Meet The World’s Most Disappointing Leaders Of All Time

They serve as great examples — of how not to lead.

The past year or so has produced an avalanche of bungles, failures, and questionable decisions among CEOs and politicians—many so distinctive or outsize that they merit special acknowledgement.

Don’t Blame Me, I’m Just The Governor Award
Rick Snyder, Governor of Michigan

Michigan Gov. Rick SnyderPhotograph by Al Goldis — AP Images
Snyder and his team sparked national outrage after an attempt at cost-savings left the impoverished city of Flint, Mich. with a lead-tainted water supply that is being blamed for illness and brain damage, especially among its youngest residents. Called to testify before Congress, Snyder, who touted his competence in his gubernatorial campaign, labeled the experience the “most humbling” of his life—then attempted to shift blame. He described it as a “failure of government” and blasted the Environmental Protection Agency for its “dumb and dangerous” rules on allowable amounts of lead in water systems.

The Burned Rubber Prize
Martin Winterkorn, former chairman of Volkswagen

Martin Winterkorn CEO VolkswagenPhotograph by Ute Grabowsky — Photothek via Getty Images
Winterkorn led VW during most of the behavior that led to a disastrous scandal (which is far from over), as company engineers installed software that manipulated emissions on about 11 million diesel vehicles. Winterkorn has asserted ignorance of any wrongdoing. Critics have been skeptical, given that he is known as a micro-manager. Then there’s the fact that the company has acknowledged that, at least in the latter stages, a warning of potential wrongdoing was sent to him. VW was known for a ruthless culture and, under Winterkorn, an ambition to become the world’s largest automaker. The combination proved toxic in the case of its emissions cheating.

The Black Box Award
Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos

Founder & CEO of Theranos Elizabeth HolmesPhotograph by Gilbert Carrasquillo — Getty Images
Once a Silicon Valley wunderkind, Holmes leads a startup that seeks to disrupt health care by offering cheaper and less invasive blood tests. But Theranos’s reputation has wilted under heavy scrutiny. After an investigative report by the Wall Street Journal cast doubt on some of the company’s key claims, Holmes continued to defend Theranos’ testing and methods—all while refusing to allow outside scientific scrutiny or peer review. Meanwhile she was unable to keep one of her company’s two labs in minimally acceptable order, according to findings by federal regulators. They concluded that the lab suffered from five “serious deficiencies,” one of which “posed immediate jeopardy to patient health and safety.”

I Lost My Strategy Under the Sofa, Special Citation
Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo

Yahoo CEO Marissa MayerPhotograph by Mario Tama—Getty Images

Nobody thought Marissa Mayer faced an easy challenge when she signed on to try to revive the fading Web 1.0 icon. But nearly four years into her tenure, the profits continue to sag and the fiascos continue to mount as, to take just one of many examples, she shutters expensive “magazines” that she previously launched and described as central to her strategy. Paying hefty ransoms to keep key employees has made Mayer look desperate. She has alternated between resisting and embracing shareholder activists and zigzagged on whether she should spin off Yahoo’s YHOO 0.66% valuable stake in Alibaba or spin off the bulk of the company’s businesses and leave Yahoo as largely a holding company for the Alibaba stake.

The Leon Trotsky Prize for Reorganization
Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos

Tony HsiehPhotograph by Brad Swonetz

Hsieh is both a quirky mogul who lives in a trailer with two pet alpacas outside and a leadership guru who previously won plaudits for the zany, free-flowing culture at the online shoe-seller. He has made bold moves, such as a $350 million gamble to transform downtown Las Vegas into a bustling entrepreneurial hub. But Hsieh topped that by radically overturning the order at Zappos. He eliminated all bosses in favor of a self-management model known as holacracy, now aimed at reaching a state of organizational enlightenment known as “teal.” The result: A wave of exits, as 29% of the staff turned over in a single year. The company has yet to fully regain its footing.

