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👋 Good morning. Happy new month and happy workers' day. I hope you're all resting in your homes, or at least trying to. |
Now. Nigerian Twitter (now X, but I honestly cannot get used to calling it X) decided that this week was the day to settle women's body standards. Slim, fat, everyone had a contribution. I know what the real answer is, and honestly, so does everyone, but since when did women's bodies become a group project? Funny how nobody's having this conversation about men. |
As always, there's something for everyone this week. Scroll to the end, don't skip. |
Let’s get into it ⬇️ |
In this edition: We spoke to music execs, a trend of corporations that bully people, this week in pop culture, and more. |
If you’re enjoying this, don’t forget to subscribe and join The Juice community. We’re building this together ♡. |
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Shalom Tewobola,
Editor.
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Quick Question |
What does choppelganger mean? |
Answer at the bottom of this newsletter |
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🗞️ THIS WEEK IN POP CULTURE |
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🎵 MUSIC |
Happy M$ney day to all who celebrate! We are still soaking in the tracks, but Asake has never disappointed. Mr Money with the Vibes for real! |
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📸 CELEBRITY |
Davido re-entered online conversation after reacting to renewed criticism involving Larissa London on Snapchat, which sparked another round of reposts and timeline breakdowns. Twitter quickly turned it into a full recall of the original story, with people revisiting old posts and arguments all over again. |
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📚 LITERATURE |
If you loved The Parlour Wife, Foluso Agbaje has news for you. She’s back with a new book, The Talk of the Party. On June 30, the book will be available in bookstores nationwide. It’s been teased as a family drama. |
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📽️ FILM |
Five AFRIFF-backed projects are headed to the Marché du film, the official market for the Cannes Film Festival. The five projects are Family Secrets (Nigeria and South Africa) by Robert Peters, Prostitute (Nigeria) by Emil Garuba, Insight (Rwanda) by Hakym Reagan, Achalugo (Nigeria) by Obi Emelonye, and The Boy and His King (Nigeria and South Africa) by Valencia Joshua. |
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↝ MATTERS ARISING |
Insecurity continued to dominate national conversation this week. Three days ago, a whole family was wiped out in Plateau. It sparked renewed attention on incidents across different regions and growing concerns about safety and response systems. |
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MAIN SQUEEZE |
We asked the insiders: 5 music biopics they want to see |
The anticipated Michael movie, a biopic of the decorated artiste Michael Jackson, arrived in cinemas last weekend. The reviews have been divided, but fans are genuinely happy to see the legend’s story given life on screen. |
His biopic got us thinking about the Nigerian music biopics we would like to see. So far, Nollywood has only been able to churn out Ayinla, based on the apala musician. We spoke to music critics and execs to find out which music biopics are worth making. |
Majek Fashek |
I think he was the first Nigerian artiste to get an international deal with Interscope Records, but that’s just information I know on a surface level. |
Growing up, I heard people talk about how he would perform, and it would rain. But I’ve never really been able to lay my hands on any material that properly chronicles his artistry. |
– Funsho Daniel (Chocolate City Music Media Relations and Brand Partnerships Strategist) |
Omah Lay |
Omah Lay has had quite the life. From vandalising pipes and stealing petrol in Port Harcourt to losing his dad. Then blowing up like crazy and out of nowhere during the pandemic, he was held in prison in Uganda. Dealing with mental health issues pretty much his whole career, working with Justin Bieber, and getting his album stolen. It's been a ride! I would like to see that. |
– Deji Osikoya (Music Critic, With an S Pod) |
Ebenezer Obey |
Ebenezer Obey, because he’s one of the first artistes I think of when it comes to real commercial success in Nigerian music, like, he wasn’t just making hits; he was building a whole audience in the ’60s and ’70s, turning juju into something people across classes could connect to and actually buy into. |
– Buyi (Founder, Element Afrika) |
Cobhams |
For Cobhams, I revisited the Ray Charles biopic today and loved it like it was the first time I watched it. It would be amazing to see something similar from a Nigerian lens. Grew up blind but was raised by his family to be fiercely independent and never feel sorry for himself. |
Developed an incredible aptitude for music over the years. Got his big break producing for Maintain, a studio session which he says he essentially did for free because of his excitement to work with the duo. He used his upfront payment to sponsor drinks and snacks for the session. |
Cobhams charged in dollars before most people in the mid-2000s; he helped break Asa amidst a tussle with her old label. He signed a publishing deal that ran him ragged for a bit, but above all else, he defied the odds given him by virtue of his blindness and became one of Nigeria's greatest musicians. |
