Visit the social media profile of any young girl or boy, and you'll be sure to see that one of their Facebook Likes or Twitter Followers is a celebrity, be it a musician, actor, model or some other famous person.
Liking a famous person in itself is not inherently bad, but obsession over what Kim Kardashian is wearing, or who Ryan Reynolds is dating etc has become a very big obsession for many youngsters, even grown-ups. Never before has celebrity gossip been so popular, and nevr before has there been so much interest in the private lives of celebrities. At a particular period in my life, I was caught up in this whole 'celebrity mania', and that was at the expense of more useful information that could prove to be very useful.
It is difficult to place the blame on any particular person for this surge in in celebrity mania. On one hand, you have the media outlets who in the true spirit of capitalism, would do just about anything to return value to their shareholders, one another hand, you have the internet which came to make life easier for us and has given a voice to so many, and yet on the other hand, you have the readers who are being misled into thinking that celebrity gist adds any value to anybody's life.
You just need to see some of the headlines of any 'celeb-focused' publication: 'Omotola caught sun bathing', 'Ini Edo poses naked for photoshoot', 'Jay-Z caught f***ering Beyoncé in public'...and all that sort of irrelevant headlines.
And of course, we sometimes think the celebrities are overwhelming benefactors of this madness. True to a certain extent, because it only makes sense that the more you are on the front pages, you become a household name and the more movie roles or album sales, or more modelling contracts etc
But the sad side of the story is that all this comes at the cost of the person's personal freedom and privacy; and at the expense of society's sanity.
The effects of this celebrity culture on society have been profound. Some sociologists believe that society's obsession with celebrities is detrimental to the success of democracy (mostly in developed countries), arguing that celebrity news always trumps political or other 'hard' news stories, which prevents the developement of an informed citizenery who can vote for leaders who can make the right decisions, and "demagoguery which depends on mass ignorance".
This argument is particularly true when you consider the election of Arnold Schwarzenegger as governer of the American State of California. The decision turned out to be a bad one in many respects. Another case in point is the election campaigns of Barack Obama and the number of celebrities who came out to endorse, support and donate money to his campaign...from Oprah to Ellen Degeneres.
Most of these celebrities are people with a huge fan base, usually of hardcore fans who worship and idolize them; so if Oprah says it's Obama, her fans automatically go to the polls to vote Obama without taking into consideration his policies or plans for the nation. That probably explains the level of frustration with Obama's term of office, because the army of celebrities made him seem like a demi-god, or The Messiah come to take away the troubles of America.
To top it all, many of these celebrities are simply bad influences on young people and on cultural values. Take for example Lady Gaga's song "Judas" which openly attacks christianity, or the open nudity which they often propagate in their music videos, or the explicite sex scenes in their movies. What do all these teach the younger generation?
After the leaked sex tape of Kim Kardashian that shot she and her family to fame, the 'leaking' of sex tapes soared off the roof, as everyone was now coarageous enough to sacrifice their dignity for their own 15 minutes of fame. Some reporters and paparazzi are now prepared to break the law as long as they can get a store or a picture.
Here's my take: The celebrity culture is itself 'not that bad', take for example Omotola Jalade of Nigeria who has used her fame and influence to change mind sets about teenage marriage in Nigeria. In fact, she was pretty vocal in her criticism when a bill was introduced to the Nigerian Senate to legalize it. Now also look at the work which other celebrities are like Angelina Jolie are doing in Africa, not forgetting the #BringBackOurGirls movement spearheaded by celebrities (though it has had little or no effect so far).
But other celebrities promote exactly the wrong message. A good example is Cameroonian singer Dencia who promotes an aggressive skin lightening product which some health experts say could cause harm to women.
If we could find a balance, it would be such do so much good. And if celebrities became the role models they are expected to be to their fans, it would be even better.
Congolese superstar Fally Ipupa may not be that gentle a guy afterall. He is accused of posting nude pictures of Hélène Nathalie Koah online without her permission.
Hélène Nathalie, who was previously in a 7 year long relationship with Cameroonian football superstar has been fired from her job at Cameroon's flagship airlines CAMAIR CO. Reports say she is so distressed by the whole incident and the negative publicity that she has been hospitalised.
Nathalie's break up with was a far from peaceful one, and she had been seeing Fally Ipupa for a while. Samuel Eto'o allegedly claimed to have 'picked her from the gutters and made her who she is today', and so was very bitter when she decided to end their long relationship; so he too is not innocent until the mystery as to who actually posted those pictures online is solved. Many people believe it could be his own way of getting his revenge on Nathalie for leaving him.
