Harrysong: “My Mother & Father are Siblings

Harrison Tari Okri, aka Harrysong, is one of the hottest acts right now. This energetic writer, singer and producer shared a major secret with YES INTERNATIONAL!’s GBENGA SHABA about his parents. He also spoke on other issues…

 Let us meet you.

My name is Harrison Tari Okri. I’m from Delta State, an Ijaw man from Warri, but grew up in Port-Harcourt. My stage name is Harrysong. I am the first and the only child of my parents.

 You mean you are an only child?

No. It’s just that after my dad and my mum gave birth to me, they separated and went their different ways. So, my father got married to another woman and also my mother to another man. They separated because I was given birth to by two relations. My father and mother are actually brother and sister. They gave birth to me before they could realize that.

 How did that happen?

I don’t know.

Did you ask them?

I don’t know.

 Did you ever ask them how they met and fell in love?

Well, I learnt that when my mother was alive, she met my father. Then she was still in school and they were in the same class and the same village. But she didn’t know that they are closely related. So, I was born based on what our villagers regarded as abomination and therefore they had to separate.

Angry resident burns kidnappers to death

The Osun State Police Command has warned residents of the state against carrying out jungle justice following the burning to death of three suspected kidnappers in Osogbo on Friday.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the command, Mrs. Folasade Odoro, said this in an interview with our correspondent.

Three suspected kidnappers were set ablaze on Friday in different areas in Osogbo, the state capital.

Odoro said that a suspected kidnapper caught and beaten to a pulp at Alekuwodo area on Thursday eventually died while receiving treatment.

The suspect, who some residents claimed was behaving like a mad man, was allegedly caught with three kids. He was beaten and was about to be set ablaze when some policemen arrived at the scene rescued him.  He was said to have eventually died whilereceiving treatment.

Odoro said, “The suspect was rescued and brought to the police but he gave up the ghost when receiving treatment. The command is warning residents of the state against jungle justice. If anybody is arrested, such should be handed over to the police. Nobody has the right to kill any suspect; it is against the law.”

Some commercial motorcyclists and other youths who caught the suspect claimed that the suspect said that they were 10 kidnappers in Osogbo.

Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud help Arsenal beat Newcastle to tighten grip on fourth place in Premier League

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil celebrates scoring a goal against Newcastle in the 3-0 win (Picture:AFP/Getty Images)

Arsenal moved a step closer to securing Champions League football for a 17th consecutive season with victory at the Emirates Stadium.
The win helped the Gunners open up a four-point gap over top-four rivals Everton, with just two games of the campaign remaining.
The result meant more misery for Newcastle, who slumped to a sixth straight Premier League defeat for the first time since 1987, despite having boss Alan Pardew back on the touchline after his seven-match ban.
The game had offered little by way of action until the unlikely boot of Laurent Koscielny broke the deadlock from a set piece on 26 minutes when the French defender managed to get a toe on the end of Santi Cazorla’s free-kick for his second league goal of the season.
Despite the best efforts of Magpies keeper Tim Krul, the hosts doubled their lead just before the break. The Newcastle stopper twice denied Olivier Giroud before the ball fell kindly for Mesut Ozil, who swept the ball home from close range.

Theo Walcott may miss start of next season through injury

Theo Walcott is out of the World Cup (Picture: Reuters)

Theo Walcott may miss the start of next season as he battles to recover from rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament against Tottenham in January.
The England international was stretchered off during the FA Cup encounter, ruling him out of this summer’s World Cup.
But Walcott has today revealed he may not even be fit for the start of next season, insisting he is in no rush to return to action.
‘It’s nearly been four months now and my recovery has gone on track so far,’ he said.

Steven Gerrard slip mercilessly mocked by internet

Pulling his hair out: Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard (Picture: PA)

It’s no fun being Steven Gerrard this morning…
Less than 24 hours after his slip against Chelsea surrendered Liverpool’s title fate to Manchester City, the internet is awash with meme’s and viral videos that will leave the Reds captain feeling sick to his stomach.
New banana boots, Fergie teasing the Premier League title away with a fishing rod and bogus heat maps are just some of the pictures doing the rounds that mock Gerrard’s heartbreaking moment which allowed Demba Ba to run clean through on goal and score the goal which would give Chelsea the lead they needed to hang on to for a crucial win.

Never mind being out of the race, now Arsenal or Manchester United may be forced to hand over one of their Premier League trophies to Liverpool, Chelsea or Manchester City

What’s the story?
Arsenal, Manchester United or Blackburn Rovers could be forced to lend one of their precious Premier League trophies to Liverpool, Chelsea or Manchester City should the title race go down to the last day, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Why?
The Premier League only has two trophies at its disposal – one in its London headquarters and one with the current champions, United.
Should Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City all still be in contention on May 11, the Premier League will be short one trophy – as they’ll need a replica at each ground to present to the eventual winner – meaning they may have to borrow a replica from a previous title winner who aren’t involved in the race

Tori Amos: the riot grrl fighting for the fairer sex

Tori Amos confronts personal issues such as ageism in her new album (Picture: supplied)

‘I come from a long line of warriors,’ says Tori Amos. ‘My great-great-grandmother was a Cherokee who survived the Trail Of Tears in 1830, when thousands of Native Americans were being ethnically cleansed from the southern states. She was one of the few hundred people who survived in the Smoky Mountains for nine months. These are the gals I respect. Wilma Mankiller, the leader of the Cherokee nation who educated herself from nothing and fought for Native rights – now there’s a woman. What a role model.’
For years, people have got Amos all wrong. Some people think she’s some middle-of-the-road pixie, a real-life Phoebe from Friends, trilling hippy-dippy rhymes about fairy tales and cornflake girls. But, over a quarter of a century and 14 albums, she’s been one of pop’s weirdest and most unpredictable artists. She’s the riot grrrl in concert pianist garb, whose confessional songs tackle rape and religion, feminism and power, art and mythology. Even the sonic background – the florid piano accompaniment, the unorthodox chord changes and symphonic curlicues – has always been seriously weird.
‘I don’t see the piano as a polite, passive instrument,’ she says. ‘You can take what Prince, Jimi Hendrix and Robert Plant were doing and contain that energy on a piano. It’s about maintaining that 220 voltage, of having the chops to be able to contain and focus it on the keys, of using intimacy and power. When I first started, everyone was telling me that the piano had had its time. The label initially rejected my debut album, Little Earthquakes. They said I had to take all the pianos off and replace them with guitars. Screw that. I can be as heavy as any rock guitarist!’