IF I AM SLEEPING WITH ANY MAN, IT IS NOT AN AFFAIR…-PATIENCE OZOKWO

Nollywood actress, Patience Ozokwo, aka Mama Gee, has finally reacted to the speculated affair between her and a Delta State-born politician, Michael Diden aka Ejele.

The actress debunked the rumour and stated that she is not in any romantic relationship with any man at the moment, including the former Commissioner at Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC), who is also a Pastor.

In an chat with Nigeriafilms.com, when contacted, expressed anger over the speculation and explained that she has more important issues to handle than having a secret affair with an opposite sex. She also stated that as a blunt person, if such was true, she would have boldly presented the man in her life to the public.

“If I am sleeping with any man, it is not an affair because I am entitled to be married. It cannot become an affair because I am not married and my husband is dead. Secondly, I don’t have any man in my life and I don’t intend to have any man. I have friends and I am entitled to my own friends like you,” she told Nigeriafilms.com.

Speaking further, Mama G said, “It is really annoying when people begin to talk about you with things you never thought of doing. So, to clear the air, I don’t have any man in my life but friends; both males and females and I am working hard to make a living for myself so that nobody will say he/she is affecting my life.”

The actress further denied knowing Pastor Michael Diden a.k.a Ejele, or planning a secret marriage.

“I don’t even know the person you guys are talking about. At this age, I shouldn't be thinking about having a lover. Instead, I should be thinking how to work seriously to make Nigeria grow,” she said.

The 2014 AMAA Best Supporting actress, who was recently spotted in Uganda at the launch of the second edition of the Uganda Film Festival on Tuesday, June 17, 2014, is currently on vacation in London, taking care of her grandchildren and is due to be back in the country soon.

SHATTA WALE NOT QUALIFIED FOR PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

Information reaching News-One indicates that Dancehall icon Shatta Wale did not meet the criteria for the BASS Awards Producer of the Year.

Despite calls by entertainment pundits and industry players for the inclusion of the ‘Dancehall King’ hitmaker in the Producer of the Year category, a source close to the board of the BASS Awards said the artiste did not qualify for the category based on some technical issues.

“If you talk about the Producer of the Year Category, you will look at a producer who has done two or three hit songs for a number of artistes.

Now if all the hit songs that a producer has done are his own works, but you can’t really confirm and say oh he produced for two or three other artistes, then he does not qualify to be in the Producer of the Year category,” the source who decided to remain anonymous disclosed.

Clearly, in the year under review, Shatta Wale managed to produce several hit songs which got nominated in other categories, but was not able to produce hit songs for any other artiste; that is why he did not make it on the Producer of the Year category for the 2nd edition of the BASS Awards.

It could be recalled that popular TV anchor and musician Jon Germain was recently in the news calling for organizers of the event to include Shatta Wale in the Producer of the Year category.

SAMINI UNDER FIRE OVER AWARDS: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED?

It's quite unfortunate that some people think that the rivalry between Samini and Shatta Wale is just a marketing tool used by the two artistes to sell their brands. In as much as the two artistes may be benefitting from the rivalry, it must be emphasized that deep within the hearts of the two artistes, they have something against each other.

In the wake of Bulldog`s detention, many people could not understand why Shatta Wale did not show up at the court even though his dad did. However, it was later on confirmed that Shatta Wale had visited Bulldog a day before the first court proceedings and even wept uncontrollably.

The rivalry between the Bullhaus Entertainment's Shatta Wale and High Grade's Samini which has been on for quite some time now is an issue everybody within the entertainment knows about. In as much as there have been attempts to resolve the differences of the two artistes, as I speak, there hasn't been any headway.

I expect that, notwithstanding the long standing rivalry between the two camps, Samini would have done himself some good by visiting Bulldog. Visiting Bulldog would have earned Samini some amount of respect in the eyes of industry players and some followers of Shatta Wale. I am of the firm belief that Bulldog would even have appreciated such a gesture.

It however seems that, the rivalry between the two camps may have generated into some sort of hatred. I say this because based on very reliable information I have, for the number of days Bulldog spent in police cells, Samini never visited Bulldog to encourage him in those hard times. He didn't even send any words of encouragement through any of his management team members to be delivered to Bulldog.

One thing that is very clear is that, whiles in police custody, Bulldog never expected to see Samini. Assuming Samini had visited him, Bulldog would have been touched and probably changed his stance on the Shatta Wale-Samini issue. Based on the ''love'' shown to Bulldog by Samini while in police cells, I guess I wouldn't be wrong to say that the rivalry between Samini and Shatta Wale would last longer than expected.

Meanwhile, the information that came out that Samini has won the Best International Act in the just ended Black Canadian Awards has proven to be false after checks with the organizers have cleared that Samini did not win any category like that. Truthfully, the award was won by Trinidad and Tobago`s artiste Destra Garcia and not the Highgrade boss aka Daddy Samini. Initially, Samini`s manager Tony Pun had signed a press statement that his artiste won the award in far away Canada but it has been confirmed to be false.

OBINIM'S CHURCH SINGS BISA KDEI'S 'METANFO’

Any time the issue of what gospel music is comes to the fore, there are divergent opinions and that stokes unending controversies. Some time ago, I wrote that I would sing Bisa K Dei's Metanfo and Baaba in church and people thought that I was just starting an unnecessary debate. Of course, I did and I was not scorned nor intimidated by anyone in the church.

