DISTRICT MINE BY BELLANAIJA

Ola HudsonThe subject of this iconic Dewars whiskey advert is non other than fashion icon; Ola Hudson. Ola was married to famous artist Anthony Hudson, Ola (of Nigerian descent) designed and tailored outfits for celebrities while Anthony (of English descent) worked as an illustrator and designed album covers for such stars as Neil Diamond and Joni Mitchell.
Ola was best known for her innovative boutique on the Sunset Strip called “Skitzo” and her work with former lover David Bowie for his film: “The Man Who Fell to Earth”. She also designed and tailored outfits for John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Diana Ross, the Pointer Sisters and many others. Ola was an integral figure in the uber cool sunset strip rock scene and her style is widely credited for directly influencing the style and image of modern rock music. Ola sadly lost her battle against lung cancer at the age of 62.

Slash

One of the most recognisable faces in the world today belongs to former Guns. N Roses guitarist Slash. Slash is widely credited as being one of the greatest rock guitarists of all time. In the course of his career Slash created some of the greatest guitar riffs ever recorded. His work on the Guns n Roses mega hit “Sweet Child of Mine” propelled their debut album “Appetite for Destruction” to sales in excess of twenty million copies; making it one of the highest selling debut records of all time (Notable mention: November Rain, Paradise City, Welcome to The Jungle and many others.)

Slash and Ola

Slash the son of fashion icon Ola Hudson worked with Michael Jackson on a number of projects namely Black or White and Give In To Me on the Dangerous album; Morphine on the Remix album Blood on The Dance floor; D.S on History and privacy off the Invincible album. He has also worked with legends such as Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. He is also a playable character in the game Guitar Hero 111 Legends of Rock.

Ruby Hammer

Many celebrities such as Madonna and undoubtedly some readers are fans of the makeup line; Ruby and Millie. What I find rather interesting is that co-owner of the line Ruby Hammer was born in and spent the first twelve years of her life in Nigeria.

Hugo Weaving

In the year 1960, a British couple celebrated the arrival of a baby boy at the University Teaching Hospital in Ibadan Nigeria. Little did they know that their son would star in six two of the highest grossing trilogies in cinema history. Hugo; starred in The Lord of The Rings trilogy, The Matrix trilogy, Transformers, cult favourite The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the desert, V for Vendetta and a host of others. Hugo has won a number of awards in a varied and successful career. Imagine that, Agent Smith is Nigerian by birth.

Paul McCartney at Emi studios in Lagos, Nigeria

Yes the same Paul McCartney from the Beatles recorded the album “Band on The Run” with his group; Wings in Nigeria. Wings worked with Nigerian musicians and hung out at Fela’s Shrine initially. Mcartney fondly remembers shedding tears of joy watching the great man perform on stage. It wasn’t honky dory for long as Paul had a famous altercation with the King of Afrobeat himself.

Paul McCartney and theWings

Band on the run was McCartneys greatest post beatles album. It was voted at number of the 100 greatest British albums of all time and Rolling Stone magazine placed it at number 418 out of the 500 greatest albums made. Yes it was recorded in Lagos.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers

This Legendary rock band credits Fela Kuti as one of their primary influences. According to band member: Flea “Fela’s music was trance inducing”. So taken were they by the music that they once released a track called ‘Fela’s Cock’ in honour of the mans sexual prowess.

Flea

Flea was spotted at the shrine last year, during ‘Felabration’ celebrating the life of the legend.

James Brown

James Brown toured Nigeria in the early seventies and a trip to the shrine had James Brown enraptured. Legend has it that James Brown had his arranger watch and make notes of Fela’s movement and stage craft, so as to incorporate them in his act.

Bootsy Collins

According to Bootsy, who was the bassist of the band: “Fela’s band was the funkiest cats” he had heard in his life. He said that they were totally “wiped out” by the sheer bodacity of the Africa 70 band.

Article written by bellanaija

via bellanaija.com

So I liked this article so much that I had to re post it here on our site. I too saw the District 9 movie and was disappointed in the way Nigerians were being portrayed in the movie... I also posted the Sony ad that made a negative comment about Nigerians.. These perceptions do lead to a negative stereotype that affect all Nigerians whether it be true or not... There are definitely a number of Nigerians out there that are not representing our nation in the best light. However that is also true for every other nation or country. When I saw this article I thought it did a good job of showing some important historical facts about our great nation Nigeria and how we have affected the entire globe positively in so many different ways... I hope the article proves to be enlightening and also informative.. Enjoy