|
Listen to article
|
Popular Nigerian juju musician Yekini Kolawole Ajao, popularly known as Y.K Ajao, is dead.
His death was made known in a statement posted on musician, Shina Peters’ Instagram page on Friday night.
“Still hard to believe, You weren’t just a friend, you were my brother. Prof Y.K Ajao, your sound, your spirit, your presence; unforgettable.
“Thank you for everything. I’Il carry the memories always.
“Rest well, my brother. Your legacy lives on, your music lives on, and you will never be forgotten,” the post read.
Yekini Ajao went professional in 1973 when he formed his own band, ‘Y.K. Ajao & His Professional Brothers Band’.
His music style began in the juju tradition, but he created a distinctive sub-style called ‘Juju Makossa’.
The Oscars will leave Hollywood after celebrating their centenary, organizers said Thursday, as they announced a long-term deal to hold the gala in central Los Angeles.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said the ceremony, the most important night of the year for the global film industry, would leave the Dolby Theatre on the Hollywood Walk of Fame after 2028.
The 2029 edition will instead be held at The Peacock Theater, part of the vast LA LIVE complex, next to the Crypto.com Arena, home to the Los Angeles Lakers.
“For the 101st Oscars and beyond, the Academy looks forward to closely collaborating with (owners) AEG to make LA LIVE the perfect backdrop for our global celebration of cinema, both for our live in-theater audience and for film fans around the world,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Lynette Howell Taylor said.
Read Also: I Never Thought It’d Hit – ‘Scream’ Creator 30 years later
The 10-year deal with AEG comes as the ceremony leaves network television in the United States, to be broadcast instead worldwide by YouTube.
It also marks an end to a decades-long run for the ceremony at the Dolby, which is just a stone’s throw from the Roosevelt Hotel, where the very first Oscars were handed out in 1929.
While Hollywood is synonymous with the Oscars, the ceremony has not always been held there.
Stars have previously descended on a number of venues in the Downtown area, and for much of the 1960s, the ceremony was hosted in the beachside city of Santa Monica.
At this year’s awards, held on March 15, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” — a wild tale of leftist revolutionaries, white supremacists and immigrant detention centers — was crowned as best picture.
Warner Bros. Discovery said that Paramount has raised the price of its takeover offer to $31 per share, potentially setting the stage for a fresh bidding war with Netflix over the future of the Hollywood giant.
Paramount’s offer had previously stood at $30 per share since December — when the Skydance owned company launched its hostile bid to challenge a deal Warner struck with Netflix to sell its studio and streaming business for $27.75 per share.
A Warner Bros. Discovery buyout would reshape Hollywood and the wider media landscape — bringing HBO Max, cult-favorite titles like “Harry Potter” and, depending on who wins the Netflix v. Paramount tug-of-war, potentially even CNN under a new roof.
Unlike Netflix, Paramount wants to acquire Warner Bros. in its entirety — including networks like CNN and Discovery. The companies have spent the last couple of months in a heated, public back and forth over who has a stronger deal. And Paramount upping its offer only adds to the pressure.
Beyond the new $31 per share price, Warner said Tuesday afternoon that Paramount had increased its regulatory termination fee to $7 billion. Paramount also agreed to move up a previously-promised “ticking fee.” The company previously said it would pay 25 cents per share for every quarter the deal drags on past the end of the year. Now it’s agreed to pay that amount if the deal doesn’t go through by the end of September, Warner said.
A Netflix spokesperson declined to comment when reached by The Associated Press Tuesday afternoon. Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for further comment — but the company confirmed the submission of its revised offer earlier in the day.
Warner’s board has repeatedly backed its deal with Netflix, and on Tuesday maintained that their agreement still stands. But if it later deems Paramount’s offer to be the better deal, Netflix would then have four days to match or revise its proposal. It could also choose to walk away.
Lawmakers and entertainment trade groups have sounded the alarm about the prospect of both deals — warning that a buyout of all or parts of Warner’s business would only further consolidate power in an industry already run by just a few major players. Critics say that could result in job losses, less diversity in filmmaking and potentially more headaches for consumers who are facing rising costs of streaming subscriptions as is.