The George Costanza Medal for In-Office Frolics
Parker Conrad, former CEO of Zenefits

Parker ConradPhotograph by Jim Wilson — The New York Times/Redux

In its first two years, the employee benefits software company grew at an astonishing pace, reaching more than 1,000 employees and a $4.5 billion valuation. Then things turned: Last year, Zenefits reportedly missed its revenue targets, causing Fidelity Investments to mark down the value of its shares in the company by 48%. Later, a Buzzfeed report found that, under Conrad, as many as 80% of Zenefits’ sales of health insurance in Washington state were made by unlicensed brokers. The final blow came in February, when employees were found to be systematically cheating on mandatory insurance-broker training. Conrad was pushed out. His replacement banned drinking at the office, calling Zenefits’ culture “inappropriate for a highly regulated company.” A subsequent Wall Street Journalreport found that under Conrad, Zenefits employees held frequent office parties, wrestled with each other in public, and had sex in the office stairwell.

The “Welcome Back, Now Please Leave” Certificate
Michael Pearson, outgoing CEO of Valeant

Michael PearsonPhotograph by Bloomberg — Getty Images

Valeant VRX -6.14% announced plans to find a new CEO only days after Pearson returned from two months of convalescence for pneumonia as the Canadian pharmaceutical company grappled with what it has conceded was “improper conduct” in misstating its financial results. The departure capped a stunning turnaround as the company went from being a stock market darling for its ability to jack up drug prices… to being vilified for much the same conduct. The “improper conduct” related to recognizing revenue from a mail-order pharmacy called Philidor, which was accused of using shady tactics to get insurers to pay for Valeant medications. (Valeant’s former CFO has denied any wrongdoing.)


Source: fortune

Apple At 40: Stronger Than Ever As Trend-Setter (Silicon Valley legend that sprang out of Steve Jobs)

Apple celebrates its 40th anniversary this week at the top of its game, as the Silicon Valley legend that sprang out of Steve Jobs’ garage to reshape modern life with its trend-setting gadgets.

Jobs, the late tech-savvy marketing genius, and Steve Wozniak, who invented the Apple computer, helped revolutionize how people use technology, and formed what would become the world’s largest corporation with an eye-popping $53 billion in annual profits.

The two college dropouts created the company that has changed the way people use computers, listen to music, communicate on the go, and made people at home in a world of “apps” tailored for work, play, education, health and more. Apple’s hit products —

 the Mac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad — command a cult-like following, long after the company’s humble beginning in Jobs’ Cupertino, California garage on April 1, 1976. “Apple has defined modern Internet lifestyle,” said Tim Bajarin, president of Silicon Valley analyst firm Creative Strategies.

 While other firms had major impacts on specific technologies or devices, “Apple had the greatest influence on the broadest range of consumer electronics,” Bajarin said. Before changing the world with the iPhone and iPad, Apple transformed home computing with the Macintosh. 

The friendly desktop machine referred to as the “Mac” and, importantly, the ability to control it by clicking on icons with a “mouse,” opened computing to non-geeks in much the way that touchscreens later allowed almost anyone to get instantly comfortable with smartphones or tablets. 

The Macintosh computer, introduced in 1984, was at the core of a legendary rivalry between late Apple co-founder Jobs and Microsoft mastermind Bill Gates. “Apple heavily influenced the market with the Mac by introducing the mouse and the graphical user interface,” Bajarin said, referring to the then novel notion of controlling computers by clicking icons instead of typing commands using software speak. – Cult of Apple – Apple went on to “rewrite” the music market with the iPod; made the smartphone a mass market staple with the iPhone, and took tablets mainstream with the iPad. Apple Watch quickly took the lead in the smartwatch market, despite making its debut later than those of rivals.

 While Apple did not invent MP3 players, smartphones, tablets or smartwatches, its creations combined beauty, ease-of-use and capabilities that won zealous fans. Jobs, who died in 2011 at the age of 56, was renowned for an uncompromising drive to combine technology with design to make products that were intuitive and hassle-free. 

“Apple has taught us the supremacy of user experience and brand passion,” Forrester analyst Frank Gillett told AFP. “Apple devices don’t just work great, they inspire allegiance.

 The Apple brand inspires passion on both ends of the spectrum.” Gillett recalled early Apple days when loyalty to Apple or Windows computers was the type of topic that could easily trigger clashes in San Francisco cafes.

 “It is Apple’s obsessive attention to detail, premium products that for some are status symbols,” the analyst said. “It becomes brand fashion, with people throwing themselves into a community.” – Twists and turns – Apple’s path to becoming the world’s most valuable company was beset by surprising twists and turns, including product flops as well as board room machination that resulted in Jobs being ousted for a time as chief. 

