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Post by Shymmex on Dec 24, 2015 20:06:55 GMT
Alex Lanipekun
 Alex Lanipekun (born 7 April 1981) is a British actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art but left early to join the cast of the BBC drama Spooks as journalist-cum-spy Ben Kaplan, the role for which he is best known. Lanipekun was born in London, during the Brixton Riots. His father is Nigerian and his mother is half-Italian and half-English. When he was four, his parents separated and he moved from Brixton to Finsbury Park. An only child, he was raised in North London by his single mother, a secondary school music teacher. He attended Crowland Junior School, St Aidan's Primary School and then Rokesly Junior School, before attaining a financial scholarship to Christ's Hospital School in Horsham, West Sussex. He then attended Westminster College. Lanipekun has A-Levels in English, Psychology, History, Drama and Religious Studies. He then obtained a Grant to study for a BSc in Anthropology at University College London. After University, he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art as a Grant Student. He was assisted financially by many Arts Charities and Foundations, including The Actors' Charitable Trust. Lanipekun has a younger brother and sister who live with his father and stepmother in South London. Alex Lanipekun was born on April 7, 1981 in London, England. He is an actor, known for Blitz (2011), Resonant Frequency (2014) and MI-5 (2002).
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 24, 2015 20:10:30 GMT
Andy Akinwolere
 Andy Akinwolere (born 30 November 1982) is a British television presenter. Akinwolere was born in Nigeria in 1982, and moved to the United Kingdom with his family when he was eight years old. They settled in Birmingham, where he was educated. Andy has four siblings - three brothers and one sister who live in the United States - and speaks Yoruba in addition to English. His mother and father both lived abroad for a while and he spent a small part of his childhood living in Nancy, France. He has been quoted as saying he has seen 118 different cities around the world. He mentioned on Blue Peter on 8 April 2009 that he shares a flat with CBBC presenter Johny Pitts. He is an amateur photographer and has had pictures published in National Geographic Kids Magazine and the 2010 Christmas edition of Vogue Bambini. He is also a keen collector of rare vinyl and rare music. Andy Odunayo Akinwolere is a Broadcaster and World Record holder. Andy initially joined the BBC in 2006 as a runner, however his energy and charisma was instantly spotted and he was asked to audition for Blue Peter by a keen eyed producer. In 2007 he became Blue Peter’s first ever black male presenter and he went on to host CBBC’s flagship show for a fantastic five years. During his time Andy was nominated for two BAFTA awards; Presenter of the Year and Best Factual Programming for his Street Child World Cup documentary. In his final year at Blue Peter Andy set a new World Record for the deepest location for an open water swim. He became the first person ever to swim more than 5 miles over the Palau Trench in the Pacific Ocean. This incredible feat of endurance was made even more significant due to Andy’s phobia of deep water and the fact he only learnt to swim 10 weeks prior to the challenge. Andy has always had a strong sporty streak and covered much of the sporting content for Blue Peter. This included the BBC Red Button coverage of the London Mini-marathon and commentating on The 2010 World Cup for CBBC. Andy also had a central role throughout the London 2012 Olympics where he was selected to be the main host for the Olympic torch relay. This included a 70 day tour road show for LOCOG where he interviewed some of the countries greatest sportsmen and woman including Daley Thompson, Lennox Lewis, Torvill and Dean. Andy is a diverse presenter and has fronted several factual shows for the BBC; including Teens From a Small Island, Stammer School and his personal favourite, World Olympic Dreams – where he went to Jamaica to investigate why Jamaicans run so fast and even had the pleasure of interviewing sprinting superstar Usain Bolt, whom he later went on to write an article about for BBC Sport Online. Within the last year Andy has showed various sides to his personality and talents. He graced our screens on ITV’s hit Saturday night show Dancing on Ice, put his baking skills to the test in a special series of The Great Comic Relief British Bake Off on BBC Two, joined The Great British Banquet, reported for The Gabby Logan Show on Channel 5, presented The 100 Greatest Toys for Channel 4 and continues to host The Great Christmas Toy Give Away for Channel 5, Battlefield Showdown for Xbox Live, and is on his third series of ITV’s adventure game show Fort Boyard: Ultimate Challenge. Andy has a very strong social conscience and works closely with several charities. He is the ambassador of two charities – Street Child World Cup in Rio and Body and Soul. He has several projects in the pipeline for this year and next, which will see him travel to Brazil and Sierra Leone, documenting on aids, HIV, street children, young carers and many more issues facing communities globally. Andy is a member of BAFTA and presents their yearly Young Film Critic Awards. He will also be working in partnership with BAFTA and Total Film this summer for British Airways Silent Picturehouse, an event in London with a unique cinematic experience! Andy is a keen traveller, having been to over 120 cities across the globe. This provides the inspiration for writing his blog, which is based on his love of music, travel and photography. His photographs were so good that they have been published in National Geographic Kids Magazine and Vogue Bambini. Andy will also be writing for the digital magazine The Maior – a collective space for talent, ideas, interviews and film for the fledgling greats, the innovators and the divergent.
