, directed by Ovie with assistant director Taiye Aliyu, was shot in New York and largely in Kenya at the vast and grand The Maasai Mara National Reserve, with the final scene at Sand River, bordering Tanzania.

The cinematic visual opens up in dramatic sequence from Maasai Mara, with its backdrop being the authentic and unapologetic beauty of the African continent specifically Kenya - a second home to Yemi Alade. In the video, Yemi is flanked by dancers, all adorned in traditional jewellery from the Maasai community; this theme has dominated Yemi Alade's style and artistry and promoted her status as a champion for Africa, among artists of her generation.

SHEKERE tells the story of Yemi joining the local celebrations or party through the sounds of the popular Yoruba percussion instrument, which usually makes an appearance when there is a cause for celebration, singing or dancing.

Yemi emotively sings before progressing into a stellar duet with the iconic Angélique Kidjo who also sings in her native Benin dialect over the groovy DJ Coublon orchestrated instrumentation—"I dey hear the sound of a tambourine o, Talking drums and shekere combination, I see people under the tambourine o, Dancing like sey there's a celebration".

“Shekere’’ off the album WOMAN OF STEEL heavily samples elements from the original Kidjo track but blends with the current mainstream Afro-pop/Afrobeats sounds. SHEKERE is a rich and colourful affair, reminiscent of a Disney live-action remake and once again cements Yemi Alade's throne as a royal of music videos.

The classic visual joins her elite videography part of which made her the first and only female Afro-pop artiste to have over 100 million views on a single video and over 1 million subscribers on her YouTube channel leading to a total cumulative visual stream of over 400 million views.

The song is sixth single off Yemi Alade’s critically acclaimed fourth studio album WOMAN OF STEEL, following hit singles “Home”, “Give Dem”, “Vibe”, “Shake” and Oh My Gosh”. The album features a host of international stars like Rick Ross, Angélique Kidjo, Lemar , Dadju , Duncan Mighty and Nollywood superstar Funke Akindele.

Universal Music Group’s recording artists, Sauti Sol, has officially dropped  first single and video for ‘Suzanna’ today, under universal music group. 

“Suzanna” tackles the controversial phenomenon of sponsors/blessers.

With their clever irreverent lyrics and sharp wit they poke fun at a woman who is a beneficiary of the champagne life as sponsored by an older man.

I see you in London/ silicone in your bum bum/ shaking what your doctor gave you... You change your skin colour/ and your hair is longer now. Then I see you in Paris/ standing next to the Champs Elysees/ looking sexy in a mini skirt – they sing cheekily.

Watch the video for “Suzanna” HERE

The accompanying video, directed by Leke Alabi-Isama, was shot in Nigeria. “It’s more comic relief judging by how they are styled in the 70s disco ball chic complete with puffy colourful men blouses, large ‘fros and perms. ‘It’s also a reminder of the good ole days of how stylish Africans were.” comments Bien.

Polycarp Otieno says good vibes continue in the new album, and it will be a milestone release for the group. “There is a lot of maturity in the album. We have come of age and we express how people should perceive us freely after 11 years as professional singers. Every song speaks to an issue that is relatable to everyone

The much anticipated reggae concert headlined by Buju Banton in Nairobi has been postponed.

This is the second time the concert is being postponed, first it was to go down in Mombasa during the new year's eve,

According to the organisers, NRG the concert has been postponed to honour the late second president of Kenya Daniel Moi who died on Tuesday this week at the Nairobi hospital.

"Unfortunately, and in the spirit of celebrating and in honour of the presidential proclamation on the passing away of H.E Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi – we have been forced to postpone the event following the announcement of a period of National Mourning. The viewing of the Former president Moi’s body is slated for Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th at parliament which presents a logistical challenge to host the event at KICC." reads a statement from NRG.

Adding "In this regard and with close consultation with the Government and the venue management- we have postponed the event from 8th February 2020 to 15th February 2020, at the same venue- KICC from 6pm. Please be advised that we shall honour all the tickets already purchased, all sponsors and Partners. Our line-up remains the same and Buju Bunton is fired up to deliver a great show. We are committed to ensure that we live up to all our fans expectations."

The late Mzee Moi is expected to be buried next Wednesday.