Category Archives: Music

American Built, LIBERIAN STRONG!

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 On a fateful Saturday when the Super Eagles were preparing to demolish the Black Stars. I was hopeful the Super Eagles would win the game until I saw the mad skills on the Ghanaian team.

Rufus Afropong stood out on the field. Rufus played for the Ghanaian team.

Let me officially introduce you to this star. Rufus is a semi-pro soccer player from Liberia. His father is from Ghana. For those who do not know Liberia was founded by freed black slaves who returned from America. Liberia, unlike other West African countries, has its own unique history.

I pray his story you will inspire you to chase your dreams.

9jagirl4real: Hello Rufus, thank you for taking out time from your business schedule to do this interview. I really appreciate this.

Rufus: You’re welcome.

Liberian Strong

9jagirl4real: Who is Rufus?

Rufus: I was born in Liberia. I went High School in Liberia. During the (civil) war, we moved to Sierra Leone and came back to Liberia after the war. Finished my high school in Liberia. Attended a University in Liberia. My parents decided to send me to the States for college. Got accepted to a school in West Virginia. Left this university because the school lost their accreditation. The coach in West Virginia introduced me to a coach in South Carolina.  Played soccer for this school for 4 years and graduated.

9jagirl4real: When did your love for soccer start?

Rufus: I started from a young age. My mother loves soccer. She bought me a soccer ball. Soccer got serious when I graduated from High School. I made the club team (premiere) in Liberia. My mother was the main force behind everything. My father wanted me to be more focused on school. He didn’t change his mind until when the school wrote him and told him how me playing soccer was bringing more students to the school.  My father called me and told me to also focus on soccer.

(Laughs)..

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9jagirl4real: Are you pleased with this sport that you chose?

Rufus: My mother wanted me to try a different sport at a young age because of my height. I tried basketball. I was told by the basketball coach then to stick to soccer. Soccer is hard and different. Your footwork must be good. You need to have endurance. You also need to be fit.

9jagirl4real: In Liberia, you call it “soccer” or “football”?

Rufus: Football

9jagirl4real: What is the major language in Liberia?

Rufus: We speak English but different dialects of English.

9jagirl4real: What is the political and economic climate right now in Liberia?

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Rufus: People are still recovering from the war ( two civil wars).

9jagirl4real: What is the difference between the Liberian culture and American culture?

Rufus: The people in American are more independent while Liberia is more like family. American culture people don’t know themselves.

9jagirl4real: Does playing Fifa help you in the decision making when you play sport in real life?

Rufus: Yes, it helps you a little bit but not much. I don’t really play Fifa like that.

9jagirl4real: What do you want your legacy to be?

Rufus: I don’t want to leave a bad image for the kids.  Kids are my focus. I am trying to help the kids in Liberia.  I am supplying soccer game materials to keep their soccer dreams alive.

9jagirl4real: What does your faith mean to you as an athlete?

Rufus: It helps me to depend on God. I have seen God move in my life. Coming to the States and my college (ICU). I try to focus on God for everything. Every good thing that comes to me, I believe God did it.  Whether good or bad, God knows the reason.

9jagirl4real: Tell me about workout schedule?

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Rufus: I work out every day from Monday-Friday. 30min Cardio. Lifting weight. When I came to the States, I was skinny. I gained muscles when I came to the States. I made up my mind to go to the gym no matter how I feel.

9jagirl4real: What advice would you give your 16-year-old self?

Rufus: Be focused. Believe in yourself. Don’t listen to other people. Work towards your goals. Things will fall into place with time. Have Patience! Pay attention. At the right time, things will happen.
9jagirl4real: Ritual before a game?

Rufus: Listen to music. Sometimes gospel music, or R&B. I watch a movie. Do other things to distract me from the game.

9jagirl4real: What Keeps you up at night?

Rufus: Passion! I want to do things to make a difference in people’s lives.
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Huge thanks again to Rufus.

Go team Rufus!!

Keep Soaring.

Forever the Best Father’s Day Gift

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Father's Day 2017Father’s day is coming up!! My amazing  father will be here for father’s day.
The best gift a woman can give her children is to pick a good man for her future children. I think it is not wise to be having unprotected sex with any man you wouldn’t be proud to give your children as a father.