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 24, 2015 20:12:24 GMT
Femi Oguns
 Olufemi Ogunsanwo MBE, known professionally as Femi Oguns, is a British playwright, theatre producer and founder of Identity Theatre School and Identity Drama School. As a playwright, his first play Torn has previewed at the Arcola Theatre in Dalston, London. A Romeo and Juliet-style story centred on the Nigerian and Jamaican communities in London, Torn received mixed reviews: The Stage described it as a "lively and relevant new play" but "clunky";The Times as "street smart" but "a sprawling, chaotic piece of writing desperately in need of the attentions of a disciplined script editor". As an actor, Oguns has had roles in British TV shows Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness, The Bill and EastEnders and at the Arcola theatre. He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to acting.
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 24, 2015 20:13:59 GMT
Gary Carr
 Gary Carr (born, 11 December 1986, London) is an English stage, film and television actor, dancer and musician. His parents are members of the Yoruba tribe from Nigeria. He is an actor, known for Death in Paradise (2011), Bolden! (2015), Law & Order: UK (2009), Holby City (2009), Silent Witness (2009) and Downton Abbey (2010). Carr began training at the National Youth Music Theatre of Great Britain, then trained at the Arts Educational Performing Arts College from 2003 through 2005, and then at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) from 2005 to 2008 with a scholarship from the Leverhulme Trust. It was during his first year of training that he obtained a role in the play Yerma written by Spanish playwright Federico García Lorca, in which he acted alongside Olivier Award winning actress Kathryn Hunter, at the Arcola Theatre. Since graduating from LAMDA in July 2008, he has appeared in roles for BBC and ITV productions and in the Royal National Theatre production of Dido Queen of Carthage, written by Christopher Marlowe and directed by James Macdonald. His theatrical work includes Yerma and Macbeth. In November 2009, he played the lead role in the Royal National Theatre stage production of the Terry Pratchett novel Nation, adapted by Mark Ravenhill and directed by Melly Still. He will be in the original cast of the play Earthquakes in London at the National Theatre. From January to March 2014, he played Ade in The Pass at the Royal Court upstairs.
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 24, 2015 20:15:27 GMT
The Bullitts (Seal's younger brother).  Jeymes Samuel (born July 27, 1979), also known by his stage name The Bullitts, is a British singer-songwriter, music producer and filmmaker from London. Samuel has a cinematic element to his music and has accompanied most of his releases with a short film. His second studio album, titled They Die By Dawn & Other Short Stories..., was released in July 2013. The album was supported by the singles "Close Your Eyes" (featuring Lucy Liu and Jay Electronica), "Landspeeder", "Supercool" and "World Inside Your Rainbow". In early 2013, Samuel released a short film titled They Die By Dawn, with a star-filled cast that includes Michael K. Williams, Erykah Badu, Isaiah Washington, Jesse Williams and Rosario Dawson. The film, which is a gun-slinging, black cowboy western, was accompanied by the music from Samuel's second album.[13] Samuel's first album under the moniker The Bullitts, is titled They Die By Dawn & Other Short Stories... and was released on 9 July 2013. The album, which is Samuel's second studio release overall, was produced entirely by himself and features guest appearances from Jay Electronica, Lucy Liu, Mos Def, Rosario Dawson, Doxi Jones and Tori Amos.
