President Uhuru Kenyatta today in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, hosted a historic meeting of world leaders on African renaissance as part of celebrations to mark the 400th Anniversary of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. 

The breakfast meeting held on the sidelines of the ongoing 32nd Summit of the African Union Heads of State and Government sought to inspire a global conversation geared towards reconciliation, reengagement and reconnection of all Africans and their descendants across the world. 

The conversation also aims at mobilizing African diaspora population in the world to reconnect with their heritage in recognition of its common ancestry. 

President Kenyatta said the conversation, in the spirit of Pan-Africanism, aims at producing a new framework for engagement that brings together Africa and its descendants in the Americas, and across the world for the sake of inspiration, investment, collaboration and cooperation.

As the world marks the 400th anniversary of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, it is estimated that between twelve and fifteen million African slaves were trans-shipped to America of which over 4 million are reportedly to have died on the high seas.

In his remarks, President Kenyatta said the Afro-conversation is further aimed at renewing ties between Africa and its descendants across the world.

He said all Africans have a common cultural heritage and historical experience that all citizens of the continent must understand to have a clearer insight of our desired destination

Besides the brutal and hellish conditions that African slaves went through and the millions that lost their lives, President Kenyatta observed that slavery eventually laid the grounds for colonialism, discrimination and racism.

“It undermined families and nations, and introduced the damaging and false hierarchy of racial superiority and inferiority that continues to afflict mankind,” the President said.

President Kenyatta called for unity of purpose among Africans for the renaissance to succeed and ensure the continent retains its current status as a new frontier of global economic growth and prosperity.

“For this upward surge to be sustained for generations to come demands that we be united,” said President Kenyatta who called for the full participation of the diaspora population towards the new revival and revitalization of Africa

He said the diaspora, wherever they are in the world and irrespective of their citizenship and nationality, constitutes the sixth region of the AU

“This includes the descendants of Africa in the Carribbean , North and South America. We are one and must find paths to reconnect and reengage with one another,” he said

President Kenyatta called for practical steps and the full engagement of the AU Commission to ensure workable and clear programs are put in place to actualize the new initiative.

The Kenyan leader further called for the initiative to be embedded in the legal and institutional frameworks of respective African states and the AUC.

Leaders who spoke at the meeting among them Presidents Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa), Filipe Nyusi (Mozambique)  Hage Geingob (Namibia) and newly elected DRC Congo leader Felix Tshisekedi termed the initiative as historic and thanked  President Kenyatta for bringing the matter back to the table after it was first mooted by the founding fathers of African states in the 1950s and 1960s.

Other speakers were former US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Dr Jendayi Frazer and AU Special Envoy for Infrastructure Development Raila Odinga.

The leaders shared their perspectives on African renaissance and pledged their support for the new initiative.

African rennaissance is a concept born in mid 1940's and is premised on an understanding that for the continent to overcome challenges facing it, its people must come together in unity of purpose. 

Tanzanian artist signed under  WCB Laval Lava has just dropped his latest video titled 'Tukaze Roho'.

This comes just few days after his fellow label mates Rayvanny and Diamond Platnumz also dropped their video 'Tetema' which has been receiving alot of airplay and currently trending.

Watch Lava Lava's video below

The 61st Grammy Awards went down last evening the Staples Center in Los Angeles, hosted by Alicia Keys.

There were 84 categories in this year's award with.

 Kacey Musgraves won album of the year and Cardi B became the first woman to win best rap album as a solo artist.

Childish Gambino who, despite his absence earned several of the night’s highest honors, including Song of The Year for his “This Is America” track, marking the first time a rap song has ever won in the category.

Blow is the list of winners.

Album of the year
Cardi B – Invasion of Privacy
Brandi Carlile – By the Way, I Forgive You
Drake – Scorpion
H.E.R. – H.E.R.
Post Malone – Beerbongs & Bentleys
Janelle Monáe – Dirty Computer
Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour – WINNER
Various artists – Black Panther OST

Record of the year
Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin – I Like It
Brandi Carlile – The Joke
Childish Gambino – This Is America – WINNER
Drake – God’s Plan
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – Shallow
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – All the Stars
Post Malone ft 21 Savage – Rockstar
Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey – The Middle

Best new artist
Chloe x Halle
Luke Combs
Greta Van Fleet
H.E.R.
Dua Lipa – WINNER
Margo Price
Bebe Rexha
Jorja Smith

Best rap album
Cardi B – Invasion of Privacy – WINNER
Mac Miller – Swimming
Nipsey Hussle – Victory Lap
Pusha T – Daytona
Travis Scott – Astroworld

Best R&B album
Toni Braxton – Sex & Cigarettes
Leon Bridges – Good Thing
Lalah Hathaway – Honestly
H.E.R. – H.E.R. – WINNER
PJ Morton – Gumbo Unplugged (Live)

Best rap song
Drake – God’s Plan – WINNER
Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future and James Blake – King’s Dead
Eminem ft Joyner Lucas – Lucky You
Travis Scott, Drake, Big Hawk and Swae Lee – Sicko Mode
Jay Rock – Win

Best country album
Kelsea Ballerini – Unapologetically
Brothers Osborne – Port Saint Joe
Ashley McBryde – Girl Going Nowhere
Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour – WINNER
Chris Stapleton – From a Room: Volume 2

Song of the year
Brandi Carlile – The Joke
Childish Gambino – This Is America – WINNER
Drake – God’s Plan
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – Shallow
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – All the Stars
Ella Mai – Boo’d Up
Shawn Mendes – In My Blood
Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey – The Middle

Best pop duo/group performance
Christina Aguilera ft Demi Lovato – Fall in Line
Backstreet Boys – Don’t Go Breaking My Heart
Tony Bennett and Diana Krall – ’S Wonderful
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – Shallow – WINNER
Maroon 5 ft Cardi B – Girls Like You
Justin Timberlake ft Chris Stapleton – Say Something
Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey – The Middle

Best pop solo performance
Beck – Colors
Camila Cabello – Havana (live)
Ariana Grande – God Is a Woman
Lady Gaga – Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?) – WINNER
Post Malone – Better Now

Best pop vocal album
Camila Cabello – Camila
Kelly Clarkson – Meaning of Life
Ariana Grande – Sweetener – WINNER
Shawn Mendes – Shawn Mendes
Pink – Beautiful Trauma
Taylor Swift – Reputation

Best traditional pop vocal album
Tony Bennet and Diana Krall – Love Is Here to Stay
Willie Nelson – My Way – WINNER
Gregory Porter – Nat “King” Cole & Me
Seal – Standards (Deluxe)
Barbra Streisand – The Music … The Mem’ries … The Magic!

Best alternative music album
Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino
Beck – Colors – WINNER
Björk – Utopia
David Byrne – American Utopia
St Vincent – Masseduction

Best country solo performance
Loretta Lynn – Wouldn’t It Be Great
Maren Morris – Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters
Kacey Musgraves – Butterflies – WINNER
Chris Stapleton – Millionaire
Keith Urban – Parallel Line

Best country duo/group performance
Brothers Osborne – Shoot Me Straight
Dan + Shay – Tequila – WINNER
Little Big Town – When Someone Stops Loving You
Maren Morris ft Vince Gill – Dear Hate
Bebe Rexha and Florida Georgia Line – Meant to Be

Best country song
Cole Swindell – Break Up in the End
Maren Morris ft Vince Gill – Dear Hate
Blake Shelton – I Lived In
Kacey Musgraves – Space Cowboy – WINNER
Dan + Shay – Tequila

Best gospel album
Jekalyn Carr – One Nation Under God
Tori Kelly – Hiding Place – WINNER
Jonathan McReynolds – Make Room
The Walls Group – The Other Side
Brian Courtney Wilson – A Great Work

Best Latin pop album
Pablo Alborán – Prometo
Claudia Brant – Sincera – WINNER
Natalia Lafourcade – Musas
Raquel Sofia – 2:00 AM
Carlos Vives – Vives

Best Americana album
Brandi Carlile – By the Way, I Forgive You – WINNER
Bettye Lavette – Things Have Changed
John Prine – The Tree of Forgiveness
Lee Ann Womack – The Lonely, the Lonesome & the Gone
The Wood Brothers – One Drop of Truth

Best compilation soundtrack for visual media
Call Me By Your Name
Deadpool 2
The Greatest Showman – WINNER
Lady Bird
Stranger Things

Best song written for visual media
All The Stars — Kendrick Duckworth, Solána Rowe, Alexander William Shuckburgh, Mark Anthony Spears & Anthony Tiffith, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar & SZA)
Mystery Of Love — Sufjan Stevens, songwriter (Sufjan Stevens)
Remember Me — Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez, songwriters (Miguel Featuring Natalia Lafourcade)
Shallow — Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper) – WINNER
This Is Me — Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, songwriters (Keala Settle & The Greatest Showman Ensemble)