Please avoid these types of guys when you want children:

1. A guy who is currently not taking care of his children from previous relationships
2. A guy who has no financial capital to provide for your child
3. A guy has a crazy baby’s mama he cannot control.
4. A male who is obviously sleeping around with every female he comes in contact with.
5. A guy who doesn’t want kids.
6. A guy who is not prepared to have a baby.
7. A guy who has a reckless lifestyle with no clear plans of where he is going with his life.
8. A guy who is not responsible for himself. He has no control over his finances. His mother or father pays for this upkeep.
9. He doesn’t have any long-term goals that include you. If you want to get married before kids. He has no goals of marrying you.
10. The guy who you know obviously doesn’t like you. If you like him and think you can convert him to like you after a child, think again!! If you like him and he doesn’t like you, you are only hurting yourself having a baby with him.

Think about the type of father you want to give your children. Give your children a man they can be proud of. Give them a father who will do them right all the days of their life. Give them a man who will fight for them.

The best gift you can give your future children is to pick a good man to be their father!!

To all great fathers out there.. God bless You for all you do!

With love,

9jagirl4real

Photo Credit: Google

Marrying a Nigerian Man

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Hey Everyone,
This is my second vlog on 9jagirl4real.
This is something new I am starting on this blog!!
Please click  to watch the video.

Thanks for watching.
Please post or email me your comments.
God bless!!!

My Royal Nigerian Wedding..

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RM 4Our invitation read “the parents …… and ….. request your presence at the joining of their children, Dr. Femi and Dr. Bola in holy matrimony.” Our wedding was the talk of town. Our wedding announcements were all over the news, blogs, and Nigerian websites. The single ladies envied me and gossiped about me in their domestic corners. Our guests were invited from all over the world. Our traditional wedding (cultural West-African) took place in a sophisticated island for the elites in Lagos, Nigeria. All six of my wedding planners were on stand-by making sure I was pleased on my dream day. Assorted wines were imported from France; even the goats killed for the occasion got a respectful death.

My husband is a US-trained brain surgeon. He is brilliantly sought after by the best of the best. He is naturally quiet in nature, but the grandeur of this day blew him away. Our guests were all given a uniform attire to grace our day in style. It was very amusing seeing our white friends in our traditional African attire. Our photographers, bloggers, and videographers were all imported from aboard. Presidents, Princes, and Princesses from different African countries honored our invitation. The best chefs and cooks served our eloquent dishes and Nigerian delicacies.

This is the wedding of my dream and I am not happy. The man I wanted was in his house drowning in his tears. I can’t stand the mere sight of him crying. I pleaded with him to understand. He cried, “What should I understand? Bola, I have dated you for six years and you are about to marry somebody else!! Why is this happening to me? I did not touch you from the very beginning because I wanted to marry..” (sobbing). We both cried and held each other. In my tears, I saw myself holding the man of my dreams while wearing another man’s engagement ring. My life became complicated.

Suku is a self-made millionaire with no college degree. My parents told me that they don’t want to associate themselves with an illiterate. I told them, he is not an illiterate, he is a millionaire. My father told me, “I am not interested in illiterate money.” For three years I pleaded with my parents to allow me to marry the man I loved, they refused. One precious day my mother blatantly scorned me about Suku saying she didn’t marry an illiterate and that only over her dead body would she allow me marry my love.

All Suku and I know to do these days is to hold each other and cry. He finally told me that he loved me so much that he will allow me to honor my parent’s wishes. I begged him not to give up on our love, he said, he wasn’t but he couldn’t watch me wait forever for an answer that will never come. We both cried for weeks when I told him that my parents agreed to Dr. Femi’s proposal to me. Dr. Femi is a great man with wonderful attributes; I already gave my heart to someone else. That guy my parents call an “illiterate” is the man of my dreams. He doesn’t have a college degree; he worked hard for every cent of his money. He built a multi-million naira business from scratch as an orphan.

This part is for my Nigerian ladies, who like me, are manipulated by their Nigerian parents to marry people they don’t want to marry. Don’t allow your Nigerian parents make the most important life decision for you. After the guests leave, the music stops, you take off your wedding dress, and marriage begins!! Life is too short to live with regrets. Make your own decisions, and take responsibility for the negative outcomes of your decisions. Your parents will one day die and leave you with your husband and you will have to figure it out. Don’t marry for status or to please anyone. I am not saying don’t listen to your parents, I am saying make your own decision and don’t let your parents make it for you. Marriage is a lifelong commitment.

