I REMAIN THE BEST RAPPER - TINNY

Call it a bluff or brag but hiplife artiste Tinny says no artiste in Ghana can match up to him so far as rap goes.

According to him, he has been silent for some time and has been waiting to see a rapper emerge who would overtake him but as yet no one has been able to do that.

“Ever since I released Anaconda three years ago, I have been silent and wondering if there was a better rapper than I, but I have come to realise there is ‘no size’. “I am still the best rapper”, Tinny told Showbiz in an interview last Monday.

To prove that he is the best, Tinny is asking for rappers who think they are better than him to come forward and do battle with him to determine who is the best.

Asked what makes him think that way, Tinny, who describes his fellow rappers as nonentities on his latest single, Koom, said surprisingly a lot of rappers now sound like him. But he insists that he is the original and is always on top of the game.

“I am not bragging because the evidence is there for all to see. If you listen to the rap I did on songs like I Believe I Can Fly, Ringtone, Maamle, Anaconda and Kaabu Ame, you would recognise that I am the best in the game.

According to him, he did his latest track to prove to his fans that he was the best among the lot and was not lost in the game as people thought.

Tinny said the ideas for his latest single came to him after he read an online article with the headline, ‘Where is Tinny’.

Having read the article, Tinny said he felt the timing was now right to release Koom when the realisation hit him that he had no match.

“I know my colleagues will take me on but I fear not because I am telling the truth and they know it. I have never disappointed any artiste who has featured ame on their songs but most of them disappointed me when I featured them.” Tinny said.

He stated that although he has been away for some time, he was planning to have a concert under his Bard Man Records label in a couple of months time.

Away from his music career, Tinny confirmed that he was a father of four children and not seven as it was being rumoured in the media.

I AM AFRAID OF DEATH - ACTOR

Veteran Nollywood star, Pete Edochie who is popularly known for his 'no-nonsense, strict father' roles he plays in movies has been off the scene for a while.

In a recent interview, Pete who brings the character we love to hate on our screens revealed why he is afraid of death.

"I smoked for 21 years before I quit, and each time I got tensed up, I looked for a cigarette, and psychologically I was puffing away the anger; but there is no other thing it does for you physically but to destroy your lungs".

Is he afraid of death and does he think about it?

Yes, I think about death. Why shouldn’t I? I think about death not because it is inevitable but because I would like to be prepared to meet my Maker when the time comes. That’s why I am afraid of death.

“ There is nobody alive who likes dying. Even if a man is 100 years, loses his sight, becomes a vegetable and inconveniences others, he still wouldn’t like to go. So, yes, as a normal human being, I think of death. Merely thinking of death encourages me to avoid excesses”.

why did he give up smoking?

“ As a young man, I drank a lot. I could drink any bottle under the table. It was because of peer pressure. We enjoyed ourselves ‘alcoholically’. We were not given to subduing the womenfolk as a mark of accomplishment; we always got together to drink and smoke cigarettes.

“ As we got older, I felt there was a need to cut down on all the excesses. I gave up smoking though I smoked for 21 years. I gave it up when I discovered it wasn’t serving any purpose”.

how does he now ward off anger after giving up smoking 21 years ago to manage his anger?

“ I don’t get angry easily anymore; I used my Fabian philosophy to stop that”.

Is he a fulfilled man?

“Yes. What else am I going to ask from God? I have a brilliant wife and brilliant children. So, yes, I am fulfilled”.

OSITA IHEME CELEBRATES 34TH BIRTHDAY

One of the Nigeria's celebrated filmmaker, Osita Iheme who is widely known as Pawpaw has celebrated his 34years anniversary in faraway in Obeagu Village, Nkanu East, Enugu, Nigeria.

He celebrated his 34th birthday among his colleagues, friends and fans of Obeagu Village in Enugu.

Pawpaw as he widely known in the filming industry is presently on film location with his pair, Chinedu Ikedieze (Aki) and some other actors.

The celebrant; Osita Iheme said 'I feel great and honored to be with these people and I'm also fulfilled with this little present from colleagues here to mark my day, I'm so glad with the love they shared with me, though this is just a mini-celebration to mark the day, the bigger one will coming after here' he affirmed.

HOW CAN I BEAT MY ARTISTE- BULL DOG

rtiste Manager Bull Dog, Chief Executive of BullHaus Entertainment has described as a “naughty joke” a recent statement from him that he would physically beat up any of his artistes who would look down on him.

“It is not a smooth journey and I’ve always been open with the artistes. I face my problems but I don’t have any artiste looking down on me.

When you do that [I will beat you] and I will walk away after punching you,” Bull had stated on Joy FM’s Rhythmz A-Z last Saturday.

The statement immediately gained public attention perhaps because of the calibre of musicians under his management including VIP, IWAN, Shatta Wale, Koo Ntakra, Natural Face and new entrant Brianna.

But when NEWS-ONE asked Bull to explain what exactly he meant by punching his artiste, he said the statement was a “naughty joke meant to create fun.”