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 24, 2015 20:30:32 GMT
Femi Emiola Femi Emiola is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the TV series Wicked Wicked Games and in the web series If Looks Could Kill. Her first name is a Yoruba translation pronounced "F-eh-mi" meaning "love me" or "marry me". Femi Emiola was born in Iowa City, Iowa to a Filipina mother and a Nigerian father, then both PhD candidates at the University of Iowa. Femi lived her early life in the Philippines and in Nigeria before returning to the United States as a teenager. While in Nigeria, she was educated at the Federal Government Colleges and the International School Ibadan. Both her parents are chemists. She trained in Theatre Arts at Iowa State University and studied in New York City with director and acting teacher, Wynn Handman, a former colleague of Sanford Meisner and artistic director/co-founder of The American Place Theatre. Emiola made her film debut in an award-winning short film "The Living Silence". Her performance in the film helped garner the filmmaker, Tanya Steele, a Directors Guild East Coast Student Filmmaker Award. Between 2006 and 2007, Emiola played Lani Walker, the assistant to vindictive and psychotic Blythe Hunter portrayed by Tatum O'Neal in the My Network TV telenovela Wicked Wicked Games, which premiered on December 6, 2006 and aired to completion (65 episodes) in March 2007. Emiola appeared on the television shows ER, Ghost Whisperer, Scrubs, Las Vegas, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, and The Practice. In 2000, Emiola posed for the artist Meredith Bergmann. Emiola's profile became the foundation for Bergmann's Phillis Wheatley, which was part of the Boston Women's Memorial, unveiled in 2003 on Commonwealth Avenue Mall in Boston. The sculpture included Lucy Stone and Abigail Adams, is crafted from bronze and granite, and is Bergmann's largest public commission. In June 2008, Emiola became the face of a marketing campaign for the Toyota Camry. The campaign launched on June 9, 2008 and targeted affluent African-American women ages 25–40. There were no television commercials; instead Toyota created an interactive website, Iflookscouldkill.com, which included a video series and an online game. The online campaign was also supported by billboards and radio ads with Emiola's voice prompting listeners to logon to the website. The $5 million campaign centered on the website and a six-episode video series, promoted as "where espionage and high fashion collide." The target audience for the campaign was African-American women with an annual income of $70,000 and up. Emiola starred as Bianca Turner, a fashion designer and Toyota Camry owner who becomes unwittingly involved in an espionage plot. Viewers could navigate within scenes and play along, picking up clues to assist Bianca as she tries to solve the mystery. Print and online ads on BET.com and Essence.com also supported the campaign which ran from June 9 through July 27, 2008. 42 Entertainment in Pasadena, California, developed the game and the site. Burrell Communications, Chicago, is Camry's agency
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 24, 2015 20:32:19 GMT
Toks Olagundoye
 Olatokunbo Susan Olasobunmi Abeke "Toks" Olagundoye (born September 16, 1975) is a Nigerian television and film actress, writer and producer. She is known for her role as Jackie Joyner-Kersee in the ABC TV sitcom The Neighbors. Olatokunbo Susan Olasobunmi Abeke Olagundoye was born in Lagos, Nigeria, to a Norwegian mother and a Nigerian father. As a youth, she was educated in Nigeria, Switzerland, and England. Her name is pronounced "Tokes Awlahgoondawyay". She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in theatre from Smith College. Olagundoye made her screen debuts on both TV and the big screen in 2002; in an episode of the television series The Education of Max Bickford; and in the film Brown Sugar later that same year. She appeared opposite Ruby Dee in an off-Broadway production Saint Lucy's Eyes in April 2001, and in 2005 she cofounded the theater company Three Chicks Theatre, which produced Andrea Lepcio's One Nation Under in 2008. Olagundoye has guest-starred on Ugly Betty, Law & Order, CSI: NY, Switched at Birth, NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service and Prime Suspect. Her film credits include A Beautiful Soul, Come Back to Me, Absolute Trust and The Salon. In 2012 Olagundoye was cast as a series regular in the ABC comedy series The Neighbors,playing the part of Jackie Joyner-Kersee until the series was canceled after two seasons in 2014. She later had starring roles in the two television pilots: Feed Me, opposite Mary-Louise Parker for NBC; and Amazon's Salem Rogers, co-starring with Leslie Bibb. Olagundoye joined the cast of ABC comedy-drama Castle in 2015 as a series regular in the role of Hayley Shipton.