Meanwhile, Fally Ipupa has been demonized by the Camerronian media, and even by a prominent Camerronian gospel singer for hurting one of their 'sisters'. Gossip sites in Cameroon claim he put up the pictures days before it created any buzz, before deleting it.
Neither Nathalie, Fally or Eto'o have given any comments
Africa is a continent on the rise. Forget all the wars and the incidences of poverty you see on the news every now and then about Africa. Beneath it all, there's a silver-lining in Africa...it's fashion and style. And, at the forefront of it all is the music industry. This post seeks to explore the 10 most stylish of them all. Of course the list could be a lot longer, but for the sake of convenience, we would not look at them all.
15. Banky W
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Call him Mr LAGOS PARTY. Few people work a suit-and-tie outfit better than Banky W. The best thing about this Nigerian R&B singer is that his style is mature and sharp.
14. Lynxx
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This guy has got some cool style. The best thing about his fashion sense is that he picks his outfits to pefectly suit his huge physique.
13. Iyanya
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This Calabar native has got some serious style. To couple with that are his incredible dance moves. His style goes beyond his music videos.
12. Ice Prince
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Ice Prince has been dressing well since his debut hit 'Oleku', but since the money started flowing in in large chunks, his style soared.
11. AKA
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Style and swag are two different things, and Suoth African bad boy rapper sure has both. This guy, whom J Cole refers to as his 'brother from another mother' combines style and swag with a sass.
10. Darey
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Mr Darey has been fashion faced off with Kanye West (the King of Style) on more than one occasion. Everything about him is tylish, even his polished accent is stylish.
9. Connell Cruise
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This rising South African music star was named one of the top five up and coming fashion stars to watch out for by a South African magazine, and they were right. He's got style.
8. Da Les
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Da Les is the perfect party guy. His annual white party attracts hundreds of people from all over South Africa. His music videos are some of the most fashionable of any Southern African musician. He does everything in style.
7. Naeto C
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"The only MC with an MSc" is certainly the MC with one of the most fashion sense. And meanwhile his style may not be '10 over 10' (at least not like the people on the remainder of the list belo), he does possess a rare fashion sense.
6. Wizkid
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Starboy in person has come a long way since his 'Holla at your boy' days and so has has his style. From his humble beginings, the kid from Surulere wearing tight check shirts and skinny jeans with nothing else but a dream to make it big, to now wearing versace glasses and Martin Margiella shoes...no need to say more.
5. Lino Versace
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This Abidjan native has been in the spotlight since 2005 and so has been his style. He is known for his extremely well-tailored suits and stylish glasses. If you don't know him, then may be you're watching to many Nigerian Music Videos or watching too many episodes of 53 Extra. After all, it is often said that French Africa has the best dressed people in Africa.
4. Burna Boy
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Burna Boy has only really been in the spotlight for a couple years, but you can't ignore his style. His music videos are to die for. Whoever it is that styles him and the cast of his videos is doing a really good job
3. D Banj
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The Koko Master himself comes in second on our list. I'll admit I used to doubt his style myself, but ever since he got signeg on to GOOD MUSIC, the record label run by Kanye West ( the King of Style), his style skyrocketed and erased every doubt in my mind. Keep it up bro...
2. Fally Ipupa
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If I need to say anything about this DRC native, it is that the only reason he's not Number One on this list is because of one his elder brothers...
1. Koffi Olomide
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And the winner is....
Growing up as a young boy, we were often told that Koffi Olomide had worn every single kind of clothing there could be. He is so stylish, he doesn't need to follow trends anymore...he sets them. He is the first man I ever saw wearing a skirt, and a huge one for that matter...but it still looked good on him.
We've come to the end of our list. You may not agree with this list, so let me here your suggestions.
In the wave of upcoming Cameroonian talents like Jovi and Stanley Enow(MTV Africa Music Awards nominee), lot's of other cameroonian talents are not getting the credit they deserve.
One of such talents is the Fluri Boyz. The group, which includes Jay and Ulrich, has been keeping us funky for a while now. They have been around since 2010 when they landed their first single titled 'Thursday Night', which became an instant hit in Buea and beyond. This saw them being invited to perform at various social and executive events, and, their unique charisma also played a great part. The same year, they released 'Molyko Girls' which became really popular among the ladies in Molyko, Buea.
In 2014, they relaesed 'Marabou' which has been hugely popular. This song has been viewed in more than 151 countries till date, and still going strong. It just goes to show how talented this duo are, and the altitude they are still to attain. Their release 'Dorobucci' is a testament of their enormous talent.
We can only wonder what is next in store for the Fluri Boyz.
