Nigerian rapper, Jeremiah Chukwuebuka Ani, popularly known as Jeriq, has said music kept him away from vices and prevented him from going to prison.

In a candid interview with YouTuber The Smallie, Jeriq revealed that he has been arrested multiple times by law enforcement agencies due to vices.

The Enugu-born rapper explained that music distracted him from vices.


“I have been arrested multiple times by law enforcement agencies due to vices. If you look at my hands and legs, you will see scars of handcuffs. Anti-cult, police have all arrested me before.

“Thank God for music. If not for music, I would probably be in prison by now,” he said.

Jeriq also shared the struggles he faced when he initially came to Lagos to push his career forward.

“The first time I came to Lagos, then I wasn’t popping so I didn’t any opportunity to meet artists. If was difficult to collaborate with any artist then because I was still upcoming.

“However, things changed we I came back in 2021 and I was able to do a collaborative EP with Dremo titled ‘East and West’,” he explained.

The rapper added that he is confident that he would gain international recognition rapping in his native language, Igbo.

England defender Marc Guehi has joined Manchester City from Crystal Palace on a five-and-a-half-year contract, the Premier League club announced on Monday.

City stepped up their pursuit of Guehi in a deal reportedly worth £20 million ($27 million) after suffering an acute injury crisis at centre-half and confirmation of the move had been widely expected.

“I am really happy and incredibly proud to be a Manchester City player,” the centre-back said in a statement released by City.

“This move feels like the culmination of all the hard work I have put into my career. I am now at the best club in England and part of an unbelievable squad of players.

“It feels good to be able to say that. I want to grow as a player and a person, and I know at this club that’s going to happen.”

City director of football Hugo Viana said Guehi had been “one of the best defenders in English football for quite some time now”.

“I feel we have signed a huge talent who will help us improve,” he said. “He is only 25, but he has shown already he is a leader, a brilliant professional and someone desperate to improve.”

Guehi, who came close to joining Liverpool on transfer deadline day in September, is City’s second signing of the January transfer window after their capture of winger Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth last week for about £65 million.

The defender captained Palace to FA Cup glory in May against City — the first major trophy in the London club’s history — and has won 26 England caps.

Other clubs reportedly interested in the defender, including Liverpool once again and Bayern Munich were understood to be targeting a move at the end of the season, when Guehi was due to be a free agent.

Palace manager Oliver Glasner said on Friday that he understood the deal was in the final stages.

Pep Guardiola’s City are second in the Premier League, seven points behind leaders Arsenal.

Central defenders John Stones, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol were all missing from Saturday’s 2-0 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford.

AFP

Venus Williams fell at the first hurdle but said she was proud of herself after making history as the oldest woman to ever play at the Australian Open on Sunday.

The American seven-time Grand Slam champion, 45, was handed a wildcard for Melbourne, five years after she last appeared at the major.

It attracted some criticism amid concerns that it deprived a younger player of the opportunity, which was compounded by Williams losing first-round matches at both her warm-up tournaments.

The ageless veteran showed she still has what it takes in patches, pushing 24-year-old Serbian Olga Danilovic all the way before losing the last six games to crash out 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4 in a gruelling two hours and 17 minutes.

“It was such a great game, such a great moment. The energy from the crowd was amazing. That lifted me up so much,” Williams said.

“She played a great game. Also, some luck there, as well. That’s just the sport. That’s how it works sometimes.

“I’m really proud of my effort today because I’m playing better with each match, getting to the places that I want to get to,” she added.

“Right now, I’m just going to have to keep going forward and working on myself and working to control my errors,” she added.

After getting a standing ovation, the former world number one, now ranked 578, made a promising start, breaking the 69th-ranked Danilovic’s first service game.

But the Serb quickly struck back with a lucky net cord, helping her level the set.

Williams sent down powerful serves and showed no issues moving around the court as the set moved to a tiebreak, where she fell 2-0 behind but rallied to clinch it with a clinical forehand winner.

Danilovic managed to get an early break in the second set, and Williams had no answers, sending it to a decider, where the American raced 4-0 clear.

But she lost focus, allowing Danilovic to battle back to 4-4 before a huge 14-and-a-half-minute ninth game that proved pivotal.

Williams had six game points, but failed to convert, and the Serb took the game on her second break point before serving out for the win.

“Not easy,” said Danilovic. “There was a lot of nerves. I just said to myself, ‘Okay, just play, just take everything out, and just play point by point’.

“I’m very happy I managed to get this one, but it was such a pleasure playing such a legend.”

Williams, who first graced Melbourne Park in 1998, has played only sporadically in recent years.

A five-time Wimbledon champion, she was an Australian Open singles finalist in 2003 and 2017 and won the doubles title four times alongside sister Serena.

Japan’s Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she lost in the first round in 2015, previously held the record as the oldest woman to play singles at the Australian Open.