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 24, 2015 20:33:44 GMT
Kayo Shekoni
 Kayode Maria Söderberg Shekoni (born 17 April 1964), better known as Kayo Shekoni, or just Kayo, is a Swedish pop/dance singer, TV personality and actress of Nigerian descent. Kayo has been working with a lot of things, in the 80´s was she a big star in Sweden when she got a smash hit with "Vill Ha Dig", with the group Free Style (2). Kayo left the group in 1981. She then worked as a backup singer and dancer for various Swedish artists such as The Creeps and Anders Glenmark. She is a classically trained ballet dancer and performed professionally for many years. She has done four solo albums, the first came 1990, named "Kayo - The Album", it was one of the first CD´s with dance music. 1993 came "Kärleksland, 1996, "Out There" was a album with world music, 1997 "Le Click feat. Kayo, only released in the USA.
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 24, 2015 20:35:02 GMT
Pauline Black
 Pauline Black (born 23 October 1953) is a British singer, actress and author. She is mainly known for her role as the lead singer of the ska group The Selecter. Black was born in Romford, to an Anglo-Jewish teenage mother and Nigerian father. She was adopted by a white middle-aged couple and given the name Pauline Vickers. Her biological father, Gordon Adenle, had come to London from Nigeria to study engineering and was a Yoruba prince. Black was unaware of her Jewish heritage until the age of 42 when she traced her birth mother. Black studied science at Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University) before training as a radiographer in Coventry. Upon completion of her studies she worked for the NHS for five years before she entered the music industry. Rolling Stone said of Black "Hands down, Pauline Black possessed the best voice that ever graced a 2-Tone release. Blessed with a bewitching soprano and dramatic panache, Black's voice reached plateaus that made every other musical detail sound like part of a backdrop painted just to set the stage for her entrance. After Selecter had split up, Black was co-host, with Bob Carolgees and Spit the Dog, of the children's television quiz show, Hold Tight. She developed an acting career in television and theatre, appearing in dramas such as The Vice, The Bill, Hearts and Minds and 2000 Acres of Sky. She won the 1991 Time Out award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Billie Holiday in the play All or Nothing at All. She also starred alongside Christopher Lee in the horror film Funny Man. In 2010, she appeared in a Series 24 episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks, presented by Robert Webb, in the Identity Parade round
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 24, 2015 20:40:43 GMT
Ayo
 Ayo (born as Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin, 14 September 1980) is a Nigerian-German singer-songwriter and actress. Soul singer Ayo's childhood was torn apart by her mother's drug addiction. Now, on the verge of international stardom – and the mother of a small child – she has drawn on the harrowing experiences of her past to inspire her haunting debut album There is something particularly touching about the way that Ayo – the German-born singer-songwriter being hailed as a cross between Sade and Corinne Bailey Rae – interacts with her 23-month-old son Nile. The bond between him and his 27-year-old mother (whose Nigerian name is Yoruba for 'joy') is so strong that when she talks about him and his father Patrice (a German musician) she cannot keep the tears from her eyes. For me, family is more important than my career. I think my son gave me the strength to do what I am doing now. 'I gave birth to my son, and then, when he was two months old, I went into the studio and gave birth to my album. 'His Yoruba name is Abiola, which means luck – and he has brought me a lot of luck,' she says, smiling down at him.' Ayo's determination to be a good mother to her son and to put family first in her own life is – you cannot help but think when you meet her – a reaction to her own traumatic childhood experiences. Born in Cologne, Ayo is the youngest of four children of a Romanian mother and a Nigerian father. Growing up as a dual-heritage child would have been difficult enough without the added problem of having a mother who became a heroin addict. When Ayo was six – after her mother had left the family – she and her elder brother and sister were taken away from their father (her eldest brother was deemed old enough to stay) and put into care by German social services who felt that their father was not capable of raising four children on his own. It was a decision – presented to their distressed father as the 'only option' – that would set a pattern, which continued on and off until she was 14. But Ayo's disturbing memories of her childhood have not only influenced the way in which she approaches her own family, they have also inspired her music. Many of the songs on her haunting debut album Joyful were written as a form of therapy. Creating her music was, she says, the way in which she tried to make sense of what happened during her childhood. In one of the songs, 'Life is Real', she accuses herself of being 'too open', and as we sit down to talk about her life, her openness reveals an honesty and an innocence that is remarkable when you hear her story. 'As a child, I saw things that children should never see. My mother was a good mother when I was very small and she really loved us, but she became addicted to heroin and drugs turn you into a different person. Sometimes she'd take us with her when she scored, sometimes she would bring her junkie friends home and take drugs in front of us, sometimes she would disappear, sometimes she'd come home and take things from the flat to pay for her drugs.' Of all Ayo's experiences – she recalls, for example, the time when their mother, who would occasionally come back into their lives, broke into a toy factory in order to give them Christmas presents, which were taken back on New Year's Eve when the police raided their home – the most painful moment was being separated from her father. 'We were woken up at six in the morning and there were three policemen and a female social worker in the room. They told us they were taking us to a nice place where we would be happy with lots of other children. My father came with us to the home, then he said, “OK, I have to leave you here, I will come soon,” and then he broke down and started crying. It was the first time I had seen my father cry and after that he cried many times in front of us, but that first time was such a shock; it's something I can never forget.' Ayo and her siblings stayed in the home for six months, during which they were only able to visit their father three times.
