AVRIL & MARYA GO TOPLESS FOR CANCER

The bold and beautiful Ogopalets took their tops off infrontof a camera for the cancer awareness campaign. The two stars, Avril and Marya got a breast cancer medical exam on camera! This cause  isvery personal to Marya who lost her biological mother and grandmother to thedisease.

The two teamed up with Link 254, The Pink Project and AARWilliamson to raise awareness amongst young women about the silent killer thatis cancer.

WIZ KID AND BANKY W IN KENYA FOR SHUGA SHOOT

Joining the star studded cast of the second season of MTV Shuga are Nigerian music stars Banky W and Wiz Kid. The two are curently on set of MTV Shuga in Nairobi.
Shuga series two, subtitled Love, Sex, Money, series will be expanded from three to six episodes and develop the complex emotional storylines first explored in Shuga. Their roles are yet to be revealed but they join a Kenyan cast of singer Avril (Miss B'Have) Nick Ndeda (Angelo), Nancy Wanjiku (Baby), Brenda Wairimu (Dala), Edward Nyanaro (Rayban) and Ikubese Emmanuel - a.k.a. 9con - (Femi).



Also returning for the second series of Shuga are Sharon Olago (Violet), David Omwange (Skola), Nick Mutuma (Leo) and Antony Mwangi (Kennedy) and Valeri Kimani (Sindi).
The first series of Shuga was filmed in Kenya in August-September 2009. Starring a young cast of upcoming Kenyan actors and actresses, Shuga told a bitter-sweet tale of love, loss, sex, heartbreak and relationships, set in the clubs, bars, campuses and hangouts of contemporary Nairobi.
The six-part series will be premiered on Valentine’s Day 2012 (14 February).

JULIANI RALLIES CELEBRITY WAITERS FOR CHARITY

After the successful Kenyans for Kenya initiative drive that saw corporates and Kenyans from all walks of life come together to raise funds for our needy Kenyans from the north, Juliani adds to the kitty by rallying support from other celebrities through the Kama Si Sisi ‘Celebrities for Kenya’ Challenge to raise more funds for the initiative.

Valerie Kimani

Last month, hiphop artistes, singers, TV news personalities joined Juliani, through his Kama Si Sisi ‘Celebrities for Kenya’ Challenge at the famous Ranalo Foods (K'Osewe) restaurant located along Kimathi street for a noble cause by serving as waiters. On the day, they raised funds that went into feeding the hunger stricken Kenyans in Turkana.



Benefiting the Kenyans for Kenya Initiative, the likes of Safaricom’s CEO Bob Collymore, Nonini, Nameless, Avril, Eric Omondi, Jeff Koinange, BMF, John Allan Namu, Pierra Makena among other celebrities took orders from the customers and in the same breath distributed informative fliers urging them to contribute to the cause by tipping their services.

Pierra Makena

“As an extension of our contribution as musicians through the Kilio song that was used to drive the fundraising campaign, we would like to rally other artists and celebrities to contribute further by raising funds through this one day initiative” Juliani said.
Kama Si Sisi ‘Celebrities for Kenya’ was part of Juliani’s wider campaign Kama Si Sisi that uses various platforms to sensitize Kenyans on the need of taking care of yourself by taking care of others.
Here are some of the photos from the day....

Wahu

Jeff Koinange

BMF

One FM's Marcus Olang







Jimmy Gait and Avril


Nameless





Julianai and Jimnah Mbaru


Nonini and Avril

AVRIL BAGS ROLE AS MISS B’HAVE IN SHUGA II

Ogopa DJ artiste Avril has bagged a role in the second MTV drama series, Shuga that starts filming this week in Nairobi.
Avril who will play the role of a character called Miss B’have will be joined by other Kenyan personalities like Nick Ndeda (Angelo), Nancy Wanjiku (Baby), Brenda Wairimu (Dala), Edward Nyanaro (Rayban) and Ikubese Emmanuel - a.k.a. 9con - (Femi).
Meanwhile, Lupita Nyong’o, who played the pivotal character of Ayira in Shuga, returns on the other side of the camera as co-director alongside South African veteran Teboho Mahlatsi.
Commented Lupita, “Shuga was such a groundbreaking series and I am so thrilled to be working on the project again! This time I’ll really have my hands full as I will be both in front of and behind the camera but I can’t wait to be involved in the sequel to this incredible story.”
Also returning for the second series of Shuga are Sharon Olago (Violet), David Omwange (Skola), Nick Mutuma (Leo), Antony Mwangi (Kennedy) and Valerie Kimani (Sindi).
Other actors chosen at the public casting a few weeks ago are Christopher Otieno and Wairugi Mutero. Wairugi will be playing the role of Njoki (a party girl who loves to live in the moment) while Christopher will be cast as Slim, a small-time gangster.
Shuga: Love, Sex, Money is sponsored by MTV Base, The Staying Alive Foundation, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and The Partnership for an HIV-Free Generation (HFG).

