Entertainment
Timaya Goes Rebranding
Over the past three
years, Timaya has undergone, little and often subtle changes. First, he tweaked his appearance; He no longer spots the dreadlocks, but has a stylish-parting that runs suavely. His attire is completely of a higher fashion now, a tremendous leap forward for a singer who was very well vested in stereotypical pop culture attires and blings. Quietly, Timaya cleaned up his image.
A look through Timaya’s social media pages will not bring up any old version of the singer from Port Harcourt. He’s a new man, far different from the one who was involved in the brash altercation with Empress Njama, but a successful musician who is focused on his work, and also his new sense of style and self. This change has been evident since 2013. After the previous album “Upgrade”, which did show traces of the man Timaya will become, but still held on to his previous thuggish persona. The singer went on a rebranding process. It slowly became clear that the singer had grown tired of his previous persona and had to evolve, lest he becomes another Terry G, There was a vision to change, the first of which was to lose the tired dreadlocks.
Over the years, very few artistes have thrown in the change to make themselves appeal to a different market. African China cleaned up his image in a bid to appeal to more upscale demography, and left him hanging by a thread that killed his career. Waconzy took off his dreads and so went his plan for the future 2face Idibia, is working on rebranding to 2 baba.
The biggest question, however, is will his music change? All the music timaya has released is unaffected, with a fusion of pop and dancehall still his signature sound, Timaya started off as a story teller and Introspective romantic whose music bordered on protest art, with songs like ‘Dem Mama’ and ‘True Story’ taking the boy beyond Port Harcourt. Subsequent years have seen him try to balance his themes to fit in with the popular narrative, with party tracks leading his work, and an appreciation of God propping it. The songs ‘Sanko’ and ‘Bow down’ both off his ‘Epiphany’ album. His new records ‘ I like the way’, Halleluyah’, and ‘Money’, all straddle his old themes, significantly showing that the change is superficial with no new music direction to be employed.
That aside, if there is a glass ceiling that put Timaya’s career and appeal at risk based on his look, that ceiling has shattered. What’s left is for him to go past the ceiling of his music. Perhaps that will materialize one day.
Spotify yesterday revealed a significant surge in heartbreak song streams in Nigeria during the Valentine’s Day season, with a 626 percent increase between 2022 and 2024.
This was disclosed in a statement issued in Lagos, Nigeria by Spotify’s Head of Music, Sub-Saharan Africa Phiona Okumu.
Okumu said, “Spotify data reveals a surprising trend, a massive surge in heartbreak song streams.
“Nigerians are turning to their playlists to express their emotions, with a staggering 626 per cent overall growth in heartbreak streams from 2022 to 2024.
“This Valentine, the sound of love is accompanied by the sound of heartbreak, and the data shows it’s louder than ever before.”
She said on Valentine’s Day, most surprisingly, male listeners streamed heartbreak songs at a significantly higher rate than female listeners, with a 362 per cent increase compared to 169 per cent among women.
“This could suggest that men resonate with the feeling of heartbreak more and turn to music as a private outlet for processing emotions.
“Whatever the reason, one thing is clear, when love is in the air, so is heartbreak and Nigerian men are pressing play on their pain more than expected.
“While Valentine’s Day is often celebrated with grand gestures, heartbreak is a common theme on Valentine’s Day -more than what’s publicly shown,” she said.
Nigerians will join their counterparts across the world to mark the 2025 Valentine’s today.
Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has joined MLS side San Diego FC’s ownership group as a club partner.
SDFC announced today that Tems joined the ownership group through her company, The Leading Vibe.
In the process, Tems became the first African woman to be involved in MLS ownership.
“We are delighted that Tems has joined San Diego FC as a club partner,” SDFC chairman Sir Mohamed Mansour said in a statement.
“Tems is a globally significant artist who will help us reach new audiences and spread the word about our unique project, which, of course, has its foundations in sub-Saharan Africa through the unique Right to Dream organisation.”
Reacting to her addition as the latest partner in SDFC’s ownership group, the singer said: “I am thrilled to join San Diego FC’s ownership group and to be part of a club that celebrates creativity, culture, and the power of community.
“Football has a unique way of bringing people together, and I am excited to help build something special in San Diego, a city that thrives on diversity and innovation.”
Fashion and beauty entrepreneur, Toyin Lawani, has claimed she is enduring back pain and that her spine is degenerating.
Lawani revealed this in a video posted on social media last Tuesday.
In the clip, she opened up about her experience with epidural anesthesia, an injection administered to pregnant women in the spine to reduce pain during childbirth.
The mother of three claimed that since receiving the injection, she has not felt like herself.
She accused doctors of not fully informing women about the long-term side effects of epidurals.
According to Lawani, she received the anesthetic injection during the birth of her last two children.
She said, “When you hear ‘epidural,’ run. Doctors tell you about the side effects but do not tell you about the long-term effects on your body. I have about three friends having the same issues that I am having.
“Like, I am just 42, how did I end up with spine issues? I have a degenerating spine. I have implants in my spine. I go paralyzed. I can’t stand for a long time. I can’t even breathe properly sometimes because it affected so many things in my body when I had the surgery.
“They will not tell you because you just want the pain to go away. I have had two epidurals. I had my first as natural birth. The last two were epidural. The last one I had epidural because I had to undergo a surgery and I had no choice.
“See, the pain does not stop. My back is killing me and my spine is degenerating.”