“It has been a remarkable story of peaks and crises that got us here,” Gillett said. “It is a remarkable story of reinvention.” The analyst wondered whether Apple stepping to the front lines in a battle over privacy and security of digital data on smartphones under chief executive Tim Cook will eventually be seen as another of the notable moments in its history. 

The US government’s unexpected retreat in its campaign to force Apple to help unlock an attacker’s iPhone may only postpone an inevitable battle over encryption and data protection, say analysts.

 Federal prosecutors and Apple spent weeks trading a volley of legal briefs related to the FBI’s demand that the tech company help investigators unlock the phone used by Syed Farook, who died in a shootout after carrying out a deadly December attack in San Bernardino, California with his wife.

 The case ended in a stalemate, but many expect the debate on encryption to resume. Apple early this year raised the specter of the end of a technological era after reporting the slowest growth sales ever of its market-leading, life-changing iPhone and warning it expects worse to come. Many analysts say Apple is evolving from a device-making superstar racking up dizzying financial quarters to a company that can make a sizable and steady income from selling apps, digital music and more to the huge number of people using its devices. 

Apple services include iTunes, iCloud, Apple TV, and the App Store along with Apple Pay. Apple also has a war chest of some $215 billion in cash and securities, most of it overseas. The company will move into its new “spaceship” design campus next year, according to Cook. “We are looking forward to moving,” Cook said at a press event. “We can’t wait to see what is in store for the next 40 years and share it with you.”

Source: vanguardngr

These Are The World’s 5 Greatest Leaders, From Tech CEOs To Religious Figures

Fortune’s third annual World’s Greatest Leaders list has been published. Topping the list? Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

He’s got every reason to cha-cha. More has gone right for Bezos lately than perhaps at any other time during his two-decade run in the public eye. His company is expanding internationally and spreading its hydra-headed product and service offerings in unexpected new directions. Bezos, too, is evolving. Always a fierce competitor and stern taskmaster, he has begun to show another side. With thePost,he’s taken a seat at the civic-leadership table. And with his various projects Bezos is also becoming known as a visionary on topics beyond dreaming up new ways to gut the profit margins of Amazon’s many foes.

The top five leaders:
1. Jeff Bezos
2. Angela Merkel
3. Aung San Suu Kyi
4. Pope Francis
5. Tim Cook

Music Business: Streaming Has Officially Taken Over The Industries

The world has a new favorite way to pay for music.

In the USA, for the first time ever, retail revenue from streaming services eclipsed revenue for digital downloads in 2015, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. Music fans are opening their wallets to pay for music subscription services, or listening to songs on free ad-supported platforms.

Streaming comprised 34.3 percent of industry revenue for the year, bringing in $2.4 billion. Digital album and track downloads, which have been in decline for years, came in just behind with a 34 percent share of the market, followed by physical formats. In total, revenue was up about 1 percent, to $7 billion for the year.

Streaming services have been around for more than a decade. One of the first, ironically, tried to leverage the brand of Napster, the file-sharing service that introduced music piracy to the masses. But the two companies most responsible for streaming’s success are Spotify, the first subscription service to find a large audience, and YouTube, which is the most popular method for listening to music online.

The RIAA has one big problem with both these platforms: they let people listen to music on demand for free. These ad-supported listening experiences brought in less than $400 million in revenue in 2015, compared to $1.2 billion from paid subscription services. Vinyl records were actually more lucrative for the music industry than YouTube streams, bringing in $416 million in revenue.

This disconnect between massive increases in music consumption and paltry gains in revenue is one reason artists like Taylor Swift and Adele have been withholding their albums from streaming services. But those efforts by certain superstar artists aren’t stopping people from choosing to stream songs instead of buying individual albums.

The pressure to tighten the reins on free music will likely increase. YouTube introduced a subscription service last fall, and Spotify, which has always had the same music on its free and paid tiers, has been mulling keeping some content exclusive to paying customers. Expect access to music to get more expensive, not less, as artists and labels try to regain more of the revenue lost since the CD era.

Source: jumpfon

Meet The New Instagram Videos Features,

Instagram will allow users to upload videos as long as 60 seconds, the social media company has announced. Compared to the 15-second limit, that’s a veritable feature length film. Instagram will gradually roll out longer videos over the next several months.

