Omawumi is a super-heroine! – The Lasso of Truth [Album Review]

Album- The Lasso of Truth
Artiste- Omawumi
Guest features – Timaya, Wizkid, Flavour, 2Face Idibia and Afay
Producers – Cobhams Asuquo, Don Jazzy, Sizzle-Pro, Oscar Herman Acker, Young D, Sarz and Soso Soberekon
Record Label- Oma Records (2013)
Running Time- 46.5 minutes

The Lasso of Truth is a weapon used by comic book heroine Wonder Woman to make people tell and comply with the truth. What does this have to do with Omawumi? Nothing much, apart from the fact that she is a fan of the DC Comics character. Her 2009 debut was titled Wonder Woman.

What truth does Omawumi want us to know and obey on her 12 track sophomore? Who is the villain, who needs to be rescued? On the Sizzle-Pro produced ‘When The Boss Is Coming (Actor Sef Dey Run)’ our wonder woman tells us that life will undoubtedly knock us down but we must learn from the defeat and come back stronger. With a slight macabre EDM beat she uses Nigerian cinematic terms (actor and boss) to teach on the benefits of being patient in life. On paper it should sound corny but Omawumi’s mainstream appeal makes the song work. If this track isn’t your cup of tea then ‘Stay Alive (Jeje Laye) should be. Omawumi with South African House music encourages you to be patient and reminds you that you only live once (shout out to Drake!).

The Lasso of Truth is a pot-pourri of sounds. ‘I Go Go’ is a reggae song about love gone wrong. ‘My love you don dismiss. We know plan am like this…my food you no wan chop, body sef you know touch. I am tired tired of the pain that I feel inside’ our super-heroine sings. Weary of fading love, Omawumi says she is ready to move on. It isn’t though as our wonder woman still believes in love and hopes that her love is reciprocated on ‘You Must Love Me’. We don’t know if the object of her affection loves her back but on the next song ‘Warn Yourself’ featuring Wizkid, Omawumi struts her sexiness on the track and warns guys that she is so sweet she can give you a running stomach- ‘Stop! Wait a minute! Although you want some sugar in it but the jedi jedi wey go catch you e no go finish.’ Wizzy’s verse is largely uninspiring, rehashing parts of his verse on Iyanya’s ‘Sexy Mama’. A super woman doesn’t need a star boy so ‘Warn Yourself’ is good by itself without the help of Wizkid.

Omawumi has a gift of making what should be corny into a sweet song. I mean when you feature Timaya on your song, you shouldn’t expect the song to be rated as high art. ‘Personal Race’ is an inspiring Afrobeat tune from Omawumi. She’s really into teaching life’s lessons on this album and she does so on this song too albeit with more local ‘bounce’. Timaya’s verse is standard Timaya-nothingness but you can’t hate on his adlibs. Even with some shaky features, Omawumi succeeds because she doesn’t use them as a crutch but as supporting acts. She leads and they follow.

Omawumi’s mainstream appeal is because of two things- her command of Pidgin English and her humour. These two assets are displayed best on her hit single ‘Belle’ featuring Flavour. Really it is a nonsensical, groovy and funny song that you can’t do but love. It is a local lullaby. The version of this song on the album features Omawumi’s baby singing the song. ‘The Best You Can Be’ is another song for her daughter. Omawumi thanks her mother for the strict upbringing she went through and tells her own daughter that she will be appreciative of her upbringing when she becomes a woman.

Our heroine seeks justice on ‘What A Bang Bang’ featuring 2face Idibia. She uses 2’s simple effective rhyme pattern ‘dem dey claim political immunity/ on top all the civil, political ingenuity and dem people using spirituality like a mask to dey hide their anxiety’ to sing about political oppression in the country.

So what truth does Omawumi show us with The Lasso of Truth? The wonder woman lets us know that life is not a bed of roses, never give up on love, have fun, fight for what is right and if you’ve got it flaunt it. Oh yeah she also lets us know that she is a bloody good singer. The Lasso of Truth is a well thought out album derive of the gimmickry and half-assed effort by many singers in the country. This makes Omawumi a hero in my book, a wonder woman and that is the truth.

Joseph King Kong Agbeko, The New Bantamweight Champion Ghana

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Pele’s son represents Santos for the first time

Pele’s 16-year-old son has competed in a Santos shirt for the first time.

