NEWS: Mr. Dimgba Igwe, Vice Chairman of the Sun Newspapers Dies Aged 58

Mr. Dimgba Igwe, Vice Chairman of the Sun Newspapers, 58, is dead.

He DIED from injuries sustained in an accident, Saturday morning in Lagos.

Mr. Igwe was knocked down by a vehicle while jogging near his residence in Okota AREA OF Lagos.

He was immediately taken to the hospital where he underwent surgery but died afterwards.

Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, chairman of the Sun Publishing Limited described the incident as the darkest DAY IN THE HISTORY of the organization!

NEWS: 2face Idibia's Father Dies Of Prostrate Cancer

2face Idibia's father died today evening (August 23rd) after a battle with prostate cancer aged 67.

May his soul rest in peace, Amen!

NEWS: Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh Dies From Ebola

Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu has announced the death, of Dr.  Ameyo Adadevoh, the firts doctor who attended to Liberian-American Patrick Sawyer.

With her death, Nigeria has recorded five Ebola deaths, of which one was the index (first) case, Patrick Sawyer, one medical doctor, two nurses and the ECOWAS staff.

Nigeria also has five Ebola survivors and three more expected to be discharged later this week.

Dr. Adadevoh, an experienced consultant physician and endocrinologist was Lead Consultant with First Consultants Medical Centre, Obalende, Lagos.

She came into the limelight shortly after the dramatic visit of Sawyer, and will be remembered for saving Nigeria from imminent Ebola epidemic!

NEWS: Sierra Leone's Top Doctor, Dr. Sheik Umar Khan Dies From Ebola Virus

Sierra Leone’s top doctor fighting an outbreak of Ebola has died from the virus, the country’s chief medical officer, Brima Kargbo, said on Tuesday reports Reuters.

Sheik Umar Khan, who was credited with treating more than 100 patients, was infected with Ebola this month and had been moved to a treatment ward run by medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres in the far north of the country!

NEWS: Grammy Winning Jazz Flutist, Paul Horn Dies Aged 84

Paul Horn, the Grammy-winning jazz flutist and New Age music pioneer, has died at the age of 84.

Horn's son Marlen said his father died Sunday in Vancouver, British Columbia, after a brief illness. He declined to provide further details.

"He passed away very peacefully and did not suffer," Marlen said. "He wasn't in any pain."

Horn's career spanned five decades, 50 albums and five Grammy nominations. He played the flute, clarinet and saxophone in concert tours and recording sessions with such artists as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and Chico Hamilton.

His album "Jazz Suite on the Mass Texts" won Grammys in 1966 for best original jazz composition and photographic cover album.

Horn studied transcendental meditation alongside the Beatles with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Horn's albums "Inside the Taj Mahal" and "Inside the Great Pyramid" laid the groundwork for the New Age music genre and earned him the nickname "Father of New Age Music."

Horn is survived by his wife, two sons, a stepson and four grandchildren!

NEWS: Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Arisekola Alao Dies Aged 69

Businessman and Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Abdulazeez Arisekola Alao, has died at the age of 69.

Mr. Alao, who was born in 1945, started out as a trader in his youth and grew into a businessman with investments in real estate, auto sales, media, and flourmills.

The late Mr. Alao was married to several wives and had many children.

He was, until his death, Deputy President-General of National Council of Islamic Affairs (NCSIA)

RIP MR ALAO!!!

NEWS: NEA Jazz Master, Jimmy Scott Dies Aged 88

Jimmy Scott, the jazz star whose small stature, romantic phrasing and distinctly high voice helped make him one of the most unique vocal stylists of his era, died in his sleep on Thursday at his home in Las Vegas. The singer was 88.

His death was confirmed by his biographer, David Ritz, according to the Washington Post.

James Victor Scott came into this world on July 17, 1925, and considering the struggles that he faced in his professional and personal life, the empathy his unique soprano voice conveyed was impressive, generous, and even noble. Jimmy and his brother Kenny were just two of ten children born to Arthur Scott and his wife Justine in Cleveland, Ohio. As the two brothers were approaching puberty it was determined that they both suffered from a rare hormonal deficiency called Kallmann’s Syndrome, which caused them to experience a sustained state of (physical) pre-adolescence. It was this sad and unusual circumstance that contributed to Jimmy Scott’s high-pitched voice.

Scott transformed that voice into a marvellous musical instrument, one that was as expressive and as nuanced as any other in the history of jazz.  “Little” Jimmy Scott’s first taste of fame occurred in 1949 when he got a job singing with Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra but it wasn’t until January 1950 that Jimmy and the Hampton band recorded Scott’s one and only hit, “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool.”

Jimmy Scott began releasing records under his own name in the 1950s but in the decades that followed he was up and down, in and out, gone and back, and for a time, literally lost to the music business. A one-time contemporary of great talents like Charlie Parker and Billie Holiday, as well as more obscure musicians like Big Maybelle, he remained a jazz singer nonpareil across seven decades. 

