Neza shines in Lagos Rwandan female singer Neza Da SongBird is taking her music career to greater heights. The artiste, who’s currently under the management of MCG Entertainment, a Nigerian music label owned by MC Galaxy, was recently awarded the ‘Most Promising Artiste of the Year’ award during the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) awards ceremony in Lagos. The singer, real name Patricia Neza Masozera, has in the recent past released songs that have gained a fair amount of airplay in Nigeria, a country with a thriving music industry. Fans believe that this is a good platform for the songstress and that if she plays her cards well, the sky is the limit. They reckon that she can use the influence of even bigger artistes there to boost her own career and possibly make it to the international scene. We are also told that the singer is in talks with organisers to headline next month’s Kigali Jazz Junction. We wish her the best. *** Hackers take over Desire Luzinda’s IG account Celebrities, hold onto your passwords! It looks like Ugandan musician Desire Luzinda has also fallen victim to hackers. We have learnt that the “Ekitone” singer lost control of her Instagram account which was allegedly taken over by a one Kundaika. The hacker has since unfollowed everyone and made the account private. According to sources close to the singer, all efforts to recover the account are still in vain. Desire Luzinda is not the first victim to fall prey to hackers in the recent past. Jose Chameleone’s Instagram account was also recently hacked and it is said that he had to fork out millions of shillings to recover it, only to lose it again. *** Why did Radio and Weasel fire their manager? Uganda’s dynamic duo, Radio and Weasel fired one of their managers, Labeja Lawrence. The “Obudde” singers announced his sacking via social media, where they wrote; “Labeja Lawrence is no NOT an Employee of Goodlyfe Magic Limited. Whoever deals with him is doing it at his own peril.” According to sources in the Goodlyfe camp, Labeja was relieved of his duties over financial related issues. He is said to have fleeced the duo of millions of shillings in double booked shows. Labeja Lawrence joined the GoodLyfe team in 2014 after parting ways with artiste turned Member of Parliament, Bobi Wine, and has been serving as their business manager. Radio and Weasel are now only managed by Chagga Geoffrey and Emma Carlos. *** Is Lulu’s career over? Tanzanian actress, Elizabeth Michael Lulu was slapped with a two year jail term after she was found guilty of killing fellow actor Steven Kanumba, whom she was dating in 2012. The High Court in Dar es Salaam found Lulu guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Michael, 22, who goes by the stage name “Lulu”, admitted to pushing Kanumba during an argument in their home, which resulted in his death. However, going by the discussions on many social media platforms, fans and non-fans alike are wondering what this means for the actresses’ career. Michael, who began acting as a child, won a Best Actress award at the Zanzibar International Film Festival for her role in a movie called “Foolish Age”. Her 2015 movie “Mapenzi Ya Mungu” (God’s Love) was singled out at the 2016 Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards. *** What next for Urban Boys? After Urban Boys’ Safi Madiba left the group in favour of a solo career, the question on many people’s lips is; what is the fate of arguably one of Rwanda’s finest musicians? Madiba announced his decision to start a solo career, and now, fans are wondering if the two remaining members will continue with the group or they too will go their separate ways. The latest rumour spin is that the two are determined to move on as a duo or, interestingly, as a trio. It is speculated that the two members, Humble Jizzo, real name James Manzi, and Muhammed Nshimiyimana alias Nizzo, could be searching for a new member. Since the group has always been a trio it makes all the sense in the world to want to keep it that way regardless of the hurdles. Regarding the hurdles, it is known that Madiba’s decision to quit the group left a lot of controversy. Word has it that there were longstanding disputes, particularly between Madiba and Nizzo. It is said that their longtime music advisor, only identified as 2Pac, mentioned that Madiba’s decision was based on petty reasons that he didn’t care to share. But close sources indicate that there was a hitch in their relationship which led to the breakup. Nizzo and Humble have still not revealed the real story behind the situation but we are keeping an ear out.