Last week, just as I was zapping through my TV channels, I came across a channel called OBTV which I believe belongs to Bishop Daniel Obinim of the International God's Way Ministry. As usual, I got my dial stuck to watch his service, which I always consider a sub-discipline of entertainment on TV. So, just as I was watching Obinim's entertainment show, I heard his professional musicians sing Bisa K Dei's song 'Metanfo' after the Bishop had purportedly healed a certain woman of her illness.

On any day, the real Ghanaian Christian would shudder to sing this song in church just because they think the person who sang it dresses in a certain way or does songs that are generally unchristian. It still engenders the old debate of what gospel music really is, and whether or not the personality of who sang a song could be a factor of describing his genre of music.

It is one of the reasons why I was shocked when none of Bisa K Dei's gospel songs were nominated in the Ghana Gospel Industry Awards. We are growing as a people so we must learn to embrace reality and stop being overly hypocritical.

SARKODIE IS A NEW OBRAFOUR AND THE BEST RAPPER ALIVE – HAMMER

Veteran recording engineer who was very instrumental in the origination of hiplife, Mr. Edward Osei, popularly known as Hammer of the last 2, has opined on the debate of who the best rapper in Ghana is at the moment.

He told Flex newspaper that a good rapper must be one that is intelligent, clever and one who has the ability to knit words that will appeal to the senses of the listener. He added that a good rapper should make use of literary devices in a tactful manner. He also noted that even though rhymes make rap interesting, it must be done such that at the end of it, it makes sense to the one listening.

Hammer noted that even though he admires the likes of Obrafuor and that Obrafuor had been the best during his time with his deep proverbial lyrics, Sarkodie is master at the moment.

“I have never seen any rapper as intelligent as Sarkodie for now because of the speed he uses to compose verses. He can just sit down within 10minutes and create something good. You can’t believe it. Unlike Obrafuor, Sarkodie is about comedy and he is not a teacher or someone who really wants to bring up serious message like Obrafour did. The times have changed and Sarkodie is a new Obrafour. He is the best,” Hammered reiterated.

He also mentioned other rappers like Jay So, Edem and Manifest as some of his favourite rappers.

TUUTULAPATO BACK IN THE CLASSROOM

After being out of school for about two academic terms, kid rapper Cosmos Boako aka Tuutulapato is back in the classroom.

Tuutulapato had not been in school because he had no relative in Accra to take care of him. It had been said that an uncle of his who would be caring for him had traveled so until he returned from his trip the boy had been in Breman Asikuma, where his parents are, without going to school.

He was sent to his hometown Breman Asikuma in January but was not allowed return to stay with his former manager Buffalo, who had taken care of him for 3 years because according to the family Buffalo exploited him. It would be recalled that Flex newspaper in our quest to ensure that the little boy has the best of education has done a couple of stories in this wise and had even suggested that the parents be invited by child rights organizations for advice if they didn't take Tuutulapto to school.

It is however good news that our advocacy has yielded results. Tuutulapato is now at Ford Schools Limited in Teshie Nungua and is in Basic Three. According to his new manager Kennedy Addae, Tuutulapato was enrolled in the school about three weeks ago and has been attending school since.

Until Tuutulapato left for Breman Asikuma early this year, he was a pupil at the British International School. It is hoped that whoever is caring for him has the strength and will power to do so, so that the child has the best of education.

Meanwhile, Tuutulapato is out with a new song called 'God is My Savior.' In the song that features Kwame Yoghurt, Tuutulapato talks about the fact that aside all rumours being peddled about him, God keeps blessing him in what he does.

Being in a new school, having new manager and a new song to hit the airwaves soon, it is also hoped that the TV3 Talented Kid gains more prominence and firm footing in the Ghanaian music industry.

DUMELO MADE ME COMFORTABLE – BERLA MUNDI

GHone TV Presenter, Berla Mundi, has described her first acting experience in Yvonne Nelson’s upcoming movie, ‘Single Married & Complicated’ as “challenging”.

The beautiful young lady played the character of Trish whose marriage is falling apart. Her husband is not attracted to her anymore so she adopts various strategies to win him back.

Berla told News-One yesterday that she at a point forgot her lines during the making of the movie.

However, she was coached and supported by some of the established main actors in the movie, adding, “John Dumelo even made it more comfortable for me.”

She also congratulated Yvonne Nelson, the producer of the movie and director Pascal Amanfo for giving her the opportunity.

“Ok everyone knows how it feels when you do something for the first time, especially when it’s with people who have been in the game for so long… I felt the jitters and was uncertain about my performance because, yes, I am a TV presenter, but when it comes to acting it’s a different ballgame altogether.

“But I must thank the producer, Yvonne Nelson and director Pascal Amanfo for the chance to grow, direction and for the encouragement. Playing a role that was played by a seasoned actress in the first part of the movie was challenging…I had to make sure I nail the role so people won’t compare me to her and say she did a better job…I forgot lines, I had to be coached at certain points but it went absolutely well… And John just made it even more comfortable for me… And I thank God and everyone for the support,” she revealed.

Berla is described as an eloquent, enterprising, industrious and daring young lady. Her soothing voice and interesting personality with unique style, coupled with her amazing ability to drive away a storm with her charming smile have enabled her to win the hearts of many within the few years she popped up on GHOne screens.

Born on an April Fools’ Day, she is a Psychology and Linguistics graduate of the University of Ghana and co-host Rythmz with Black Boy.