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07Jun
Zimbabwe: Montana Moves Mountains
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 Do not visit Zimbabwe without requesting to meet and why not watch Q. Montana perform. Else, you would hate yourself for having missed not only a soul-searching voice, but a dexterous guitarist whose melodious songs provide warmth to the heart. And if you do have a feel of Montana's music, you would leave Zimbabwe with another African success story on you mind. The Harare-based Afro fusion (inclined to Zimbabwean traditional beats) singer is simple talented.
If talent is what you desire to experience in a young artiste, find it in Q. Montana's Neo Vector, his maiden album released in 2005. Sweet Pain (2007) also reveals the young singer as a thrilling artiste. Upon release of his third album, Untamed last year, Montana became one of Zimbabwe's most-sought-for singers, even by performance poets. At the Harare Internationa Festival of Arts (HIFA) recently, Q. Montana held a poetry café audience spellbound in Batsirai Chimaga's His Song.
But how did all this come about? "I discovered my passion for music at childhood," Montana told TIPTOPSTARS. He went on, "By seven, I was already playing the guitar." He persued his dreams until he saw them come true the day he performed in front of Zambia's independence president Kenneth Kuanda. That was in December 2009. After the show, broadcast live on Zambian television, Kuanda gave the rising Zimbabwean music star a pat on his back. "I felt proud about that,'' said Montana, proudly.
Q. Montana who also does graphic designing nurses ambitions of becoming a renowned international singer. With a "Six piece band", he shall be touring some Southern African countries including South Africa, Botswana and Zambia. He admires his role models. "There are two - Salif Keita of Mali and Oliver Mtukudi of Zimbabwe,"
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02Apr
Vote for Bright Phase!
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 More than ever, Bright Phase needs you votes now! The Cameroonian group who are finalists of the 2008 KORA Awards have smelled victory and would be declared best Arican musicians, if those votes keep coming (text Bright Phase and send to 00248984000 or get to www.koraawards.org).
Bright Phase is among 20 musicians, qualified for the final. Through voting, four contestants are going to be selected for the final . The four will go in for a live stage performance and the one that seduces the jury will automatically crown its author as best African musician.
"That's our target. We're very close to it and are sure to emerge victorious," Sylva Bright, on his way to Burkina Faso where the KORA concert will take place on the night of 4 April told me. Said Sylva during a chat with him in Yaounde. "We've come a long way and are convinced many people love us. That's why we were able to have up to 5000 votes in the last round. All we need is for this same love and confidence to be demonstrated and we are the winners out fans desire."
On it parts, the Cameroonian Ministry of Culture (MINCULT) has encouraged the singers and prayed that they bring back the trophy coverted KORA trophy to Cameroon. MINCULT is sponsoring their flight to the Burkinabe capital, it should be noted.
The winner of KORA Awards 2008 will bag home a prestigious One million US Dolars. The second will have 100.000 US Dollars while the third will be 50 thousand US Dollars richer. The musician that occupies the fourth position will smile with a sum of 25 thousand US Dollars.
It should be noted that KORA is the most prestigious and credible music awards in Africa.
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02Apr
BAAM to bounce with new album
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 All roads will lead to Buea on 17 April 2010. Blessed are those who will be there. For, they shall see the wonders of BAAM. BAAM, the Cameroonian group that recently won hundreds of thousands of hearts, following the great show down on TRACE will be launching its maiden album.
According to the boy and two girls, Arise Africa is already packaged and is ready tfor consumption. "It took us three months to compile Africa Arise," BAAM's Mabel revealed. During this time, Buea's M-One studio was constantly active.
It is the result of sleepless nights spent voicing and turning the buttons that the public of Buea and guests to the launching will be savouring come 17 April at the Alliance Franco Camerounaise (AFC) performance hall. "I feel nervous ahead of the event since it's the first time we are going to be putting an album in the market," Mabel said on the line to Buea. "I keep asking myself how the public is going to react to the album and that makes me panic," she said further. "However, I am convinced Arise Africa is a good packaged."
Songs in the album include, BAAM Prayer, Bounce to This, Arise Africa, Dance to My Culture, Stand Up, Be Strong, Wind Break and Twist and Paddy Man. The theme of struggle is prominent across the songs. "We are simply telling young people to dream and see such dreams come true. Not to be obstructed by detractors," said the BAAM singer.
Featuring at the 17 April launch will be Willy de Paris and Elchic Echondong aka Amumba. Soon after the launch, we were told, BAAM will embark on a six African countrries tour (27 April to 17 July). "Then we shall be ready for any other proposal thereafter," Mabel said.
It should be recalled that BAAM came to the limelight in 2007 when the group won the NESCAFE song competition whose final took place in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Part of the fallouts of the victory was a TRACE-sponsored single, Stand Up that hit the airwaves of the popular Parisian entertainment channel last year, causing the Buea group to attract hundreds of thousands of new fans worldwide.
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02Apr
Mimi GAL is 2010 Varsity Games Mascot
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 For the first time in her budding career, Cameroon's new RnB diva, Mimi GAL is learning how to manage an over-crowded mind and euphoria. Hardly had she settled to join the numerous fans who have been responding following her brilliant show on Canal 2's "Mboa" than a new and bigger challenge has emerged to rely on her. After being crowned the 2010 University Games Star ("Star de Jeux"), the young singer will have to take up the responsibility of entertaining hundreds of thousands that make up the Higher Education community in Cameroon and delegations coming from some African countries. She is therefore expected to give a performance at event's opener later next month.
"Looks like it's a dream, but the night is indeed very long!" Mimi GAL laughed, as she reacted to her crowning recently. "Well, I'm beginning to learn that such things come when you decide to take up music as a career. I'm grateful to God for this and also pray it should be a successful adventure."
Mimi told journalists further, "As the Games Star, I will be exposed and many more people will get to know me and the stuff I'm made up. I'm really humbled and promise to let the organisers of the University Games up."
They were 25 young artistes who set for the race to select the Games Star. After two rounds of vocal test, Mimi GAL emerged winner, alongside two others. While she will be performing at the games, the first runner-up will star in a Radio Campus signature tune. Radio Campus is the University of Yaounde II's radio outfit, which university will be hosting this year's edition of the games. The second runner-up, we are told may be given a cash prize.
Since her crowning, Mimi has been in a Yaounde studio, working on the University Games opener and another song to be used for event. Featuring in this song will be Sidney, pioneer "Africa Star" (continental song competition) laureate and member of the jury to select the Games star.
It should be noted that Mimi GAL has just released her maiden album of eight tracks. She has been criss-crossing Cameroon to respond to radio and television interviews. In the coming days, she will be guest on some shows on the giant national broadcaster, CRTV.
Meantime, sales of her CDs is currently going on. To procure a copy, contact 79 42 76 50 or 99 31 94 93.
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Section Blog 
Never have Cameroonian music fans been as disturbed as was the case before a couple of days ago when song icon, Eriko staged a spectacular come-back. Eriko had almost been crippled following a ghastly car accident near Yaounde in 2008. The severity of the crash kept the singer in a comma for several days and for quite some time dragged him out of activity. It was feared Eriko could pass on until consoling information reached fans he was recovering. Perhaps the most satisfying was news of his return on the music scene. ''It's such a wonderful thing that our star is back on stage, we missed him quite much. Thank God he is back and can dish out more of those beautiful songs of his,'' commented a fan upon Eriko's arrival from Paris where he had been receiving medical attention.
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