The change to video comes shortly after Instagram announced that it will begin using an algorithm to predict which photos its users are most likely to like and place those photos higher on users’ feeds.

Like its parent company Facebook, Instagram has become increasingly focused on video. Video consumption on the photo-sharing social media platform rose 40% in the last six months, according to the company.

The company introduced video view counts in February in hopes of encouraging more video posts.

Music Video: Fat Joe & Remy Ma Feat. French Montana – ‘All The Way Up’

               

Nothing can stop them. After announcing their collaborative album Plata o Plomos, Fat Joe and Remy Ma have unleashed the video for “All the Way Up.”

The Eif Rivera-directed clip, which features French Montana, also includes helicopters, sports cars, geisha-inspired dancers, and a cameo from Papoose. Meanwhile, Don Cartagena and Reminisce trade bars and sport fur hoodies.

DJ Khaled, who also rocks a fur hoodie, pops up in the clip, too. Right in the middle of the video, he shares motivational words straight out of his Snapchat, complete with his popular catchphrases. “They don’t want us all the way up,” he says.

The single is the first release from Joe and Remy’s upcoming joint album Plata o Plomos, set to drop in July.

Watch “All the Way Up” above!

See How Ghanaian Photographer Was Featured In Instagram

A Ghanaian photographer, Nana Kofi Acquah has been featured in a book chronicling 10 historic moments.

Instagram’s CEO and co-founder Kevin Systrom met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on late last month to discuss nothing more that the power and resonance of simple photo shots.

The audience with the Pope at the Apostolic Palace is the latest move by Instagram to assert itself as the dominant platform for visual communication.

That meet may have worked because a couple of weeks later, Pope Francis made his Instagram debut.

In recent months, Instagram has been working at boosting the social media sharing platform’s discovery features and during their meet, Systrom brought with him a book featuring 10 historic moments.

These moments included the Nepalese earthquake and shots of Middle Eastern migrants, but it also featured a simple but compelling image from Nana Kofi Acquah.

Nana Kofi Acquah normally shares images of his country that seek to buck the mainstream international media representations of Africa.

To him, the African continent is much more than a place of penury and disease as encompassed by his picture below which shows him and a young child taking in the marvel of a lunar eclipse three years ago.

Photographer and poet Nana Kofi also uses his travels around Africa to chronicle the lives of women at their most accomplished and at their most vulnerable.

Nana Kofi is also a self-declared male feminist and he has stated that he is driven to change the narrative around African women where they are sometimes portrayed as vulnerable and subdued.

He has been featured on BBC and Reuters in his capacity as an African Male Feminist and on CNN’s African Voices for attempting to redefine the perceptions of Africa through his photographs and writings.

Some Terrifying Things Google Knows About You

We have come to accept that the technology we interact with on a daily basis is tracking and recording our every move.

Your iPhone knows everywhere you’ve been, Google Maps is always tracking your location, and Facebook has built a detailed character profile of all its users.

By following these five steps you can see just how much Google knows about you, your interests, the places you have visited, and your search habits.

1. Go to history.google.com/history

2. Make sure you’re logged into a Google account

Google only saves the searches you have made while logged into an unrestricted Google account. While it might not have every search you’ve ever made, it can give you a pretty accurate picture of your browsing habits.

3. Select the down arrow next to “last week” and change it to “all time”

4. Browse your more recent search history by selecting “last month” and “last year”

5. Delete your browsing data
You can delete the search data Google has stored for you by clicking the three dots on the top right hand side of the window and selecting “Delete options”. It gives you the immediate option to delete data from “Today” and “Yesterday”. If you click “Advanced” it then lets you delete information from the last four weeks or “All time”.

6. Google knows where you’ve been

If you click the three dots in the top right hand corner of the window and select “Settings” then “Show more controls” you can “Manage Activity” under the “Places you Go” tab. If you don’t have location services turned off this will show you a map of all of the places where you have used your mobile device. This is part of Google’s Timeline, which it launched last year.

7. See how old Google thinks you are

If you scroll to the bottom of the “Activity controls” page and select “Ads” you can see the profile Google has for you, including a rough age range, your gender, and your interests.

