Lifestyle

The mother of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur has passed away at the age of 69. Afeni Shakur’s death was confirmed on the morning of May 3 in a tweet from the Marin County Sheriff’s Department in California. The message says that Shakur died on the night of May 2.

KRON reports that Shakur suffered a heart attack at her home in the San Francisco suburb of Sausalito. The station adds that she was rushed to a local hospital at around 9:45 p.m. and was pronounced dead at 10:30 p.m.

TMZ reported in March 2016 that Shakur was divorcing her husband of 12 years, Gust Davis. The gossip site said that Davis wanted half of the $20,000, Shakur’s gets every month from her late son’s legacy.

TMZ

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Elangwe Pauline

03.May.2016

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Cameroonian rising star rapper, FRANKO and Veteran Marthe ZAMBO have both been honored in the Burkina Faso musical awards called KUNDE. The ceremony took place in Ouagadougou and was Chaired by Burkinabe's first lady Bella SIKA KABORE.
Marthe Zambo who is now counting 43 years experience in music was honored with the KUNDE honorary prize for her 17 albums and her title Avec Toi which has seen many other versions. Marthe Zambo is now on retirement but her scintillating performance has gained her fame on the continent.
On his part rising star FRANKO who just emerged into the musical world a few montrhs ago and  took the Cameroon Music landscape by surprise, was crowned best Musician in Central Africa for his Coller La Petite title which has an unprecedented over 20 million views on YouTube.

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Prince Nfor Hanson

30.Apr.2016

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Africa has lost another worthy son in the shape of Papa Wemba. It's a painful beginning to 2016.

He was the voice of Africa.

We are all orphans... May the heaven and the spirits welcome him in peace. Papa Wemba will remain forever in our hearts.

Manu Dibango left the message on his Facebook page.

Papa Wemba  fell ill on Saturday while performing at a music festival in Abidjan in Ivory Coast. He was 66.

The cause of his death is not known yet.

Baudouin Banza Mukalay, culture minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, confirmed his death, calling it a "great loss for the country and all of Africa".

"He was known as a true trendsetter," Suzanna Omiyo, a Kenyan musician, told Al Jazeera. 

"One thing I remember about Papa Wemba was his way of performing and the fact that he was able to take African music to the global map. I believe he was one of the greatest musicians."

Video footage showed the moment when he slumped to the floor behind a group of dancers before performers rushed to his aid.

"Papa Wemba wanted to die on stage, that's what he told me two weeks ago when I spoke to him on the phone," Salif Traore, a festival promoter and singer also known as A'Salfo, told the AFP news agency.

Born in 1949, Wemba, whose real name was Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba, began his singing career in religious choirs.

He helped modernise Congolese rumba music, with the genre that emerged - soukous - influencing music across Africa.

Together with his bands Zaiko Langa Langa, Isifi and Viva La Musica, he racked up hit after hit, including L'Esclave and Le Voyageur.

He appeared in two feature films, Life Is Beautiful (1987) and Wild Games (1997)

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Elangwe Pauline

25.Apr.2016

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The influential Congolese music star Papa Wemba has died after collapsing on stage in Abidjan in Ivory Coast, media reports say.

Video from the concert shows the artist, who was 66, slumped on the floor as dancers continue to perform, unaware of what is happening.

French broadcaster France 24 confirmed the death, quoting his manager.  

On the African music scene since 1969, Papa Wemba won a world following with his soukous rock music.

The Congolese band leader, whose real name was Jules Shungu Webadio, also inspired a cult movement known as the Sapeurs whose members, young men, spend huge amounts of money on designer clothes.

In 2004, he was convicted in France of a role in an illegal immigration racket and spent three months in prison.

Hit after hit

He remained one of Africa's most popular musicians.

Soukous, also known as rumba rock, became the most popular sound across Africa.

Together with his bands Zaiko Langa Langa, Isifi and Viva La Musica, he racked up hit after hit including L'Esclave and Le Voyageur.

In addition to the prison time he spent in Europe, he was once jailed in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo), for allegedly having an affair with a general's daughter.

His conviction in France related to a racket whereby illegal immigrants were taken to Europe posing as members of his band.

(BBC)

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Elangwe Pauline

24.Apr.2016

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