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Post by Shymmex on Dec 24, 2015 21:34:30 GMT
Yinka Shonibare MBE  Yinka Shonibare MBE RA was born in London and moved to Lagos, Nigeria at the age of three. He returned to London to study Fine Art first at Byam Shaw College of Art (now Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design) and then at Goldsmiths College, where he received his MFA, graduating as part of the ‘Young British Artists’ generation. He currently lives and works in the East End of London. Over the past decade, Shonibare has become well known for his exploration of colonialism and post-colonialism within the contemporary context of globalisation. Shonibare’s work explores these issues, alongside those of race and class, through the media of painting, sculpture, photography and, more recently, film and performance. Using this wide range of media, Shonibare examines in particular the construction of identity and tangled interrelationship between Africa and Europe and their respective economic and political histories. Mixing Western art history and literature, he asks what constitutes our collective contemporary identity today. Having described himself as a ‘post-colonial’ hybrid, Shonibare questions the meaning of cultural and national definitions. Shonibare was a Turner prize nominee in 2004 and awarded the decoration of Member of the “Most Excellent Order of the British Empire”. He has added this title to his professional name. In 2013 he was elected Royal Academician by the Royal Academy of Arts. He was notably commissioned by Okwui Enwezor At Documenta 10 in 2002 to create his most recognised work ‘Gallantry and Criminal Conversation’ that launched him on an international stage. He has exhibited at the Venice Biennial and internationally at leading museums worldwide. In September 2008, his major mid-career survey commenced at the MCA Sydney and toured to the Brooklyn Museum, New York in June 2009 and the Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC in October 2009 . In 2010, 'Nelson's Ship in a Bottle' became his first public art commission on the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square.
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Post by Ogbeni Ogunnaike on Jan 5, 2016 2:15:23 GMT
Introducing Pharrell-Groomed Nigerian-American Duo Christian Rich
Christian Rich, the production duo consisting of Chicago-born Nigerian twins Taiwo and Kehinde Hassan, is most likely an unfamiliar act to many music fans out there despite their impressive track record, which boasts production credits for some of today’s biggest hip-hop acts. Protégés of visionary producer and global tastemaker Pharrell, Taiwo and Kehinde have spent most of their career behind the scenes, contributing their sound to hip-hop heavy hitters like Raekwon, Lil’ Kim and Clipse since early 2003. Most recently, Christian Rich contributed production to Drake‘s chart-topping album Nothing Was the Same, Childish Gambino‘s definitive sophomore LP Because the Internet and Earl Sweatshirt‘s critically acclaimed official debut Doris.  This due rilly do look Alike Yorubaland is indeed the Land of twinning.... |
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Post by Shymmex on Jan 14, 2016 15:15:21 GMT
Titilayo Adedokun Titilayo Rachel Adedokun was born in Nashville, Tennessee, USA to parents of Nigerian origin. A former Miss Ohio and Second Runner-up to Miss America, Ms. Adedokun’s talent and experience span different musical genres from classical, musicals and spirituals to jazz, blues, Latin and African music. She is known for her versatility, her range and her unparalleled ability to captivate an audience. A graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in Ohio, USA, she worked with director Franco Zeffirelli in the title role of his production of “Aida” at Teatro Verdi in Busseto, Italy, on the centennial celebration of Verdi’s death. She has also performed with the late Adolph Greene and Betty Comden, (50 Years of Comden and Greene), as well as with Lauren Bacall and Tommy Tune. In Italy, she collaborated in concerts and CD recordings with jazz composer and pianist, Giorgio Gaslini. She has toured Europe with several productions including Musetta in “La Boheme”, Kate in “Kiss Me Kate”, soloist in “Night Fever: Die Gala Der FilmMusicals” and as Billie Holiday in the JazzMusical „Ella & Billie. She is often featured as soloist with “The Wine & Roses Swing Orchestra”. Her new CD “Look at Me”, a self-produced and mostly self-composed album, showcases her musical diversity with influences ranging from jazz, blues, funk, Yoruba songs (from Nigeria) to songs inspired by her “three little girls”.