If you don’t agree with the profile Google has created for you, then you can change it to make it more (or less) accurate. This affects the adverts you’ll see across Alphabet products.

Tinubu Blasts Buhari’s Minister Over Fuel Scarcity

                                      
“Kachikwu’s flippancy was out-of-line. He was basically telling Nigerians that they should be lucky that they are getting the inadequate supply they now suffer…”

Apparently appalled by his seeming lack of empathy and manifest arrogance, a former governor of Lagos State and national leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday, lampooned Ibe Kachikwu, Minister of State, Petroleum, for telling Nigerians that he “was not trained as a magician”, a reference to the lingering fuel scarcity that appears to be defying efforts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

 Tinubu, who is not known for flippancy, wondered why a public servant would talk down on those he was meant to serve, charging: “Kachikwu’s flippancy was out-of-line.

He was basically telling Nigerians that they should be lucky that they are getting the inadequate supply they now suffer and that they should just be quiet and endure the shortage for several weeks more”.

 The ten paragraph statement, titled: “KACHIKWU NEEDS TO KNOW THAT RESPECT AND GOOD PERFORMANCE WILL DO WHAT MAGIC CANNOT”, dripping with venomous pillory, nevertheless, attempted to inspire hope that, whereas tough times were here, “we must all realize that they would be even harder and much darker would be the immediate horizon had we allowed the venal, kleptocracy of the PDP to continue to lord over the land solely for their selfish benefit and not for the common good.”

Source: Gistus

Watch Jennifer Lopez Twerk to Rihanna’s ‘Work’

In between filming “Shades of Blue,” judging “American Idol,” and performing in Las Vegas, Jennifer Lopez found time to stop by “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” during the show’s week-long visit to L.A. The triple threat discussed her Vegas residency “All I Have” and hit NBC show, and also participated in Fallon’s reoccurring sketch “Ew!” based off a fictional Teen Nick show.


                 

Fallon, who plays a teenage girl named Sara, invited her friend Gabby (J.Lo) over to her house. After Sara displayed her hidden talent (she can balance a spoon on her nose), Gabby showed off her dance moves by twerking to Rihanna and Drake’s hit “Work.”

“I’m really shy,” she said before taking off her sweater and twerking in the basement of Sara’s father’s house.

Watch her come out of her shell.

         

Plus, watch J.Lo team up with Jimmy in a game of “Password” against Khloé Kardashian and The Roots’ Questlove.


Source: rap-up

Lil Wayne Sues Universal Music Group Over Profits for Drake, Nicki Minaj, & Tyga

 

 After suing Cash Money Records for $51 million last year, Lil Wayne has filed a new lawsuit against Cash Money’s parent company Universal Music Group. In it, Weezy claims he’s owed money for discovering and guiding acts like Nicki Minaj, Drake, and Tyga.

Wayne is now seeking $40 million in damages and profits owed from UMG, according to Billboard. He claims the money he’s owed was used to help Cash Money get out of debt.

“With Universal’s knowledge of Lil Wayne’s rights to partial ownership and profits from those artists, Universal and Cash Money entered into a series of agreements which, among other things, diverted Lil Wayne’s substantial profits to repay debts of Cash Money,” Wayne’s complaint reads. “As a result, 100% of the profits that should have been paid to Lil Wayne as a result of his ownership of Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Tyga records have been seized by Universal to repay debts that were neither incurred by nor were the obligations of Lil Wayne.”

The Young Money boss’ lawyer, Howard E. King, also released a statement about the suit: “Universal should be grateful and respectful to Lil Wayne for the millions of dollars in distribution fees and profits they have earned on the artists he brought to the company, instead of seizing all of his profits on those artists in a desperate attempt to recoup the tens of millions of dollars they are owed by Cash Money Records.”

After the lawsuit was filed, a UMG spokesperson discredited Wayne’s case. “These claims are entirely without merit,” the spokesperson said. “It should be no surprise that we learned of the lawyer’s complaint through the news media. We don’t intend to dignify this with further public comment except to say that we will vigorously contest it and that the merits of our case will carry the day.”

SoundExchange, a company that helps “collect and distribute royalties” for artists according to its website, is also being sued by Wayne. Why? “Universal has claimed a right to 100% of the label performance royalties attributed to the YME Records,” the claim says. “SoundExchange refuses to pay any of the money due to Young Money LLC and Carter individually based on Universal’s conflicting demand.”