“I can’t beat any of my artistes. I am not a violent person and persons who know me would have realized I was even joking. I understand the laws of Ghana and it would never get to that. This was just one of my naughty jokes meant to create fun,” Bull told NEWS-ONE.

ACTOR URGES GOVERNMENT TO TAX GHANAIAN ACTORS AND ACTRESSES

Ghanaian actor Nana Osei Kwame Brempong known in showbiz as Sharpiro has started a crusade urging the government to tax actors and actresses in Ghana.

Nana Osei Kwame has revealed that actors and actresses in Ghana including himself have not been paying tax to the government of Ghana and this does not help to develop the country.

According to him, there should be a need for the government or the industry to tax actors in the country to sustain the country and film industry.


He said, ‘’ it is very worried  looking at the colossal amount of money some of the actors and actresses earn after shooting three or  four movies without paying any tax to the government or the entertainment industry’’

‘’The producers even don’t issue any VAT receipt when they are paying them which is wrong, it can never happen in Nigeria’’

‘’I learnt that the producers and other sectors in the industry pay taxes for the sustainability of the industry, and why is that actors don’t pay? ’’

Nana Osei Kwame said, if his colleague actors and actresses want the sustainability of the film industry, they should start paying taxes to the government or contribute financially to the industry to secure the industry’s future.

‘’I think if we are able to implement this suggestion, it will help us all because the money that we pay as taxes will help develop the country ‘’

Speaking about the current state of the Ghanaian film industry on Ashh fm Entertainment Zone, Sharpiro suggested that the Ghana Actors Guild must create a fund that will take care of ageing actors and actresses who fought for the industry and are now in a dilapidated condition.

He also agreed with Majid Michael that the Ghanaian movie industry cannot be compared to Nigerian Film Industry.

‘’ the Ghana Actors Guild is not effective as the Nigerian Actors Guild so I agree with Majid totally for what he said about our movie industry. He shouldn’t be blamed for that. We must work to improve on the current state of our industry than to hold peoples neck for their comments ’’

GHANA MUSIC INDUSTRY IS 'BOMBOCLAT' - SHATTA WALE FUMES

Dressed in sagging white apparel, a self-acclaimed dancehall king Shatta Wale blurted out that Ghana's music industry is "bomboclat" - a Jamaican term for foolish.

And he got the crowd gathered at Korlegonor beach to gleefully recite the rant with him.

The rapper, said in pidgin language, he felt sorry for Ghanaians because of the "lies" perpetuated in the music industry.

With a line-up of loyalist of his movement behind him on stage and a teeming audience before him, Shatta Wale might be feeling the world -certainly Ghana - is under his stage.

“If a dey perform then a dey cry because Ghana people lie you people too much. Say Ghana music industry Bomboclat", the leader of the Shattawale movement said last Friday.

It was not immediately known his reason for the rant.

What is known, however, is that the 'Like my thing' artiste maintains a fierce rivalry with a more established opponent Samini.

The two have been having running performance battles over who is the real dancehall king in Ghana.

Shatta Wale, last November, threatened to sue the Graphic Showbiz over a report that Samini outshone him on stage during the “Guinness Big Eruption Concert” in Accra.

I DON’T NEED DRUGS OR ALCOHOL TO PERFORM - ADOLF TAGOE

Ace musician Adolf Tagoe has described as surprising and disheartening, reports that some artistes require stimulants such as alcohol and drugs before they can find their rhythm or perform on stage, saying such persons were missing the true essence of music.

Mr Tagoe, popularly known as the ‘Kakalika man’ for his latest hit, says music is “the best thing that has happened” to him in his decades on earth, and strongly believes such persons may be hiding behind music to perpetuate a negative vice.

“I don’t believe in drugs. Those who want to do drugs will hide behind anything and give so many excuses. If somebody says he needs drugs to perform I don’t believe it. For me, stage is my home. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t do anything. I think they are just using music as an excuse.”

Reports have been rife about drug and alcohol use among musicians, especially upcoming ones, although their managers and publicists have consistently denied such reports. Nevertheless such rumours have refused to go away.

According to Adolf Tagoe, although there are other things that bring him happiness, “just seeing the joy that music, both mine and others, brings to people’s faces and hearts is a constant blessing to me, and I don’t need drugs to do that.”

The Ghanaian born American citizen, who is a Civil Engineer by profession, says he “designs and builds for fun but my first love is music, and I have enjoyed doing it all these years. I can never stop.”

Known for a number of hits including his latest singles ‘Kakalika’ and ‘Hotshot’, which continue to receive serious air play, Adolf Tagoe told Adomonline.com he was putting finishing touches to the 12 tracks on his songs fifth album. His first album was released in 2001, followed by others in 2004, 2006 and 2009 respectively.

He advised his colleague musicians caught in the web of alcohol and drug use to do whatever it takes to quit, “because sooner or later it will hit you like a time bomb.”