Tic Tac keeps it real

Tic Tac is arguably one of the most famous Ghanaian artists and a pioneer of the Hip-Life movement, which opened doors for the current crop of artists we have today.

Although he has released a few singles recently, it has been long since he came out in full force. This is partly because of the new business ventures he is undertaking, and his behind-the-scenes work with MUSIGA. I tracked him down to find out more.

What have you been up to recently?

Tic: I’ve been doing my own thing. I wouldn’t say hibernating, but rather looking at the other side of things. I’ve been around, keeping busy in different ways.

You haven’t been necessarily active on the scene. How does it feel to sit back and observe?

Tic: Well it’s not bad, but I wouldn’t say I’m totally inactive. I still record and make music. I’ve been doing this for a very long time. It’s great to see how the industry has developed thanks to the work we put in years ago. As an artist grows, it gets to a time when you need to stabilise yourself. You get to the point when you need to concentrate on having a family and settling down. You need to start looking beyond the music, and see how to survive the future. It’s a bit confusing for some fans in this country when artists slow their roll a bit and concentrate on other things apart from music. At my age, and the pace at which things are moving, there are certain choices I have to make. I need to take it to the next level. I am doing that with careful planning, setting priorities and preparing my next wave of attack.

Iraq Chaldean Catholic leader says Islamic State worse than Genghis Khan

Iraqi Christians fleeing the violence in the Iraqi city of Mosul, pray at the Mar Afram church at the town of Qaraqush in the province of Nineveh, July 19, 2014

he head of Iraq’s largest church said on Sunday that Islamic State militants who drove Christians out of Mosul were worse than Mongol leader Genghis Khan and his grandson Hulagu who ransacked medieval Baghdad.

Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako led a wave of condemnation for the Sunni Islamists who demanded Christians either convert, submit to their radical rule and pay a religious levy or face death by the sword.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis decried what he said was the persecution of Christians in the birthplace of their faith, while U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the Islamic State’s actions could constitute a crime against humanity.

U.S. rapper Nas has London crowd spellbound with 'Illmatic'

       Rapper Nas performs after the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival opening night screening of 'Time Is Illmatic' in New York

Many in the crowd at the Lovebox Festival in London this weekend were not yet born when U.S. rapper Nas released his groundbreaking “Illmatic” two decades ago, but they seemed to know all the lines anyway.

The New York-born hip hop star took to the main stage as the sun began setting on Saturday in East London's Victoria Park, giving the performance as one of a series to celebrate the anniversary of his debut record, widely considered one of the greatest rap albums of all time.

"I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death ... I think of crime when I'm in a New York state of mind," Nas rapped to the crowd through an unusually hot and humid London air.

Norway, survivors still bear scars of Breivik shootings

 Laila Gustavsen, a former lawmaker whose daughter Marte Oedegaarden was a survivor of the July 22, 2011 Utoeya island massacre, poses for a photo at her home in Kongsberg

Laila Gustavsen sometimes wonders whether meeting Anders Behring Breivik face-to-face would help her to understand.

"I would ask him: 'What made you (do it)?'," she said of the man who shot her daughter twice in the back on July 22, 2011.

"Because at every opportunity he has explained ... the political reasons why he did what he did. What he has not talked about is what made him hold these opinions. Where did it go wrong?"

Then she thinks of all the reasons why it would not be worth it to try.

Actor James Garner of 'The Rockford Files' dead at 86

Actor James Garner, best known for his prime-time television roles as the wisecracking frontier gambler on "“Maverick" and as an ex-con turned private eye on "“The Rockford Files," has died at age 86, Los Angeles police confirmed early on Sunday.

Garner, who built a six-decade career playing ruggedly charming, good-natured anti-heroes and received the highest honor of the Screen Actors Guild in 2004, was found dead from natural causes on Saturday night at his Los Angeles home, according to police.

There were no further details immediately available on the circumstances of his death. Garner underwent surgery for a stroke in 2008, two years after appearing in his last big-screen role as a wealthy grandfather for a film adaptation of the best-selling book "The Ultimate Gift".