The Brazil legend tweeted a picture of his son Joshua competing for Santos in an Under-17 tournament.
“It is a great pleasure to have my son, Joshua, wear the shirt of Santos Football Club for the U17 championship,” he tweeted (in Portuguese).
“What a thrill it will be to see him playing for my club!”
Pele is a Santos legend, having scored more than 1,000 goals for the Brazilian club afer being signed at just 15.
When he scored his 1,000th career goal, on November 19, 1969, fans ran on to the pitch to celebrate with him, and since then that day is known as ‘Pele Day’.

Clay – I luv My Baby Cover (wizkid)

Clay remakes the hit single “i luv my baby” by whizkid and makes it hers,with hunting vocals and well crafted beat by Cold-Flames, this song would definitely be on  replay.
clay would be releasing 2 new singles April 8 2013, so get your ears ready for some fantastic songs.

Sunderland to celebrate Nelson Mandela Day

English Premier League club Sunderland will celebrate their recent collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Foundation by designating their game against Manchester United at the Stadium of Light ‘Nelson Mandela Day’.

The unique partnership between both parties was launched earlier in the month to help promote the President’s legacy, through the global reach of the Premier League, and Sunderland have become a legacy advocate for the foundation.
On March 30, Sunderland’s players will wear T-shirts for the pre-match warm-up bearing the foundation’s logo and a special ‘text to donate’ message in support of the foundation.
Both teams will take to the field through a guard of honour of youngsters also wearing Nelson Mandela Foundation T-shirts, along with 11 specially chosen mascots. A flag bearing the foundations’ logo will also be displayed pitch side.
African musicians, the Abatimbo Drummers of Burundi, will entertain fans before the game and again at half-time, showcasing the unique musical sound of Africa.
Across the next 18 months, Sunderland will support a number of fundraising initiatives on behalf of the foundation, including a gala dinner planned for later this year.
The players’ shirts, as worn during the game, will be auctioned online via the club’s official website, to kick off the fundraising, with all money raised going to help the foundation continue its work.
“By becoming a legacy advocate of the Nelson Mandela Foundation we hope to accomplish even more for a common good,” Sunderland’s marketing director Mike Farnan says.
Sunderland began its off the field relationship with Africa in 2011, forging a partnership with the Invest In Africa initiative, which also helped the club grow its fan base and global presence, particularly in Africa, where nearly 1.2-billion people watch Premier League matches.

Mikel annoyed by wedding rumours

Nigeria Midfielder John Mikel Obi Denies Reports That He Is Getting Married To Sandra Okugbue

Nigeria midfielder John Mikel Obi is bristling at reports that he is about to get married to model Sandra Okugbue.

A national tabloid reported on Monday that Mikel was set to wed the former toilet soap model, but the midfielder angrily dismissed the claims.
"I don't understand where this is coming from," Mikel told KickOffNigeria.com on Monday.
"I know her. We're friends, but we haven't spoken in a long time and definitely not about marriage."
The report claimed that the traditional introduction has been scheduled for this Sunday in Onitsha, but Mikel was firmly categorical in his dismissal. "There's nothing like that," he said.
Mikel played in Nigeria's 1-1 draw against Kenya on Saturday, and joined the rest of the squad in attending a reception held in honour of their African Nations Cup triumph by Akwa Ibom State governor Godswill Akpabio on Sunday in Uyo.
The midfielder flew out to London later that night.

"World War Z" Trailer -- Now with Zombies On a Plane!

And you thought snakes on a plane were bad ... how about zombies?!

The brand new trailer for Brad Pitt's "World War Z" was released at midnight and while a lot of the footage in it is a rehash of previous trailers, there's a good chunk at the end that was added to show off one pretty scary in-flight zombie attack.

What on earth would you do in an enclosed space like that to stay safe?

The flick, loosely based on the Max Brooks' book of the same name, revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who travels around the world to try and figure out how the zombie apocalypse started ... and try to stop it.

As far as zombie movies go, this definitely has the biggest scope we've ever seen before.

But do you think it'll be any good? Sound off below and let us know if you're looking forward to seeing "World War Z" when it hits theaters June 21.

Plus, check out a new poster for the movie below: