AYENITHEGREAT

Ayeni Adekunle Samuel. a.k.a. wordaholic a.k.a. AyeniTheGreat is a Lagos, Nigeria-based international Showbiz reporter, analyst and publicist. He started writing in 1996-a year after leaving secondary school, featuring on a popular radio show ‘Teenage Affairs’. Two years after, he organised youths awards for excellence in Music, YAFEM, thus finding his way into mainstream music circles, building relationships with myriad artistes, journalists and key showbiz pros - relationships that would later come handy, when, several years later, he discovered he had been infected with the ‘reporting bug’. He has since written a huge collection of poems as well as several published magazine and online articles. Before bagging a B.Sc, he proved his stuff, writing features for Hiphopworld magazine. After that, His four-paged weekly column in Encomium : Notes & Tones, was, for over three years, a must-read for industry buffs, music fans and others keen on keeping up with happenings in Nigeria’s music scene. The controversial but informed and authoritative flavour of his articles( especially in the opinion-laced ’soliloquy’) has highlighted him as the enfant terrible of the re-emerging entertainment industry in his native country, Nigeria. He left Encomium in 2007 and became a resident showbiz columnist for ThisDay on Sunday, Nigeria’s leading weekend paper.He shocked observers and surprised many when he left ThisDay for Punch in July 2008. His debut at THE PUNCH was met with a lot of attention and fanfare- with the widely circulated newspaper using his picture on the cover (see Punch, Friday July 25 edition).E-Punch, his entertainment column in Friday Punch has again reaffirmed his position as the industry’s most respected showbiz writer, reviewer and analyst, building a career and image that far transcends his true person.Though a graduate of Microbiology from the University of Ibadan, the music enthusiast and critic has ended up becoming a prized writer with thousands of bylines to his credit. His articles have often been published in major newspapers and magazines, including The Guardian, Thisday, Encomium, Hip Hop World, The Punch, and several online journalsHe is also the founder of A.Y.E.N.I. Entertainment- a highly sought-after publicist service and news content generation company (with affiliations to 2face Idibia, Kennis music, Korkormikor, Nayo, 9ice, Weird MC, Dare Art-Alade, KISS Events, Smooth Promotions and Grafton Records ).Expectedly, he has served as judge on several music awards committees, especially HipHopWorld Awards, Rhythm Council, AMEN Awards, and The Future Awards.Besides traveling round the world to interview foremost musicians and DJs(He’s interviewed music greats ranging from rap mogul Jay Z to King Sunny Ade,Orlando Julius, Lemar Obika, D’banj,2face Idibia, Orlando Owoh and Pulitzer prize winner Dele Olojede), Ayeni also finds time to read a wide range of literature as well as listen to music from all over the world.Ayeni is working on his First book.Get Your Own! | View Slideshow