A thousand miles from Greenland

JJC returns with "We are Africans"

 "We Are Africans" is the powerful new single by JJC (digital release date 24 October 2009) which embodies the meaning and significance of Black History Month. "We Are Africans" combines the sentiment of pride with clear messages of unity and positivity.  Serious, but also fun, tongue-in-cheek and wildly infectious, "We Are Africans" is an anthem - in fact it could be labelled as the national anthem for the United States of Africa, a concept which signifies the fortification, unification and reinvention of Africa and Africans across the world.

Nigerian-born and London-based songwriter/rapper/singer/producer JJC aka Skillz first rose to fame when he formed Sony Music act Big Brovaz (their first single "Nu Flow" was a worldwide hit).  He then went on to produce for Lemar, Jamelia, Ginuwine, Liberty X, Booty Luv and many others.  Alongside these mainstream production credentials, he created pioneering Afropean group JJC & 419 Squad, where he was the producer, songwriter and main vocalist. During this time JJC became a mentor to Nigerian superstars D'banj and Don Jazzy.

JJC & 419 Squad, whose hit songs included "Gbao", "Atide" and "Kilonsele", broke new ground with their fresh fusion of hip-hop and African flavours, with lyrics in Pidgin, Yoruba and English. The group managed to reach out to European and World Music audiences as well Nigerian audiences, and they performed at countless events, including major festivals such as WOMAD in the UK and also at MTV Base Africa’s launch concert in Abuja, alongside Ludacris, 2-Face and Asa.  Their music was used in films (Stephen Frears’ Oscar-nominated Dirty Pretty Things) and on TV (Channel 4's drama Stealing Lives) and tracks were included on internationally released CD compilations. JJC & 419 Squad picked up a number of awards, too, such as the 2004 Kora award for 'Best African Group'.  

JJC, a true pioneer of the Afro Pop music scene, returns to the spotlight with brand new solo material. "We Are Africans" (feat. J-Rock and Randy of Big Brovaz) is the first single of his forthcoming album, entitled "United States of Africa".

But don't call it a comeback – JJC never really went away.  Under his alias Skillz, JJC is a prolific music producer who has produced a range of hits including "Ijoya" by Weird MC, "Pu'yanga" by Tilla Man & Dola Billz, "No dull yourself" by MP, "Morile" and "Love u 4eva" by Bouqui, "Burn dem" and "True born 9ja" by Ragga Remi, "Nu music" by Smokey, "Anyhow" by Shakar El Swagga and "Why" by Jibola. A multifaceted, talented and creative persona, JJC is also a music video producer/director and includes "Karmakazee" and "Takerewa" by Olu Maintain feat. Kentro Family, "Omo 2 Sexy" by Justina, "Morile" by Bouqui, "Pu’yanga" by Tilla Man & Dola Billz, "Why" by Jibola, "Swagga po" by Maydaz, "Anyhow" by Shakar El Swagga, "Shake" by DK, "Omo Ele" by Lexzy Doo and many more in his production cache.

I definitely need a laptop with two screens

Check this out. Somebody is giving me a good reason to buy a Windows laptop. Two screens!  GScreen Corp.,  laptop manufactures, have announced the GScreen spacebook, a dual screen laptop scheduled for release later this year.

Each LED backlit display screen slides in and out, one over the other, for a really wide screen experience and relatively compact storage. Not for the ordinary user, this one. Multimedia professionals will love this I'm sure. Lot's of space to view and work with multiple applications, and of course some reasonable power with an expected 2.26GHz P8400 Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4GB RAM, and dedicated 512MB graphics memory on either a NVIDIA® GeForce® 9800M GT or NVIDIA® Quadro FX 1700M Graphics card.

Other Expected specs are:
- Windows VISTA/ WIN XP PRO (optional)
- 320GB 7200-rpm HD
- 9-cell battery
- IEEE 1394 1 Graphics Card Output (15-pin, D-Sub) X 1, HDMI X 1 Mic-in X 1, Line-in x 1, Headphone X 1 PCI Express Card X 1 AC Power Adaptor Output: 19V DC, 90W Input: 100~240V AC, 50/60Hz universal Battery Pack Li-ion 9 cells

Can't wait to get my hands on one.

Read a review before you buy that next gadget

A couple of weeks back, a photopgraher friend of mine was looking to buy a digital camera. He had no idea where to start. He can choose a good reliable analogue camera with his eyes closed. He knows what to look for in that kind of camera. But what do these needs translate to in a digital camera?
 
Something my friend was very particular about was speed. Being able to take multiple shots in succession, and quick access to settings like like ISO, shutter speed and focus are important for action pictures. He's seen some fantastic picturs taken with digital cameras. But how fast are thse digital camera's? He did tell me that the only reason he wants a digital camera is to save cost on films and shorten delivey time, as most of his pictures go to press and online news services, not because he thinks they take better pictures.
 
So, I gave him some advice. "I do not know anything about cameras," I said to him, "but google will be a good place to start." Of course, his first search took him to the websites of camera manufacturers like Canon, and Nikon. These guys tell you all the great stuff about their cameras (so my friend discovered).
 
His search took him from camera websites, which would initially seem to be a good place to start, to online shops, like amazon.com and sites dedicated to product reviews, like testfreaks.com. He found some great reviews from fellow photographers on these sites, which pointed him in the right direction.
 
For example, what good is a digital camera with high definition movie capabilty (which costs an extra chunk of dollars), when the HD performance is limited, e.g., sudden movement of the camera blurs the movie? My friend didn't want to make movies, he wanted to take pictures.
 
You can rely on reviews from users like you who have bought and used that gadget you're interested in.

The Next thing in Newspapering.......

Simply put, NEXT fuels the belief that the newspaper will never die. NEXTonSUNDAY got me buying newspaper after about 10 years of undivided devotion to online content. The recently launched NEXT daily will give Newpaper traditionalists some hope, and even win over some 'modernists'. It's about presentation.

Media analysts have predicted the doom of the printed newspaper. They attribute the impending death to the popularity of the Internet, where news is free and blogging beats waiting for next week's columns.

The newspaper has refused to die. In recent times prints have hit over 2 million copies in India (The Times of India) and over 3 million copies in the UK (The Sun), daily.

But really, you can never print enough newspapers to reach all those who want to read you. Especially in Nigeria, where the cost of running a printing press can ruin any company, thanks zero power supply and the prohibitive cost of newsprint.

Enter the digital edition. Imaging the cost savings; you're able to reach 2 million readers daily, in traditional newspaper format, without printing a single copy. See an example at http://mynaijanews.com/epaper (still in development).

The punch and The Tribune are trying to deliver a digital edition. But they're doing all wrong... That's a story for another day.

So what if the Central Bank didn't cross the Ts

The Central Bank of Nigeria has admitted it released a 'shoddy list' of debtors. Not good. The sack of five Bank's MDs is now questionable based on a few typographic errors in a debtors' list.

That's the general problem with Nigeria. Those who try to solve problems have problems of their own, which overshadow the solutions.

So, does this mean Sanusi has to be stopped, before he stops the banks from further ruining the Nigerian economy?