Cash Money’s feud with Wayne affects this case, too. According to the report, Cash Money reached a 2003 agreement with Weezy to divide profits, and property 51% – 49% for artists on Young Money. Their term came to an end June 4, 2015, a fact that could affect Drake’s Views From the 6 release.

Wayne is seeking $40 million in damages and owed profits. He also wants a judgement on rights regarding the distribution of label performance royalties.

Source: rap-up

Breaking News: 3,800 Shops Destroyed In Sabon Gari Market Inferno

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said on Sunday that at least 3,800 shops were destroyed by Saturday’s fire incident at the Sabon Gari Market, Kano.

Its Director-General, Alhaji Muhammad Sani-Sidi, told newsmen at the scene of the incident in Kano, that the interim assessment of the situation, indicated that more than 90 per cent of the market had been destroyed by the fire.
“It is unfortunate that from the record more than 90 per cent of the market has been burnt.

“Base on the report, more than 3, 800 shops and quite a number of buildings were razed by the inferno,” he said.

The director-general explained that no fewer than 15 persons sustained various degrees of injury during the incident.
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He, however, said that the injured were already receiving treatment at the hospital.

He said the agency was working closely with the state government to ensure that the victims received proper treatment at the hospital.

“Assessment is still ongoing and the state government has mobilised over 100 trucks to clear the rubble,” Sidi said.

He said that lack of access roads made it slightly difficult for fire-fighting vehicles to have easy access to the market while the fire was raging.

“The incident was unprecedented and overwhelming and can negatively affect the economy of the country,” he said.
 
Source: today.ng


                                               

President Barrack Obama And Family Wishing Fans On Twitter (Photo)

 From my family to yours, Happy Easter, and we wish everyone celebrating a blessed and joyful day.

        

            
                                                           

Ghana: Ohemaa Mercy For MTN Choralfest This Easter

Dynamic gospel music star, Ohemaa Mercy, will be in full flow in the Dome of the Golden Bean Hotel in Kumasi on Easter Sunday, March 27, as MTN hosts another edition of its annual Choralfest programme in the Garden City.
Other artistes lined up for the event are Brother Sammy, Ernest Opoku, Patience Nayarko, Nhyira Betty and OJ.

Also ministering will be the Family Chapel Choir (Perfect Glory) and the Celestial Evangel Choir.

Easter brings attention to the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. MTN Choralfest uses the medium of music to reinforce the significance of the occasion.

“Easter means a lot to Christians all over the world and we are glad to create a platform again in Kumasi for all to share in the beauty and sanctity of the celebration.

“For those who choose to join us at MTN Choralfest from 4.00pm, it would definitely be time well-spent,” said an MTN spokesperson.

Source: Graphic Showbiz


                                                       

Video: See How Ladies Throw Their Bob During Fashion Competition

                                





                                              

OMG!!! Daniella Okeke Stuns In New Sexy Photos...

See How Vincent Enyeama's Lovely Respond To Fans Who Said His Bible Was Old

Vincent Enyeama shared this lovely photo with his wife with an Easter message to his fans. Some fans ignored the message and instead left comments on how old his bible looked compared to everything else that was new in the photo. He responded to the fans. Read the comments after the cut....

Mercy Johnson & Prince Odi Okojie step out in matching Ankara outfits

Mercy Johnson & her husband, Prince Odi Okojie stepped out today for an event today in matching Ankara. Sharing the photos on her IG, the actress wrote, 'Off to an event with ma boyfriend and hubby. love is wantintin lol' More photos after the cut...

New Music: 50 Cent Feat. Chris Brown – ‘I’m The Man (Remix)’

50 Cent rings up Chris Brown for the remix to “I’m the Man,” a single off his December mixtape The Kanan Tape.

Over the Sonny Digital-produced track, 50 keeps his original bars intact, while Breezy holds down the hook and adds some rap-sung rhymes of his own.

This is not their first collaboration. Just last year, the two collaborated on “I Bet” off Brown and Tyga’s Fan of a Fan: The Album.

“Chris can rap and sing and dance. He’s the triple threat. He’s our generation’s Michael Jackson,” Fif told MTV News last year. “Pick any other male solo artist out there? He’s the guy. I tell him this personally.”