Take your time and choose accordingly!!!

My marriage with Dr. Femi didn’t last.  The size of the love matters more than the size of the wedding. Money CAN’T buy happiness. Status CAN’T buy happiness.

I am back in the arms of the man of my dreams. I choose love. I choose Suku!

Respectfully yours,

Bola.

Edited by: Kelli Busbee

Please share this post to all your single Nigerian lady friends and like us on facebook!

God bless the Broken Road..

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God bless the Broken Road..

Recently, I find myself asking God “why?”
We serve an amazing God that even when negative things happen in our lives; he uses it for a greater good.

So when negative things happen in my life, I tell God “thank you for the broken road,” it’s through the broken road that I really understand God’s sovereignty.
The broken road tells me about myself and pulls me closer to God.
The broken road allows me to trust God’s plan and purpose for my life.
The broken road gives me a testimony to encourage others.

As Christians we are not immune to struggles, pain, tears and problems.
However, he promised he will never leave us nor forsake us.
I don’t complain about the broken road because it is part of the journey.
The broken road allows me to use my pain to help others.

Thank God for the broken Road!!!!

What does the broken road mean to you?

The Hottest Song right now in Nigeria: Godwin By Korede Bello Music Review

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This song is HOT!!!
I can’t stop listening to this song.

It gives Glory to God for every good thing that happens.

The only negative that I could say about this song is that it only recognizes the positive things that happen to us.

We are commanded to give thanks in everything..

Everything: good, bad, ugly, beautiful. God deserves the praise in everything because it could have been worse.

With all the craziness going on in Nigeria, it is refreshing to hear a #No nyash song giving Glory to God.
This is the type of song Nigerian artists need to be producing, songs that elevate people’s spirit by giving them a reason to smile in spite of the problems in their lives.
Godwin is the front runner in our 2015 Nigerian Music challenge.

In the Good, bad…#Godwins

When Jesus Say Yes?-Nigerian vs. American…

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The Nigerian Version of when Jesus Say Yes..

I remember growing up to hear this song in Nigeria. This song is part of my childhood memories.

The American Cover of When Jesus Yes by Michelle Williams..

I am very proud of Michelle Williams for Americanizing this song.
I have to be honest; the American version of this song took me off guard.
She made an old Nigerian gospel song sound very modern with a little spice of her flavor.
I also want the original artists of this song to get the credit as well.
We are starting to bridge the cultural gap between Americans and Africans.
Very nice..

2015 Life Quote 1

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“A man will love a woman who respects him; a woman will respect a man who loves her.”-Unknown

Love her and she will give you the world.
Respect him and he will fight the world for you.

Love is PRICELESS!!!

2015 Music Challenge for Popular Nigerian Artists: Say No to Nyash Music..

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bankyMusic Challenge 1: Make a song that has nothing to do with a woman’s behind and breasts. We have enough songs about our women body part. I think we can all agree that our women are blessed.

Music Challenge 2: Make a song about our corrupt political system that is putting our country behind. It makes no sense to be singing about sex, butts, breast when our people are suffering. Your afro-beats are contagious. It is time to  use your talent to cause a change reaction in our country.

Music Challenge 3: Make a song in a village setting different from your ethnic group. Nigeria has many different cultures that is not yet represented in our music. Learn the culture and showcase their culture in your next music video.

Music Challenge 4: Collaborate with other artists to make a song that unites us. A song for peace and not war, we are currently fighting the war against Boko Haram. Show some support for the children who were kidnapped.

Music Challenge 5: Make a song that is completely different from what your fans are used to. You need to reinvent yourself to stay relevant. Afro-artists can’t be placed in a box. Fans want to hear song different from the norm.

Music Challenge 6: Showcase some young people in your videos who are doing great things in their academics or community. Let your songs send a positive message to society.

Music Challenge 7: After you have made all the money. Please think about the people. Think about your country.

For the Love of Nigeria.. NO MORE BOOTY SONGS. Say No to Nyash Music in 2015…