LAST WEEK produced yet another couple of showbiz stories that no one could afford to miss. It was a week of celebrations for actress Alliah Cool who completed her Rwf500million villa while Bull Dogg is looking forward to meeting his old friend Green P when he travels to Dubai ahead of Saturday’s concert. Before we take on a new week in business, The New Times looks at the showbiz stories that trended last week. Social media abuzz over Alliah Cool’s Rwf500 million villa ownership Rwandan actress Alliance Isimbi, commonly known in cinema as Alliah Cool, last week unveiled her dream mansion which reportedly cost her a staggering Rwf500 million upon completion. It is two weeks now since she relocated to the luxurious villa located in Kibagabaga, Gasabo District. The villa has been at the centre of public attention on social media ever since the photos on the outside and inside view emerged on Thursday, October 20. Many had divided opinions on where the actress got the money to build such a luxurious mansion but others came to her defense that no one would be bringing such an unnecessary debate if it were a man who completed the house of the same amount The property took Alliah Cool over one year to finalize it. She kept the construction works on the mansion very private to avoid media attention throughout the construction period until some media started gossiping about the house at the beginning of September. Alliah Cool has built a name for herself in the cinema industry not only in Rwanda but also on the international scene with her movie “Alliah the Movie” now targeting the African market through Nigerian movie distribution platform, Nollyflix. Alliah Cool is the latest female celebrity to complete a mansion in Kigali after socialite Kate Bashabe unveiled her own mansion that she completed in Rebero, back in January this year. Bull Dogg up for reunion with old pal Green P The duo shared good and bad memories together as Tuff Gang, arguably Rwanda’s greatest Hip Hop crew. Their friendly bond continued even after the crew separated indefinitely a few years ago, with each crew member following their own path. Bull Dogg kept his hustle in music but Green P opted to start a new chapter of his life when he departed for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2020 to start business in the city which is arguably one of world’s most dynamic places to do business. With Bull Dogg’s performance in Dubai now confirmed, the rappers could reunite and share a light moment, either on or off the stage. Green P had been through a drug rehab for quite some months but his addiction proved too difficult to recover. The Ben, Green P’s brother, reportedly spent huge sums of money to help the rapper to overcome drug addiction and, luckily, his efforts paid off. The rapper’s life took off for the better in business than in music. Celebrating such an achievement with his old friend Bull Dogg by sharing a stage is something that rap music enthusiasts in Dubai are anticipating. On the agenda, Bull Dogg has two concerts in Dubai, with the first scheduled on October 29, and the second on November 5. Is Salax Awards returning? The unprecedented downfall of the Salax wards is something that hurts Rwanda showbiz journalist Ally Soudy. The awards were once the prestigious prizes that every Rwandan musician dreamt of achieving. That’s why the US-based journalist always finds their collapse hard to take. The Salax Awards concept was Ally Soudy’s idea that he developed when he was a student at the National University of (Rwanda NUR) in Huye. He sold the idea to his former colleague and showbiz journalist Mike Karangwa. The two launched the award and the first edition was held in 2009. The annual awards showed signs of progress only for them to ascend into chaos at their peak, until the organiser decided to suspend the event in 2018, until further notice. The suspension took place a few years after Ally Soudy left to live in the United States. Despite the downfall, he is not ready to give up on the awards and plans on bringing them back, sooner or later. Could we witness the return of the awards? Time will tell. Did Harmonize copy Phil Peter's creativity? DJ Phil Peter and Kenny Sol are still in awe after seeing their track 'Terimometa' dominating the charts on local radio and TV stations. The song video must be gathering more clicks on YouTube ever since Harmonize released a new song 'Leave Me Alone' last week with a footage of the video that resembles the creativity first spotted in Phil Peter's 'Terimometa' In 'Terimometa', Kenny Sol is seen in the video with his head almost heading down the floor just like Harmonize does it in his brand new song that he released last week. While people have been accusing Harmonize of copying Phil, it was revealed that American rapper Mac Lethal was the first to shoot such a footage during his song 'Upside Down Floor' which he released in 2016. The American's song put an end to the copyrights debate surrounding Harmonize’s attempt to copy Phil Peter's creativity that has been there for years.