Listen to the radio rip above!

Music Video: K. Michelle – Mindful (official video)

                                                         

                                                    

Music Video: K. Michelle – ‘Not A Little Bit’

No more drama. Fresh off the release of her third album More Issues Than Vogue, K. Michelle weathers the storm in the video for “Not a Little Bit.” The songstress walks through the city with a cloud over her head, representing the drama in her life. At home, she confronts her man after discovering his cheating text messages.

After pouring herself a glass of Jack Daniel’s and soaking in the bathtub, it starts to rain in her living room. But she decides that she’s done with the gloom and packs her man’s bag and delivers it to his doorstep, much to his surprise. As she walks away, the cloud leaves her behind and positions itself over her ex.

Watch K. Michelle make it through the rain.

                                                         

LIL’ KIM ANNOUNCES NEW MIXTAPE ‘LIL’ KIM SEASON’

Lil’ Kim Season is here. The Queen Bee has announced a title and release date for her long-awaited mixtape.

The project is set to rain down on fans Monday, March 28. She took to Twitter to share the news, with an illustrated cover featuring her portrait and a crown.

The Brooklyn MC has been warming up for the project, which follows 2014’s Hard Core 2K14. In the last three months, she has released a slew of tracks, including “Summer Sixteen (Freestyle),” the Maino-assisted “I Did It for Brooklyn,” “Panda (Remix),” and“#Mine” featuring Kevin Gates.

It’s unclear whether this is the project that the Queen Bee teased in December, when she said she had an album on the way. “I’m working on a new album for next year,” she told Hot 97 at the time. “I put up a post not too long ago, I was at my old record label, so maybe. I’ve got a couple tours that I’m going to be a part of.”

She is also expected to hit the road on the long-rumored Bad Boy reunion tour with Puff Daddy. She recently appeared alongside Diddy in the video for “Auction.”

 

NICKI MINAJ AND ARIANA GRANDE TEAM UP FOR T-MOBILE ARENA OPENING CONCERT

T-Mobile is opening its new Las Vegas arena with a “Bang Bang.” Nicki Minaj and “special guest” Ariana Grande are teaming up to perform at the T-Mobile Arena Opening Celebration Concert.

It’s unclear if the collaborators will perform together at the April 7 event, but they will deliver their own hits to celebrate the launch of Vegas’ newest venue for live events, which is located just west of the Strip.

T-Mobile customers can cop pre-sale tickets starting today through Sunday (Mar. 27). The general public will have a chance to get tickets beginning Monday at 10 a.m. PT.

“What better way to open this amazing arena than with TWO amazing artists—Nicki Minaj and Ariana Grande—and a few thousand customers and friends?” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “We unleashed music and entertainment on your smartphone. Now, we’re taking that to the next level with T-Mobile Arena where T-Mobile customers get all the perks and can experience music and entertainment up close and in person!”

Nicki is in the midst of a brief international tour, performing tonight in Dubai, while Ariana is gearing up for the May 20 release of her album Dangerous Woman.

Source: rap-up

FIFTH HARMONY PERFORMS ‘WORK FROM HOME’ ON ‘JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!’

Fifth Harmony is putting in work. On Thursday (Mar. 24), the pop supergroup rocked their“Work from Home” banger on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and also dropped a new single called “The Life.”

Watch the video below!



For their “Kimmel” appearance, 5H brought their “Work from Home” video to life (sans Ty Dolla $ign). Clad in work boot-inspired heels and tool belts, the ladies wowed Harmonizers, going from an outdoor construction site to a prop-filled stage.
 

Their work on “Kimmel” continued. After performing the lead single off their upcoming album 7/27, 5H also joined the show for a fun short clip. In it, they each sang a hilariously relatable group text convo.




Putting in overtime, Fifth Harmony also dropped their new 7/27 single “The Life.” Like “Work from Home,” the track is upbeat. This one’s also a confident slapper, as the group sings about being “the best in the biz.” Smollett provided potent vocals, opening up with an emotional intro. Then Yazz fired things up, dropping rhymes while high-fiving the crowd. “American Idol” contestants then joined the “Empire” duo on stage for the track’s finale.

Yazz also had some fun off-camera, smiling for a photo with J.Lo.

Watch the performance of “Never Let It Die” above!