AVRIL: CHAT'S FEMALE ARTISTE OF THE YEAR

It has been a tough 2010 for Avril after the semi-nude photos leaked onto the net. But her musical success was validated on Saturday when she scooped the Teeniez Female Artistes of the Year award at the Chaguo la Teeniez awards.
Her disbelief and gratitude at winning an award, a coveted award and tittle that was considered a preserve of the veteran female acts in Kenya, was expressed on stage.
If you missed that, have a look see.









PHOTOS/MICHAEL KHATELI

WHEN THE HAPPINESS AMBASADORS WERE IN TOWN

The Coca-Cola Expedition 206 Ambassadors were in the country with an aim of finding out what makes Kenyans happy. The two travelers Tony Martin and Kelly Ferris are on a world tour to visit all 206 countries where Coca-Cola is sold in just 365 days. The trip that began in Madrid Spain home to Coca-Cola Happiness Institute has seen the duo visit 173 countries in 310 days so far.
Along with finding out what makes people happy the ambassadors were out to collect a 300ml Coca-Cola bottle in each country, designed by artists to depict what the believe to be happiness in their country and culture. The winning bottle is to be archived in the Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta Georgia.
The winning bottle was unveiled at a cocktail at the InterContinental Hotel. Announcing the winner, was TV personality Janet Kanini who challenged other companies in the country to sponsor such initiatives in a move aimed at recognizing and awarding the underlying talent in the youth. The winner Mary Wangari (Restaurant owner and Art Student) walked away with KSH 30,000.



Her bottle she explained depicts how diverse the Kenyan culture is having combined various artifacts from the many tribes that the country has.
Speaking at the cocktail function to welcome the Open Happiness Ambassadors and unveil the winning Happiness Bottle, Coca-Cola Brand Manager Maureen Sika said that “After 310 days and over 200,000 miles, the Ambassadors have finally landed in Kenya and we hope that they find a lot of happiness and take with them happy memories,” said Sika.



Some of these happy memories will include their trip to the Carnivore Restaurant where they sampled exotic game meat on Saturday evening, before visiting the Nairobi National Park on Sunday morning to see what their previous meal looked like alive.
The ambassadors also got a taste of the wild and wonderful Kenyan nightlife at the Carnivore Grounds during Sepetuka Trilogy, which saw the ambassadors mingle with several young, energetic Kenyans and witness but a few of the things that make Kenyans truly happy. Tony Martin, one of the ambassadors had this to say about his experience “It’s so amazing to see the spirit that people have here, there are so many people and yet everyone is having a good time, its very different back home”.



The ambassadors were taken on a 50 minute scenic drive to the famous Olepolos, which sits on the top of the Ngong Hills. Upon arrival the arrival the ambassadors met with several Kenyan celebrities and entertainers including Avril and Marya of the Ogopa stable, as well as DJ Collo and Eric Mutabari of Jomino Entertainment. It was a fun afternoon in the sun, where both celebrities and the ambassadors got a chance to relax, take in the view and enjoy the sumptuous nyama choma and ugali.

SO, THE SEMI NUDE PIX, WERE THEY FOR A UNI CLASS PROJECT?

On Wednesday night, the social network Facebook was abuzz when someone posted semi nude photos of singer Avril in intimate poses with an unidentified woman.
Apparently, the photos were taken as part of the photography unit in architectural design and development course where students are required to come up with their own presentations of what they consider to be “fetish photos.”



An Architecture Design and Development graduate musician Dan “Chizi” Aceda explained that students were expected to come up with their own ideas for presentation. “I really doubt a lecturer would have suggested such an idea. The assignments are given but it is upto the individual student to come up with their own interpretation. There are no set limits but they must have stretched their interpretation beyond what is required by the course,” he said. The photography unit is also an elective unit for Third Year students.



A friend of the man who took the photos but who did not want to be identified denied he was the source of the leak. “It was school stuff with her classmates at university. The photos were posed in a studio in Rongai. The guy didn’t leak them because there are other pictures which could have got more hype, if it was malice intended.”
At Thursday evening the Mama hitmaker, Avril was in a closed door meeting with Ogopa DJ recording chiefs. She promised to comment on the matter after the meeting.
The singer was recently nominated for the just concluded Channel O Awards.