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Post by Shymmex on Jan 14, 2016 15:22:41 GMT
Tunde Adebimpe Babatunde Omoroga "Tunde" Adebimpe (born February 25, 1975) is an American musician, actor, director, and visual artist best known as the lead singer of the Brooklyn-based band TV on the Radio. His last name "Adebimpe" means "the crown is complete" in Yoruba. Acting careerHe starred in a 2001 indie movie, Jump Tomorrow, based on a short college film, Jorge, in which he played the same character. In 2008 he appeared as the groom in Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married alongside Anne Hathaway, who portrayed the bride's wayward sister. In the film, Adebimpe performs an a cappella cover of the Neil Young song "Unknown Legend". In late 2013 Adebimpe wrapped shooting on Chilean director Sebastian Silva's Nasty Baby, starring opposite Kristen Wiig and director Silva. The film is slated for a 2015 release. Adebimpe made a brief cameo as himself on the IFC program Portlandia in the show's season 4 premiere. Adebimpe most recent acting role is in Bob Byington's film 7 Chinese Brothers, which is slated to be released in 2015. Solo work and collaborationsAs well as occasionally performing solo, Tunde regularly collaborates with other musicians. Adebimpe provides backing vocals on the track "Dragon Queen" on the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' record, It's Blitz!, which was produced by fellow TVOTR member David Andrew Sitek. He also appears on several tracks of Dragons of Zynth's Coronation Thieves, also partially produced by Sitek. He produced and guested on "Your Glasshouse" a track from Atmosphere's record When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold. He is also featured on the song, "Deathful", on Subtle's album Yell&Ice. In early 2009 he performed three shows as a duo with Tall Firs drummer Ryan Sawyer, the latter two under the name Stabbing Eastward. Also in early 2009, Adebimpe released a combined single/DVD under the name Fake Male Voice on the Japan/Brooklyn label Heartfast. He performed one show under that name with a pickup group at the record's release party. Fake Male Voice again performed at a Heartfast showcase during CMJ 2009, as a duo comprising Adebimpe and Gerard Smith. In 2009 Adebimpe collaborated with Massive Attack on the track "Pray for Rain". In 2010 Adebimpe was featured on his TV on the Radio band mate Dave Sitek's project Maximum Balloon on the track Absence of Light. Adebimpe with members of TV on the Radio are featured on three tracks from Tinariwen's album Tassili (2011), and on the Amadou & Mariam track "Wily Kataso", from the 2012 album Folila. In 2012, Adebimpe formed the band Higgins Waterproof Black Magic Band, who released their self-titled EP on their own ZNA records in October 2013.[16] Adebimpe provided the vocals on Bad Radio, a track on Leftfields' Alternative Light Source album in 2015. Directing and animation workIn 1998 Adebimpe worked as one of the initial animators of MTV's hyper-violent claymation program Celebrity Deathmatch. In 2003 Adebimpe directed the music video for the Yeah Yeah Yeahs song "Pin". In 2011 Adebimpe directed "Nine Types of Light", the visual companion to the band's acclaimed fourth album. For the film, he recruited a roster of the band's favorite filmmakers to helm individual clips that would be sewn together into an abstract narrative about dreams, love, fame and the future. Adebimpe directed the video for the song "Forgotten", as well as the interstitial clips where a chorus of narrators help try to connect the dots between the film's various segments. In 2013 Adebimpe directed and animated the video for Higgins Waterproof Black Magic Band's single "The Blast the Bloom". Visual artOriginally a cartoonist, Adebimpe still maintains a design, drawing and painting practice. In addition to art directing all of TV on the Radio's album covers, he painted the cover for the band's 2013 single "Mercy". In 2009 Adebimpe released a self-published art comic, "Plague Hero". The painted book depicts a boxing match between two anthropomorphic characters. Randomly selected copies contained an DVD of "Mystery Sh*t", a compilation of song sketches and animations from Adebimpe's archives.