 

Cristiano Ronaldo To Sue Over Rio Favela Purchase Claims

Cristiano Ronaldo is suing a businessman who claims the Real Madrid player has bought a favela in Rio de Janeiro and given it to the residents.

It was reported by several media outlets in Germany that Ronaldo had purchased the favela, in the north of the Rio, for around 2m Euros.

The stories claimed that, according to a property agency, Ronaldo had then given the favela back to its residents on a rent-free basis.

But Ronaldo has strenuously denied the story and issued a statement confirming he will take the matter to court.

“Following the issuing of a press release with false information about Cristiano Ronaldo, the player has decided to move forward with legal action against the misuse of his name,” said his spokesman.

“This time, the lie is about an alleged acquisition of land in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Ronaldo’s spokesman says legal action is being taken

“In the past, the same source had invented the buying of an apartment in New York, the participation on a Martin Scorsese movie and, recently, the investment in a hotel in Monte Carlo.

“Cristiano Ronaldo’s name has been used by an alleged entrepreneur, known for inventing stories and spreading false information on public figures and organizations, who was reportedly sentenced to three years and 10 months in jail by an Italian court of law.

“The news about Cristiano Ronaldo’s personal and professional life are released exclusively by official and reliable sources and media should refrain to publish rumours spread by a person who wants to deceive public opinion in its own benefit.”

Maria Sharapova: United Nations Suspend Ambassador Role

Maria Sharapova has been suspended as a Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations after her failed drugs test.

The Russian, 28, tested positive for meldonium in January and has been provisionally suspended from 12 March.

Sharapova has been suspended from “any planned activities while the investigation continues,” said the United Nations Development Programme.

She has held the role since 2007 and a UNDP spokesperson added it “remains grateful for her support of our work”.

According to the UNDP website, the organisation “works in some 170 countries and territories, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion”.

The former world number one said she has been taking meldonium for health reasons for the past 10 years.

The drug was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (Wada) banned list on 1 January and Sharapova provided a positive test at the Australian Open later in the month.

Sportswear company Nike, Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer and German carmaker Porsche had already halted their relationships with Sharapova.

Sia Releases Captivating ‘Cheap Thrills’ Video

Maddie Ziegler continues her winning streak with Sia.

Following “Chandelier,” “Big Girls Cry” and “Elastic Heart,” Ziegler now stars in Sia’s newest video, for “Cheap Thrills.” Directed by Sia and Daniel Askill, and choreographed by Ryan Heffington, the video features the same type of intense, captivating choreography as some of her other work. This time, Ziegler is backed by two other dancers, and the trio seems to blend as one throughout the vid.

 

Music Video: Olamide – Abulè Śowo

Barely a week after dropping “Abule Sowo” to mark his birthday, Olamide dishes out the official music video to his latest effort.

watch the video below!





He takes it back to the roots with the costume and location of the video shoot. Directed by Adasa Cookey

Enjoy!

 

Justin Bieber Breaks Vevo Record With 10 Billion Views Of His Videos

Justin Bieber has broken a Vevo record with 10 billion views of his videos.

The Canadian singer, who released his latest studio album Purpose in November, racked up the numbers in six years and three months – or 2,316 days.
Four billion of those views have come since last September and the 22-year-old has also been at the top spot on Vevo’s chart for 19 consecutive weeks.

Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift are the only artists to have two videos with more than a billion views.

Taylor Swift won three Grammy music awards last month including album of the year

But the video for What Do You Mean? will reach the one billion mark in the next few weeks, which will make him the first artist to have three videos topping one billion views.

In January, David Bowie broke Vevo’s single day viewing record.

His videos were watched around 51 million times the day after it was announced he’d died aged 69.

Earlier this week, Justin Bieber cancelled all meet and greets on his Purpose world tour after a “security incident” at one of his gigs.

Writing on Instagram, he said: “I enjoy meeting such incredible people but I end up feeling drained and filled with so much of other people’s spiritual energy that I end up unhappy.

“I want to make people smile and happy but not at my expense.”

Justin Bieber’s management team says the incident caused them to rethink plans before and after gigs.

But some of the singer’s fans weren’t happy.

Some Beliebers are worried about his mental health and are advising him that the rest of the tour should be cancelled.

Source: jumpfon