Rumour has It that it LINDA started with Tinsel. EJIOFOR By James Ogunjimi It has been twelve full years since Linda Ejiofor first graced our TV screens as Bimpe on MNET’s Tinsel. Yes, you read it right! It has also been twelve years of letting go of her dreams of working in advertising, and we can say that numerous films, TV roles and several award nominations later, Linda Ihuoma Ejiofor is one of Nollywood’s biggest faces, doing her thing quietly but efficiently and wowing fans with the poise and composure she brings to the screen in an industry given to drama and theatrics. Linda Ejiofor kickstarted her acting career with M-NET’s “Tinsel” where she played the role of Bimpe Adekoya before getting her feature film debut in 2012 with The Audrey Silva Company’s “The Meeting” where she starred alongside Rita Dominic and Nse Ikpe Etim, a role that earned her a Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 9th Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). In the twelve years since she first went on screen, she has been in “Secret Room”, “Out of Luck”, “Heaven’s Hell”, “Suru L’ere”, “A Soldier’s Story”, “Ojukokoro”, “Dowry”, “Rumour Has It” and acted alongside the likes of OC Ukeje, Tope Te d e la , Jide Kosoko, Wole Ojo, Bimbo Akintola, Nse Ikpe Etim, Damilola Adegbite, Beverly Naya, Kemi Lala Akindoju, Adesua Etomi, Zainab Balogun, and others. It’s been twelve years of a magical career and when you consider her organic growth in the industry, it is easy to feel excited about what more the actress still has to offer and how great that can be for the Nigerian movie industry and movie lovers at large. LOTA CHUKWU LOTA CHUKWU ANNOUNCES NEW FOOD SHOW “CHOW FILES” By Toyosi Jegede Nollywood Actor and Food enthusiast, Lota Chukwu has announced the launch of her new food show “Lota’s Chowfiles after wowing us with Lota Takes where she showcased her culinary skills. A direct opposite of her first show Lota Takes, Chow Files sees the actor and food enthusiast visit different chefs to learn how to cook new meals and do food reviews. Lota Chow Files is the second food show produced in collaboration with Zebra Stripes Networks. Russia Express: Baba Ijebu BABA partners with Olsen Decker in bringing Russia to Lagos. IJEBU By James Ogunjimi It is a given that the just concluded world cup that held in Russia will never be forgotten by football fans worldwide. The intricacies, passion, dying- minute gasps, heartbreaks guarantee that its memory will linger long in the minds of football lovers worldwide. For Nigerian football fans, it’s an even more memorable outing courtesy the collaboration between Nigeria’s oldest and biggest betting platform, Baba Ijebu and Olsen Decker to show the world cup to fans while treating them to amazing gifts and munchable delicacies. It will be recalled that Baba Ijebu had emerged as one of the biggest sponsors of the Goalfest in Lagos, a gathering for football fans to watch the Champions League match together. In a pattern that is beginning to show Baba Ijebu as one of the biggest promoters and supporters of sports in Nigeria, Baba Ijebu once again partnered with Olsen Decker to give fans an amazing world cup experience and left many with memories that won’t be forgotten in a long time. Pictures of fans punching the air, celebrating, singing and dancing and generally sharing the ups and downs of footballing moments continue to litter social media space as fans relieve the memories of the world cup and friendships that were struck in those beautiful moments made possible by Baba Ijebu. How Basement Gig is the hub THE of entertainment creatives; BASEMENT Publicists, Talent Managers, GIG OAP's, Brand Managers and Photographers. By James Ogunjimi It’s always difficult to say for sure where who and who will be. In the entertainment world, there are no guarantees that you’ll find your big star in your favorite club or that you’ll have an opportunity to impress that agent that you know can change your career forever. Well, not anymore. At least, not since The Basement Gig started. The Basement Gig is a show that brings together creatives in Nigeria’s entertainment industry and provides a platform for the upcoming artist to showcase their talent and if the performance is good enough, serve as springboard for their career if they catch the eye of the shot callers in the industry. For the shot callers and the industry scouts, The Basement Gig is where they sit discreetly, nursing a drink, sometimes acting disinterested while they listen and sometimes watch the performances of upcoming