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Post by Shymmex on Jan 14, 2016 15:29:51 GMT
Tosin Abasi Oluwatosin Ayoyinka Olumide Abasi, better known as Tosin Abasi (born January 7, 1983), is a Nigerian American guitarist who is best known as the guitar player and founder of the instrumental progressive metal band Animals as Leaders. Before founding Animals as Leaders, he was the guitarist for the technical metalcore band Reflux. He has recorded and released three albums with Animals as Leaders: a self-titled debut, Weightless and The Joy of Motion. Born in Washington D.C. to Nigerian immigrants to the United States, Abasi's first name "Oluwatosin" means "God is worthy to be served" in Yoruba.His brother, Abdul Abasi, is a former drill sergeant in the United States military and is currently a fashion designer. Abasi is a mainly self-taught guitarist. He first picked up a guitar at his friend's house, simply strumming it and making up basic licks on the spot. At this time he was being exposed to some music through learning the clarinet in elementary school. He later began to rent video tapes from his local music store, saying that some "were videos you did not want to be caught watching" due to the mild profanity in certain tapes. Abasi said that when he decided to learn the guitar, his father was "totally liberal about the whole thing and encouraging and proud" and in fact, bought him his first guitar. However his mother initially held a more conservative outlook. Tosin said in an interview, “My mom definitely represents more of the traditional immigrant mentality of education and conventional channels being way more important than a creative endeavor". He was the guitarist for the Silver Spring, Maryland-based metal band PSI. He joined Reflux in the early to mid-2000s. During a Reflux show, Prosthetic Records noticed his skill and offered him a record deal as a solo artist. At first, he refused, saying he didn't feel comfortable with his skill level to write his own record.Afterwards, Abasi enrolled at the Atlanta Institute of Music. After graduating, he contacted Prosthetic Records asking if the offer still held. He then formed his "solo" project, Animals as Leaders, the name loosely being derived from the book Ishmael. In 2009, he recorded the first Animals as Leaders release with Misha Mansoor (of Periphery), who produced and recorded the album with Tosin, as well as programming the drums. Javier Reyes and Navene Koperweis were enlisted on rhythm guitar and drums, respectively, after the completion of the album, turning the project into a full touring band. He also toured with the band Born of Osiris as a stand-in guitarist for former member Matt Pantelis whilst they were auditioning for a permanent replacement. In 2011, Tosin started putting together material for a new band, T.R.A.M., consisting of his Animals As Leaders bandmate Javier Reyes, Suicidal Tendencies drummer Eric Moore, and former Mars Volta wind instrumentalist Adrian Terrazas. 'T.R.A.M.' stands for Terrazas, Reyes, Abasi, Moore. In mid March 2011, T.R.A.M. played their first show at South by Southwest, a multi-day music festival in Austin, Texas. Tosin explained that he formed T.R.A.M. as a trio consisting of himself, Javier and Adrian as an outlet for some ideas he had written which he felt did not fit with Animals as Leaders. Eric Moore was not added into the line-up until the recording phase of the album, and wrote and performed all the drums on the album within a few weeks. Animals as Leaders released their second album, entitled 'Weightless', on November 8, 2011. Abasi was reportedly meeting with Misha Mansoor again in late 2012, and it was reported that a new Animals as Leaders album was in the works, due to be released in 2013. At NAMM 2013, Tosin Abasi's signature guitar, the Ibanez TAM 100, was revealed. This guitar is based upon the Ibanez RG2228 model, which he had been using for some years, and contains his signature DiMarzio Ionizer pickups. On March 19, 2014, the Animals As Leaders' album The Joy of Motion was made available for streaming, via YouTube. On March 24, 2014, the album was released in Europe, March 25 in North America and on March 28 in Australia and New Zealand by Sumerian Records.The album was met with widely positive reviews. In July 2014, Tosin appeared in the first episode of Guitar Power, a web-series sponsored by D'Addario String and Rolling Stone Magazine. As of March 2014, he is on tour with Animals As Leaders. On October 2014, it was revealed that Abasi will join Joe Satriani, Guthrie Govan, and Mike Keneally on the G4 tour in 2015. He is a Transcendental Meditation practitioner. InfluencesHe has cited many bands and guitarists that influenced his unique style, including styles of music, ranging from jazz to pop and R&B. His favored guitarists include Steve Vai, Allan Holdsworth, Fredrik Thordendal, as well as the artists Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Meshuggah, and Dream Theater.
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