Best music video
APES*** — The Carters, Ricky Saiz, video director; Mélodie Buchris, Natan Schottenfels & Erinn Williams, video producers
This Is America — Childish Gambino, Hiro Murai, video director; Ibra Ake, Jason Cole & Fam Rothstein, video producers – WINNER
I’m Not Racist Joyner Lucas & Ben Proulx, video directors; Joyner Lucas, video producer
Pynk — Janelle Monáe, Emma Westenberg, video director; Justin Benoliel & Whitney Jackson, video producers
Mumbo Jumbo — Tierra Whack Marco Prestini, video director; Sara Nassim, video producer

Best comedy album
Annihilation — Patton Oswalt
Equanimity & The Bird Revelation — Dave Chappelle – WINNER
Noble Ape — Jim Gaffigan
Standup For Drummers — Fred Armisen
Tamborine — Chris Rock

Best dance/electronic album
Singularity —Jon Hopkins
Woman Worldwide — Justice – WINNER
Treehouse — Sofi Tukker
Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides — SOPHIE
Lune Rouge — TOKiMONSTA

Best rap performance
Cardi B – Be Careful
Drake – Nice for What
Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future and James Blake – King’s Dead – TIE
Anderson .Paak – Bubblin – TIE
Travis Scott, Drake, Big Hawk & Swae Lee – Sicko Mode

Best traditional R&B performance
Leon Bridges – Bet Ain’t Worth the Hand – TIE
Bettye LaVette – Don’t Fall Apart on Me Tonight
Major. – Honest
PJ Morton ft Yebba – How Deep Is Your Love – TIE
Charlie Wilson ft Lalah Hathaway – Made for Love

Best R&B song
Ella Mai – Boo’d Up – WINNER
Miguel ft J Cole and Salaam Remi – Come Through and Chill
Childish Gambino – Feels Like Summer
HER – Focus
Toni Braxton – Long As I Live

Best rap/sung performance
Christina Aguilera ft Goldlink – Like I Do
6lack ft J Cole – Pretty Little Fears
Childish Gambino – This Is America – WINNER
Kendrick Lamar & SZA – All the Stars
Post Malone ft 21 Savage – Rockstar

Producer of the year, non-classical
BoI-1DA
Larry Klein
Linda Perry
Kanye West
Pharrell Williams – WINNER

Best rock song
Greta Van Fleet – Black Smoke Rising
Twenty One Pilots – Jumpsuit
Bring Me the Horizon – Mantra
St Vincent – Masseduction – WINNER
Ghost – Rats

Best rock performance
Arctic Monkeys – Four Out of Five
Chris Cornell – When Bad Does Good – WINNER
The Fever 333 – Made an America
Greta Van Fleet – Highway Tune
Halestorm – Uncomfortable

Best rock album
Alice in Chains – Rainier Fog
Fall Out Boy – Mania
Ghost – Prequelle
Greta Van Fleet – From the Fires – WINNER
Weezer – Pacific Daydream

Best metal performance
Between the Buried and Me – Condemned to the Gallows
Deafheaven – Honeycomb
High on Fire – Electric Messiah – WINNER
Trivium – Betrayer
Underoath – On My Teeth

Best urban contemporary album
The Carters – Everything Is Love – WINNER
Chloe x Halle – The Kids Are Alright
Chris Dave and the Drumhedz – Chris Dave and the Drumhedz
Miguel – War & Leisure
Meshell Ndegeocello – Ventriloquism

President Uhuru Kenyatta today at State House, Nairobi, challenged the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund Oversight Board, to utilize resources at its disposal to restore the country’s sporting glory, promote the arts, and preserve Kenya's rich national heritage. 

Speaking after being briefed on the progress made by the board in achieving its broad mandate, President Kenyatta said sports and the arts has the potential of being a major source of jobs for Kenya’s youth if well resourced and managed. 

“We need to revive sports and the arts in the country. One way of doing that is to motivate our young people through adequate resourcing,” the President said. 

He said that as part of fulfilling its mandate, the board should be able to facilitate all national teams participating in international games not only by funding them but also by branding them with national colours through provision of uniforms and other supplies necessary for the teams to succeed. 

“You need to be in the forefront of building strong national sporting teams through provision of adequate funding as well as through branding and provision of the necessary supplies they need to excel,” said the President.

President Kenyatta asked the sports oversight board to ensure that activities under its mandate which include national heritage, culture and the arts are fully catered for, saying preservation of the country’s heritage and culture will help in building a strong reference point for future generations.

He tasked the board to ensure that Kenya's heritage sites and resources including museums, monuments and artefacts are properly mapped, secured, resourced and managed. 

On the arts, the President called on the board to support the Studio Mashinani Initiative, a national government project aimed at ensuring availability of high quality multimedia studio production facilities and equipment to young talented Kenyans across the country. 