Scott’s many different “comebacks” over the years served as a testimonial to his bad luck and his endurance, as well as his consistency as a recording artist. He was once “rediscovered” singing at the funeral of his friend Doc Pomus, and was signed to Sire Records by Seymour Stein, making the 1992 recording, All The Way. Scott sang on the wonderfully poignant Lou Reed album, Magic and Loss and appeared on David Lynch’s cult program Twin Peaks, singing the song "Sycamore Tree," written by the show's creator. After Sire Records, Scott made several worthwhile albums on the Milestone jazz label until the early 2000s. In 2007, Jimmy Scott was named a NEA Jazz Master.

Although he lived in obscurity for decades, new generations repeatedly discovered the legend of Jimmy Scott -- everyone from Ray Charles to Marvin Gaye to David Byrne lauded him. In 2002 there was a documentary film produced entitled Jimmy Scott: If You Only Knew.  In David Ritz’s as-told-to biography, Faith In Time: The Life Of Jimmy Scott, the singer is contextualized alongside brilliant saxophonists Lester Young and Stan Getz, as well as legendary friends like Bird and Lady Day. Much like his talented peers, Little Jimmy Scott inhabited a world where the line between thought and expression dissolved night after night and year after year. There won’t be another like him again.

Scott moved from Cleveland to Las Vegas in 2007 for health reasons!

RIP JIMMY SCOTT!!!

NEWS: Legendary Oscar Nominated Actress, Ruby Dee Dies Aged 91

Ruby Dee, an Oscar nominated actress whose career in film spanned four decades, died on Wednesday, her agent Michael Livingston confirms to The Hollywood Reporter. She was 91. In the course of her accomplished career, Dee collected acclaim and awards including an Emmy and a Grammy.

Dee passed away peacefully at her New Rochelle, New York home from age-related causes, Livingston said. Dee's son, blues musician Guy Davis, posted a tribute to his mom on Facebook. "Rest easy and in peace mom," he wrote.

Post by Guy Davis- Bluesman:

Dee won an Obie Award in 1971 for her portrayal of Lena in Athol Fugard's “Boseman and Lena” (1970) and a Drama Desk Award for “Wedding Band” (1974).

She had an impressive stage career, including a highly praised performance in “Purlie Victorious” (1963). Also on stage, Dee was notable as the proud working-mother Ruth in “A Raisin in the Sun” (1961). In 1988, she starred with Denzel Washington and Paul Winfield in “Checkmates” on Broadway and was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

Along with her late husband, Ossie Davis, Dee was honored with the Screen Actors Guild's Life Achievement Award in 2001. They were the second couple to receive that honor, with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward tributed in 1995.With Davis, Dee was also honored in 1970 with the Frederick Douglass Award from New York's Urban League for bringing “a sense of fervor and pride to countless millions.”

In 1989, Davis and Dee were voted into the NAACP Image Award Hall of Fame. She and Davis won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album in 2007 for "With Ossie And Ruby: In This Life Together."

Dee was the first black actress to play a leading role in the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford Connecticut when she played in “King Lear” (1965). She later triumphed in “Taming of the Shrew” (1965) on Broadway.

Dee and Davis conceived the acclaimed PBS series “With Ossie & Ruby” (1981).The couple co-hosted, performed and co-produced 26 half-hour programs. She co-produced “The Ossie Davis and Rudy Dee Story Hour” (1974) broadcast over the national Black Network from 1974-78.

NEWS: Cali Swag District Member, Jayare Dies Aged 25

Jayare, a member of Inglewood, Calif rap group Cali Swag District, died on Friday at 25 years old.

Jayare, whose real name was Cahron Childs, suffered from sickle cell anemia and was admitted to the hospital on Thursday night, according to a source who spoke to MTV News. While there, he fell into cardiac arrest and died!

On Friday, Cali Swag member Corey "Smoove Da General" Fowler tweeted about his fallen friend and musical collaborator. “Rest in peace Jayare I'm gonna miss u forever ..I will never get over this..but I know God got u..and I know You got me,” he wrote.

Cali Swag District exploded on the music scene in 2010 with their first single, "Teach Me How to Dougie" 

Childs is not the first member of Cali Swag District to die in recent years. The group’s M-Bone (real name: Montae Talbert) was killed in a drive-by shooting in 2011. 

Earlier this year, Cali Swag District released a mixtape, titled “The District,” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, Problem, Nipsey Hussle, Waka Flocka, Skeme and others.

NEWS: Eminem Engineer, Steve King Dies Aged 56

Eminem is among the many in the music and recording worlds mourning the death of Steve King, the engineer who won a Grammy in 2003 for "The Eminem Show" and also mixed the rapper's award-winning "Lose Yourself" from the "8 Mile" film soundtrack.