– Deji Osikoya (Music Critic, With an S Pod) |
Olamide |
He’s a symbol of hope. He comes from a background similar to mine and has the longevity of any artist I have seen in my lifetime. |
– Emaxee (Co-founder, Notesphere) |
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🔪 THE PEEL |
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Do corporations understand free speech? |
Criticism is slowly becoming a criminal offence in Nigeria. That’s a bold statement, right? I know, but why did I say that? |
A couple days ago, a mother came online to review a textbook (English Language Foundation by Ayengbe JB.E.) included in her child’s nursery school curriculum. She read a paragraph that was graphic and too violent for a child. Days later, she alleged the publisher was threatening her. |
This is not the first time a corporation has pushed back on a consumer. In 2023, Chioma Okoli posted a negative review of Erisco tomatoes; she was arrested a week later, and the court proceedings carried on to 2024. |
These may seem like isolated events, but they are becoming a pattern. |
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Peeling it back |
In a functional system, when a consumer (who purchases products with hard-earned money) lays complaints, the companies either respond, clarify, or ignore. |
But in these cases, criticism is treated as an attack, and the critics must face judgement. |
This gap between what should happen and what often does is not limited to formal institutions. It reflects a broader discomfort with criticism. |
How so? |
A week ago, a voice recording of Son of the Soil’s production designer made the rounds on X (formerly Twitter). In the recording, the production designer berated and threatened a film critic for their unfavourable review of the film. |
This kind of behavior also extends to bigger personalities. Take, for instance, Burna Boy, who is known for being unreceptive to criticism and his bullying nature. |
However, individuals reacting defensively is one thing; institutions engaging in this behaviour is another. |
At its core, this is not a fair exchange. On one side is an individual offering an opinion, a review, or a complaint. |
On the other is an institution with legal resources, financial backing, and access to enforcement mechanisms. While both are technically free to speak, only one side can escalate that speech into legal threats, police involvement, or prolonged disputes. |
What begins as simple feedback can quickly become a situation with real consequences, and that imbalance shifts the meaning of free expression from a right in theory to a risk in practice. |
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Another layer |
Within this system, like most things in Nigeria—democracy, healthcare—free speech only exist on paper. It holds no water when criticism leads to jail time. |
At some point, we need to ask ourselves, why are these escalations even possible? |
You and I know the answer: a lack of accountability on the part of the government. |
This pattern persists because systems meant to protect citizens, including law enforcement and regulatory bodies, often enable or fail to challenge these escalations, allowing private disputes to take on legal weight. |
In some cases, state institutions themselves become part of the process, as seen in situations like the Dele Farotimi case, where legal action followed the publication of critical work. By participating, intimidation becomes validated. It says to citizens that their FREE speech must be regulated. |
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The core |
When it comes to our collective reaction to criticism, it is very easy to tag it a Nigerian thing, but it is more of a systemic issue than a character flaw. |
We live in a country where institutions resist scrutiny and power is easily abused, so citizens are not adequately protected. In dystopian countries, free speech is the first thing that goes out the door. |
Thus, the question really isn’t about corporations' cognisance with free speech but more about the system that enables them to ignore it. |
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🎵 PRESSED BY THE JUICE |
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Happy new month. Do you know that May is culturally regarded as Marriage Season? If you don’t, well, now you know. And in honour of that, we are gonna spin our love playlist one more time! It’s a public holiday; press play and slow dance with your lover or loverssss. |
Don’t forget to save, we update frequently. |
Interested in guest curating? Reply to our mail, thejuice@pulse.ng |
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LAST WEEK’S POLL WINNER |
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Frances Okoh Gbajumo |
Once again, Frances answered last week's poll before most of you even opened the newsletter. The question was your favorite fantasy show to watch. This week's is up. Are you fast enough? 👇 |
THIS WEEK’S POLL |
What does choppelganger mean? |
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FRESH STATS |
31.2 M Nigeria's creator economy was valued at $31.2M in 2025. |
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Today’s email was brought to you by Shalom Tewobola and Praise Okeoghene Vandeh. Editing by: Shalom Tewobola. Designs by: Daniel Banjoko |
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