Author: Admin
Grammy-winning artist Burna Boy has released his brand-new single, “For Everybody,” and accompanying music film, unveiling the full creative work first teased in partnership with Sporty Group. The all-encompassing project brings together some of Africa’s most dynamic athletes – including Camavinga, Nico and Iñaki Williams, Ighalo, Makelele, Karembeu, Alex Song, Militão, Asisat Oshoala, Cheslin Kolbe, and more – in a defining cultural moment that merges music, movement, and identity ahead of a monumental year for African sport. Designed as part of a cultural offering, the song, available on Burna Boy’s and SportyTV’s YouTube channels, reflects Burna Boy’s ongoing mission to…
Years ago, a viral video of Will Smith eating spaghetti became shorthand for everything wrong with AI creations. The visual was a grotesque, uncanny imitation that barely resembled the Hollywood actor. Fast forward to 2026, AI can now generate a perfect replica, nearly indistinguishable from reality. Just days ago, Anthropic released Cowork, an AI tool that handles the work many depend on to survive. It checks calendars, builds presentations, prepares stand-ups, organizes files, and drafts reports, all the administrative tasks that once kept junior staff employed. Built in two weeks, Cowork represents a recursive loop: AI building AI, at a…
Blame it on their intrinsic nature or the human tendency for spirited conversation, but awards shows have, over time, become sites of public debate. The winners in select categories are typically the main object of debate. Dissenters challenge the discernment of the awarding body, and those in favor of the decision scramble to defend the winning artist or work, unwittingly setting an argument in motion. Other times, interesting events during the award ceremony become fodder for virulent public discourse. Entries in this category are endless, but a few noteworthy ones include: the infamous slap Will Smith delivered to Chris Rock…
Is personal goodness enough in the absence of strong institutions, shared values, and collective action? What kind of nation are we building through the choices we make every day? If you’ve been thinking deeply about Nigeria, lovingly, critically, or reluctantly, this issue is for you. For the second issue of The Custodian, we are interrogating a popular Nigerian axiom: that our greatest strength is our people and our greatest tragedy is everything else. In this issue, we seek to examine the tension between individual character and national outcome, between intention and structure, hope and reality. The focus is on stories…
By 1am of December 27th, 2025, the outdoor space of Glitz Event Centre, was packed out with guests—some two thousand by my estimation—who had gathered for Wonderland, the Island Block Party headlined by Wale and supported by a glittering lineup including Lojay, Ladipoe, Mavo, Oxlade, and Fave, amongst others. The festival had been scheduled to start by 10:30pm the previous day but by 1am, very little activity was happening. And yet, the air was thick with the distinctive festive spirit that attends Detty December, that feeling that ineluctably nudges us to trade the breakneck fervor of the work year for…
Afrobeats’ global expansion has opened doors at an unprecedented pace. New artists are stepping onto festival stages, international showcases, and headline slots far earlier in their careers than was once possible. But with that access has come a noticeable erosion of standards — particularly when it comes to live performances. Increasingly, poor showings are being excused under the familiar refrain of “they’re still new.” Mavo’s recent performances expose why that excuse no longer holds. Being a newcomer to the mainstream is not, and has never been, a justification for bad performances. Neither is being niche, alternative, or stylistically unconventional. A…
In 2021, as the world was adjusting to the vagaries of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ijeoma Princess Ikokwu, who studied law at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, Nigeria, took a leap of faith that would change the trajectory of her career for good. Stretching back to her childhood, she had always loved music, particularly how this art form provided musicians with a canvas for expressing their creativity. Now her love for music had blossomed into an interest in live music production and she longed to give back to her alma mater, through a music show. Though she was familiar with…
Launched in early January, Africana House Lagos introduces a different kind of retail experience — one that prioritises collaboration, conversation, and lived cultural exchange over traditional storefront norms. Designed as a social house for people who create, collect, and connect, Africana House brings fashion, art, lifestyle, and community under one roof, reframing what modern African retail can look like. The opening marks a milestone for Africana Group, which has spent more than a decade building a presence across cities including Abuja, Dakar, Abidjan, and Bamako, with extensions into London and New York. Africana House Lagos is described by the group…
Wizkid: Long Live Lagos is an immersive documentary that offers an intimate look into the life of 35-year-old Nigerian pop star Wizkid, while also situating his superstardom within a much larger political, social, and cultural framework. Rather than limiting itself to presenting a portrait of a star, the film makes a valiant attempt at explaining how one artist’s rise mirrors the emergence of a global industry around Afrobeats — Nigerian contemporary pop music — which has never existed with this level of structure, reach, or international legitimacy. We are ushered into Wizkid’s story by Nigerian music royalty, Femi Kuti, immediately…
Creative director and fashion designer Rashida Badiwe Abdulai has crafted a line that honours ancestral traditions while speaking fluently in contemporary style’s language. Rather than chasing fleeting trends, Abdulai anchors her vision in cultural authenticity, proving that the most forward-thinking design often draws from the deepest wells of history. The name, “Coalescence,” is the collection’s guiding philosophy. Abdulai orchestrates unlikely marriages: geometric precision with organic flow, African vitality with European refinement, boldness with restraint. Take the Ohemaa Monochrome Clan Two-Piece Set Bikini. Its stark black-and-white geometric arrangements play against delicate plaid detailing, creating visual tension that the silhouette’s soft curves…