King's resume also included work with Aretha Franklin, Patti Smith, George Clinton, Eminem's D12 crew and its individual members and 50 Cent and members of G-Unit. He died on Tuesday in a suburban Detroit hospital at the age of 56, not long after being diagnosed with liver disease. In a statement, Eminem said that, "I'm very sad to hear about Steve King's passing. I had the honor and pleasure of working with Steve on many projects in my earlier years and he was a greatly talented engineer, musician and friend. I will miss Steve's friendly way and sense of humor the most. My condolences go out to his family and all that knew Steve."

Fellow Eminem collaborator Luis Resto remembered King as "a very genuine, nice human being and good friend" and "the central hub of our team" in the studio. "When we -- (Eminem), Steve and I -- would be in the studio stuck with a technical snafu or creative Rubik's cube to figure out, it was often the calm clarity that Steve had that pushed us through to move forward and on to the next thing."

King established himself first as a musician in the Detroit area, playing in bands such as the Pigs, the Traitors, Paper Hearts, the Boners, the Rushlow-King Combo and, most recently, with poet ML Liebler in Coyote Monk, which was in the process of making an album. King's first job behind the boards was recording vocals for Aretha Franklin's 1982 album "Jump To It," produced by Luther Vandross. He went on to work with Kem, the Winans, the Romantics, Juan Atkins and scores of others, and also shared his craft and insights via monthly forums at a suburban Detroit bar and at schools and youth centers. 

"Steve was always cool under pressure," fellow Grammy Award winner and Detroit native Don Was said. "He carried himself with a sweet nature, positive spirit and profound humility that belied his incredible power as a soulful musician and inspired songwriter. His work made a major contribution towards defining the Detroit Sound over the last quarter century. Steve was a wonderful and irreplaceable cat and will be profoundly missed."

RIP STEVE KING!!!

NEWS: Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero Dies Aged 83

The Emir of Kano, Ado Abdullahi Bayero,is dead. He died on Friday morning. The Emir would have been 84 on July 25.

Walin Kano, Alhaji Mahe Bashir Wali in a live broadcast on Radio Kano confirmed the death. One of the princes, who does not want his name in print added that the Emir died of heart related ailment Friday morning.

He said that the condition of the Emir worsened yesterday and there was a concluded arrangement to charter an Air Ambulance to ferry him overseas.

Meanwhile, radio stations in the City have suspended their scheduled programmes and substituted them with the recititation of the Holy Quran.

The late emir will be buried today in Kano according to Islamic rites.

Sources close to the Government House disclosed that Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has abandoned the meeting of Progressive Governors Forum holding in Port Harcourt en route to the city.

The late Ado Bayero was the son of Abdullahi Bayero, the former emir, who reigned for 27 years.

Ado ascended the throne on  October 22, 1963, becoming the 13th Fulani emir of Kano and the 56th ruler of the Kano Kingdom.  He is one of the longest-serving emirs in the emirate’s history.

He was a former chancellor of the University of Nigeria and until his death, the chancellor of the University of Ibadan!

On 19 January 2013, a failed assassination attempt left two of his sons injured and his driver and bodyguard dead, among others.

NEWS: Weldon Myrick, International Steel Guitar Dies Aged 76

Though there are many great artist-musician relationships in country music history, some stand out a little more others. Don Rich’s enticing Telecaster licks helped to make Buck Owens one of the top recording artists of the 1960s. At the same time period, you would be hard pressed to find a Connie Smith RCA Victor release without the ringing steel guitar licks of Weldon Myrick.

The legendary instrumentalist, who passed away Monday at the age of 76 following a stroke, played on records by such iconic singers as Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. His work was a vital part of classic hits such as Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Mr. Bojangles,” George Strait’s “Let’s Fall To Pieces Together,” and Alan Jackson’s  “Chattahoochee.” 

Myrick was born in Texas, and was playing the steel before he was ten years old. He moved to Nashville in 1963, and started working with Grand Ole Opry star Bill Anderson. The next year, Bill helped secure a recording contract for Connie Smith with RCA, and many of his band played on her first session for the label – which yielded the chart-topping “Once A Day.” It was the first of many of her hits that his steel work graced!

NEWS: Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Abubakar Dies Aged 76

The Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Abubakar, has died at the age of 76.

A statement signed by the Secretary to the Gombe State Government (SSG), Alhaji Abubakar Bage, said the emir died at a London hospital on Tuesday.

Bage said burial arrangements of the emir would be announced later by the government.

Born in Doma area of Gombe metropolis in 1938, Abubakar attended Elementary School and Bauchi Middle School.

He also attended Barewa College, Zaria in Kaduna State.

The emir started his working career as Engineering Assistant with the defunct Gombe Native Authority.

He later proceeded to the Technical Training Centre, Kaduna Institute of Administration.

Abubakar also worked with the defunct Northern Nigeria, North Eastern Government and the defunct Bauchi State Government where he rose to the rank of a Permanent Secretary, Parastatals, Local governments, Animals, Forestry and Establishment.

He succeeded his late father as the 10th Emir of Gombe in 1984, and was the Chairman, Gombe State Council of Emirs and Chiefs before his death.