The President asked the board to ensure that the Studio Mashinani Initiative, which is growing very fast as a platform for talent development and source of livelihood for thousands of young Kenyans, is adequately resourced and expanded to cover the entire country within the shortest time possible. 

President Kenyatta further pointed out that the board should do all in its power to attract many more youths to utilize their talents in sports and the arts by renovating existing national facilities and by constructing new modern sports infrastructure including stadia. 

He observed that many young people get disillusioned when individuals who are mandated to facilitate them achieve their goals fail and frustrate their efforts, a vice that the Head of State said should end.

“You should refurbish existing sports infrastructure and develop new ones throughout the country. This will be one of the ways of attracting and enabling young Kenyans to explore and utilize their talents to earn a living,” President Kenyatta said. 

The President asked the board to partner with the private sector in resourcing and in the running of the National Drama and Music Festival activities which is one of the major platforms used by most children in Kenya to discover their talents and gifts in the arts.

“We appreciate the role played by the private sector in supporting the growth of sports and the arts in the country. Although we appreciate their support, as government, we need to take up our responsibility by participating fully in these noble activities,” he said. 

The Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund Oversight Board was gazetted in December last year and its members include former Vice President Moody Awori and Athletics Kenya President Lieutenant General (RTD) Jackson Tuwei. Other members of the board include National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich, Principal Secretaries for Sports Amb. Kirimi Kaberia, and his Education and National Treasury counterparts Belio Kipsang and Kamau Thugge respectively. 

Kenyan rapper King Kaka is set to release his new collabo with Jmaican lover rock artist Romain Virgo.

King Kaka took to social media to share a teaser of their new video stating they will be officially releasing it next week.

The song is off King Kaka's Royalty album

Watch the teaser below.

Rayvanny and Diamond Platnumz have finally released their much anticipated video 'Tetema'.

This comes just few days after the two released the audio which has since been receiving alot of airplay and attracted over 1 million views on you tube in a span of one week.

The video has also been trending on major social media outlets including you tube since its release, you can watch it below.

Controversial South African dancer Zodwa Wabantu known for her provocative dancing styles and no panty policy has shockd many after she went shopping for her coffin on Tuesday.

According to Zodwa who was banned from entering Zambia due to her lifestyle, she does not want her family to be in trouble for lack of money to bury her when  she is dead.

She went ahead to share a video of herself shopping for the coffin on social media stating 'Black Society this is a Taboo'.

Swiss multinational healthcare company, Roche, has partnered with the First Lady Margaret Kenyatta’s Beyond Zero Initiative in an ongoing programme to train more nurses  from Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASAL) regions. 

The World Bank funded training programme for Enrolled Community Health Nurses (ECHN) aims to specifically populate rural health facilities in hard to reach areas with qualified personnel as a strategy to increase service provision by skilled attendants.

The training is in line with the First Lady’s 2018-2022 Strategic Framework which aims to provide accessible, appropriate, effective and sustainable health interventions in all parts of the country.

The training of the ECHN nurses is being channelled through the Ministry of Health and executed through the various campuses of the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), specifically those in the ASAL regions.

The first cohort of 300 beneficiaries of the World Bank scholarship graduated in December of last year. The second and third cohorts are expected to join the training programme  this year

“The aim of the programme is to mitigate the shortage of human resources for health in hard to reach areas through production of a critical mass of enrolled community health nurses equipped with knowledge and skills to provide quality health care to mothers and children in their home areas,” said Dr. Leah Bii from the KMTC when she accompanied the Roche team to State House where they met with the First Lady, Tuesday.

Dr Bii was accompanied by KMTC Chief Executive Officer, Professor Michael Kiptoo.

The Roche team was led by its Manager for East Africa, Frank Loeffler who pledged support for the training of 100 nurses every year for the next three years.

Currently, the students are trained in KMTC campuses in Lodwar, Kapenguria, Kabarnet, Bomet, Kitui, Loitokitok, Kilifi and Msambweni.

KMTC has proposed that the next cohort of 100 students be placed in KMTC campuses in Lodwar, Kapenguria, Loitokitok and Msambweni.

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta thanked the Roche team for agreeing to partner with Beyond Zero and KMTC in the training programme and invited more partners to come on board.

Beyond Zero hopes to sponsor the training of an equal number of nurses, to match the 1200 health professionals trained under the World Bank sponsorship. 

The World Bank/Beyond Zero partnership is expected to aid in the reduction of maternal and child mortality, hence contributing to the attainment of the government's universal health coverage pillar of the big four development agenda.