artistes to see who is ready to make the leap to the next stage. When the date of the Basement Gig is announced, there’s always a flurry of activities as brand managers, OAPs, upcoming artistes, entertainment lawyers and photographers secure their space in what is becoming Nigeria’s biggest springboard for upcoming talents. Artistes have had their careers changed forever based on a good performance at the basement gig. Photographers who had nothing but a dream and a camera have had their careers pick up based on activities at the basement gig and aspiring managers have discovered the next big thing and thus kicked off their own careers in the industry. The Basement Gig caters to all: upcoming artist and big shot callers in the industry. On the night when the event goes down, there’s one thing you can count on: the who’s who in the industry are either there or have eyes there, watching for the next big hit in the industry. NEW MEDIA CONFERENCE Connecting the dots to augment various business opportunities in the face of the ever-evolving digital world. By Toyosi Jegede The New Media Conference 2018, created by Tos in Ajibade popularly known in the media circle as Olorisupergal was a massive hit. The media conference which is one of the most commendable events in previous times, examines issues that influence African media practices in the ever-evolving digital age, as it is expected by so many media practitioners. Speakers and moderators at the event included Toyos i Akerele-Ogunsiji, Afua Osei, MI Abaga, Ronke Bamisedun, Joke Ogunlewe, Osagie Okunkpolor, Nelson Jack, Toba Obaniyi, Adenike Oyetunde, Joey Akan of Universal Music Group, Akinlabi Akinbulumo, Bukky November and Abdulrahman Jogbojogbo of Paystack. This was the fourth new media conference as it was crafted specially to meet the taste of its attendees, with the theme “Connecting the Dots”. The new media conference had discussions on how the media is changing conversations, e-payment, payola and how online promotions supplant TV and radio commercials. MANAGER OR PUBLICIST Who does a new talent need to get to the next level? By James Ogunjimi It’s always a struggle for upcoming talents to decide who will help them reach the next stage of their career. Some spend time and energy chasing managers while others devote time and resources to publicists who can make them look good. Reality is that for an upcoming act, a publicist who knows his/her onions will be the best bet to make a quick headway in the industry. It’s easy to know those who can do this. A good publicist probably has contacts in the industry and has worked with a few or more high-profile acts in the industry. As such, the publicist can always call in one or two favours from past or present clients or their affiliates. Opting for a manager at a very early stage of the career can be somewhat risky. For starters, a lot of ‘managers’ are amateurs who are themselves still trying to find their feet in the industry. They have zero to little industry contacts and in the event that they have some, they are probably too low on the rung of the ladder to make anything huge happen for the upcoming talent. A good publicist can play both the role of a publicist and that of a manager till the talent is ready and big enough to go out on their own. For young talents, it’s important that they understand what roles both publicist and manager play and who should come first if their career will take off as well as they want. MANAGER OR PUBLICIST Who does a new talent need to get to the next level? By Moses. A Johnson Talent is almost never enough, and nowhere is this more pronounced than on the entertainment scene. Having the talent is just a start, how that talent is harnessed determines largely how far the talented individual goes. When a new talent emerges on the scene, there’s always that struggle about what direction to turn to first: should it be in the direction of a publicist where he is projected in a positive light and helped in his/her quest to ‘fake it till you make it’, or should it be in the direction of a manager to help make the important decisions. This highway of decision is where many talents miss the mark and jeopardise their careers forever. You only need to look at the array of talented individuals still roaming the streets performing at local street carnivals while those who may not be as talented as they are, are getting airplays on radio and TV and their music finding its way into playlists and mixtapes. For me, an upcoming talent’s first important hire should be a manager, not a publicist.