Celebs

Jide Kosoko, Others Under Fire For Endorsing Tinubu For President

Jide Kosoko alongside a number of other Yoruba movie actors have come under fire on Wednesday after they openly endorsed Bola Ahmed Tinubu for President come 2023.

Kosoko was among the many Yoruba actors who appeared in the 1-minute video clip shared by fellow actor Yinka Quadri on his Instagram page where all the actors present took turns to voice support for BAT in their native Yoruba tongue.

In addition to Jide Kosoko and Yinka Quadri, other notable Yoruba actors seen in the clip were; Fausat Balogun, Taiwo Hassan, Femi Adebayo, Shola Kosoko, Faithia Williams, Saheed Balogun, Murphy Afolabi, and Eniola Ajao.

In the caption section of the post, Quadri further emphasized what he had said in the video writing that it was “crystal clear” that it was the turn of the Yorubas to serve as the nation’s president and claimed that Tinubu was the best candidate because “he is a man who is ready to sacrifice all he has for his fatherland.” The actor went on to laud Tinubu describing him as “a bridge builder across regional, ethnic, and religious lines that is capable of uniting the country.” He further added that “Majority of actors who venture into politics today do so because of the influence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

Shortly after the video was released, Jide Kosoko came under fire on social media where many criticized his support for BAT as being borne out of ethnic/tribal bigotry and personal interest rather than on the grounds of competence. An old photo of Kosoko protesting against Goodluck Jonathan’s government in the #OccupyNigeria movement was dug up with many noting how he has been quiet on other issues that have since plagued Nigerians such as the #EndSARS movement.

Jide Kosoko

A user with the handle @Afatiafu_ wrote;

“Jide Kosoko and others gave us Buhari in 2015. These are the descendants who should have considered posterity. Today, they left me with the consequences of poverty, joblessness and injustice. The best they can do is to right that evil. Yet, go ahead to support potential threat.”

Another @DahkDutch Tweeted;

“The fact that Odunlade was not even in the video, has discredited it already. Jide Kosoko is a known political jobber, he endorsed Buhari, so, he will definitely endorse Tinubu too.

But we have gone past that stage, of listening to people who feed from politicians”

@SirDavidBent quickly garnered likes for his tweet that read;

“Before you cancel Yoruba Nollywood, not every actor there is supporting Tinubu. Okunnu called out the government in a video and rained curses on them for the incessant hardship. He wasn’t in that video with Jide Kosoko. Neither was Odunlade. Some people still have conscience.”

Celebs

‘I smoked 40 sticks a day for 13 years’: Ebuka opens up on nicotine addiction as Banky W revisits porn struggle

Ebuka Obi-Uchendu says he smoked up to 40 cigarettes daily for 13 years, while Banky W revisited his past pornography addiction on Mentality with Ebuka. Ebuka Obi-Uchendu has revealed that he began smoking in JSS3 and spent the next 13 years addicted to cigarettes, reaching a peak of two packs, roughly 40 sticks, every single day by the time he was in university.

The television host disclosed the latest episode of his podcast Mentality with Ebuka, which aired on Friday, May 22. The episode featured singer and pastor Banky W and medical content creator Aproko Doctor in a candid conversation about addiction, its origins, and the long road out of it.

“I started smoking in JSS3, which is crazy young,” Ebuka said. “It was basically peer pressure, wanting to prove myself, wanting to belong. By the time I was done with secondary school, I had become full-on. Got into university, and by university, I was doing about two packs a day. That’s about 40 sticks of cigarettes every single day.”

He added that his exit from the habit was less a dramatic decision and more a test of willpower. “The last stick of cigarettes I had was in February 2008. I didn’t quit. I just kept saying let me see how much longer I will hold out for, and now it’s been almost 18 years.”

Banky W used the same platform to revisit a confession he had made publicly before, his years-long struggle with pornography addiction, tracing it back to a freshman dormitory in a New York university where a classmate had shared an open hard drive filled with explicit content accessible to the entire floor.

“I wonder how many of us got trapped in that moment,” he said. He described the experience of trying to stop as a confrontation with something far more entrenched than he had anticipated.

“When it’s now time to stop, you realise you’re dealing with demons that are much stronger than you. That was where the reality dawned on me.” He said it took a deliberate journey to reach a place of freedom, and that he has since addressed the issue openly from the pulpit, part of what he described as a growing willingness among pastors to tackle subjects previously considered too uncomfortable for the church.

The episode is the latest in Ebuka’s Mentality series, which has carved out a space for honest, personal conversations that Nigerian public figures rarely have on record.

Celebs

Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, and Drake named Spotify’s most-streamed artists of all time

To mark its 20th anniversary, Spotify is giving users personalised all-time insights, including:
Their first day on Spotify

The total number of unique songs they have listened to

Their first streamed song

Their all-time most-streamed artist

Their All-Time Top Songs playlist, featuring their top 120 tracks, complete with play counts

Now available to eligible users in Nigeria and Kenya, Spotify 20 turns each listener’s journey into a nostalgia-filled celebration, revealing the songs, artists and milestones that have defined their time on the platform.

Each data story comes with a share card at the end of the experience, making it easy for fans to save their results, send them to friends, or share them across social platforms. For listeners in Nigeria and Kenya, Spotify 20 offers a new way to revisit the songs that have soundtracked everyday moments, major milestones and cultural shifts. Spotify 20 is part of the global celebration of Spotify’s 20th anniversary, which also spotlights the platform’s all-time most-streamed content.

Globally, the top three most-streamed artists of all time are Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Drake. Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti is the most-streamed album, while The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ is the most-streamed song, followed by Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’. The most-streamed podcast globally is The Joe Rogan Experience, and the most-streamed audiobook among Premium subscribers is Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses.

Celebs

Asake Drops fourth studio album M$NEY, featuring DJ Snake, Tiakola Amongst Others

Four albums in, two Grammy nominations to his name, the most entries on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart, and the most-streamed artist on Spotify Nigeria, Asake drops M$NEY, his fourth studio album released on the 1st of May via GIRAN REPUBLIC and EMPIRE.

The 13-track project is Asake’s most sonically varied to date. It opens with a live choral performance (an unusual choice that immediately signals this is not going to be a straightforward Afrobeats record) and moves through orchestral arrangements, jazz-tinged strings, dance production, and amapiano before it is done.

Speaking on the album, Asake said: “M$NEY is a reflection of my spiritual and creative journey. Everything flows from a place of gratitude to God, and every moment that’s shaped me. I stay true to myself but also weave in new creative expressions from my life experiences and personal evolution.”

Fans got their first taste of the project as far back as February 2025 with ‘Why Love’, followed by ‘Badman Gangsta’ featuring French artist Tiakola, a track built around a reimagined sample of Amerie’s ‘1 Thing’ that turned out to be one of the more interesting sonic swings of his singles run.

Then came ‘Worship’ with DJ Snake, which pushed the project into full cross-continental territory.

The full album expands on all of that. Outside the previously released singles, the album includes ‘Gratitude’, ‘Forgiveness’, and ‘Asambe’, a collaboration with South African amapiano producer Kabza De Small. It’s a pairing that will likely draw attention, given both artists’ standing in their respective markets.

The album artwork was created by Iraqi-Dutch artist Arthar Jabar.