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Rufaro Samanga
Jun. 14, 2019 10:07AM EST
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The Toronto Raptors' NBA Win Was a Two-Fold Historic Moment for Masai Ujiri

Not only was it the team's first ever championship win, the Nigerian-Kenyan General Manager is the first African to lead a basketball team to NBA championship victory.

Last night, the Toronto Raptors went in hard and emerged victorious over the Golden State Warriors with a score of 4-2 in the best of seven NBA Finals. Now, while everybody is talking about how the team finally managed to get rid of Drake's dreaded courtside "curse", the Raptors' taking home the championship (historic in itself) is also a historic moment for the Canadian team's General Manager, Masai Ujiri.

The Nigerian-Kenyan former basketball player, named the 2012-2013 NBA Executive of the Year, is now the first African General Manager to ever take home an NBA championship.

Ujiri is smiling from ear-to-ear after his team dethroned the Golden State Warriors to become the NBA champions. If that weren't enough, Ujiri has been approached by the Washington Wizards who want him as their President of Basketball Operations according to the Bleacher Report. "

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, he reported that:

"Wizards owner Ted Leonsis is expected to reach out to Toronto ownership soon to request formal permission to meet with Ujiri and offer a staggering financial package that would include running the Wizards' basketball operations and, perhaps, taking on a larger leadership role in the Monumental Sports and Entertainment company that oversees the Wizards and NHL's Capitals."

It's no surprise that the Wizards would do pretty much anything at this point to get Ujiri in their camp. The team hasn't won an NBA championship since the 1977/1978 season. They'll certainly need all the help they can get and if anyone can expertly take on that mammoth task, it's definitely Ujiri.

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Skales Enlists Falz and Harmonize for New Track 'Oliver Twist II Remix'

PREMIERE: Skales drops a standout remix of his single 'Oliver Twist,' featuring production from legendary producer Teddy Riley.

Nigerian artist Skales shares a massive new remix of his single "Oliver Twist," featuring Nigerian rapper Falz and Tanzanian singer Harmonize.

The track notably features co-production from legendary R&B and hip hop producer Teddy Riley. "I had been in talks with Teddy Riley since my last trip to London," Skales tells OkayAfrica about how the collaboration with the veteran producer came to be. "We've been sharing ideas about music. So when I made Oliver Twist with the original producer, TMXO, I sent it to him to give it a listen. He did and decided to add his Midas touch to it too."

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Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Trump Plans to Extend Travel Ban to Nigeria, Tanzania, Sudan, Eritrea & Three Other Countries

Here's what the travel ban could mean for these nations.

On Tuesday it was announced that Donald Trump's administration plans to extend its infamous travel ban to include seven new countries, many of them in Africa.

The countries named on the list, include Nigeria, Tanzania, Sudan and Eritrea, as well as Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, and the Eastern European nation of Belarus. Politico first broke the news.

According to The Washington Post, the move would likely not be a complete ban on citizens looking to enter the US, however it could place various visa restrictions on some government officials and on those seeking certain type of visitor and business visas.

Some nations could also be banned from participation in the diversity travel lottery program, which grants green cards. Trump has threatened to sack the program in the past.

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Watch the Hazy Music Video for Burna Boy's 'Secret' Featuring Jeremih and Serani

Burna Boy drops a new music video for a fan favorite from his Grammy-nominated album 'African Giant.'

Grammy-nominated Burna Boy shares the music for the latest single "Secret," a fan favorite from his seminal album African Giant.

The track, which features American singer Jeremih and Jamaican dancehall artist Serani, is arguably one of the album's most fun and memorable tracks. The song gets a hazy music video starring the three artists in various dimly-lit, monochromatic settings. The video was directed by David Camarena.

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Listen to J Hus' New Album 'Big Conspiracy'

The artist's highly-anticipated sophomore album features Burna Boy, Koffee and more.

J Hus is back. The heavyweight British-Gambian artist returns with his highly-anticipated sophomore album Big Conspiracy.

The 13-track album features the likes of Burna Boy, who joins the artist on the upbeat track "Play Play," as well as buzzing Jamaican artist Koffee who appears on the track "Repeat," one of the album's clear standouts.

It also features a new artist by the name of iceè tgm on three tracks. Some fans have speculated that the mysterious artist is J Hus' sister. The album includes the previously released single 'Must Be,' which he dropped in November of last year.

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