Since its release in May 2010, “Hymns for the Rebel Soul” has received praise and extensive radio play for various tracks on the album. “African Reggae Fever” and “Download the Revolution” were subsequently featured on EA Sports,  “FIFA WORLD CUP” and “FIFA SOCCER 2010” video games which have sold millions worldwide.

The Afro Roots Reggae singer also graced various stages around the world in 2010, including the Vatican sponsored “JOSPFest” in Rome, the 18,000 strong “WE Day” in Canada (broadcast on CTV) with K’Naan and the recent “Freedom Awards” with Jason Mraz in Los Angeles, CA (broadcast on Halogen TV.)   Also nominated in the same category are “Oyo” (Angelique Kidjo,) “The Imagine Project” (Herbie Hancock,) “The Sound of Sunshine” (Michael Franti) and “VOCAbularies” by Bobby McFerrin.

The 42nd NAACP Image Awards will be held on 4th March which will also be telecasted live on FOX TV.  TheNAACP Image Awards has 53 competitive categories in the fields of motion picture, television, recording and literature.  www.naacpimageawards.net/42/nominees-and-honorees/recording/

Please join the NAACP and cast your vote for Ghana’s shining star, Rocky Dawuni for Outstanding World Music Album! http://www.naacpimageawards.net/42/nominees-and-honorees/cast-your-vote/

“Hymns for the Rebel Soul” is currently available on ITunes http://itunes.apple.com/album/hymns-for-the-rebel-soul/id350260482

For more information on Rocky Dawuni please check out www.rockydawuni.com

By the end of the week, Ghana may be Africa’s sole survivor in the competition, with the five others facing tough _ or impossible _ routes out of the group phase.

Africa’s disappointing showing is underlined by the Ghanaians collecting more points (4) from their first two matches than host South Africa (1), Algeria (1), the Ivory Coast (1), Cameroon (0) and Nigeria (0) combined.

Far from gloating, however, such supremacy over their African rivals doesn’t sit comfortably with the Ghana players.

“We are praying for the other African countries because it is very, very important for us Africans to make sure that we go further than in the past,” said Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan, who has two goals in two games. “That is our ambition, not (just for) Ghana, but the whole of Africa.”

The first 11 days of South Africa 2010 have given a jolt to the hopes of Africa’s 1 billion inhabitants.

Four-time African champion Cameroon had been one of the continents great hopes. But the Indomitable Lions _ featuring Inter Milan’s recent Champions League winner Samuel Eto’o _ are already preparing to pack their bags after failing to find their bite in losses to Japan and Denmark.

“It’s a nightmare, I had high expectations for the World Cup,” said defender Aurelien Chedjou after the team discovered it wouldn’t advance here.

South Africa is still clinging on _ barely.

Never in the tournament’s 80-year history has the host team failed to advance out of the opening round, and Bafana Bafana’s elimination would test the Rainbow Nation’s World Cup enthusiasm.

“They might struggle to fill the big stadiums and there will be less passion,” Marcel Desailly, a World Cup winner with France in 1998, wrote in South Africa’s Times newspaper. “But the people in the streets will still be curious.”

An early exit can only be avoided by registering a big win over a France side beset by infighting, while hoping for a winner between Mexico and Uruguay in the other Group A finale on Tuesday.

National leaders have been emphasizing the need to be good hosts and stay engaged with the tournament if Bafana Bafana are eliminated.

“Let us not lose sight of the fact that we have already emerged triumphant by successfully hosting the world’s most prestigious soccer tournament,” said Jackson Mthembu, a spokesman for the ruling African National Congress.

The anger is running far deeper in Nigeria following losses to Argentina and Greece. More than a 1,000 death threats have been made against midfielder Sani Kaita following his ejection against Greece, but Nigeria can still advance by beating South Korea if Argentina defeats Greece.

“I’ve never experienced that before, that you have two losses and yet still have a chance to go through,” Nigeria coach Lars Lagerback said. “Of course that has helped us a lot to keep focused on what we are doing. So now we are really looking forward to the game and we can really show how good the Super Eagles are.”

Algeria was never expected to advance from a group featuring England, the United States and Slovenia. What the team has done is disrupt the three-horse race by holding England to a 0-0 draw on Friday to earn its only point.

The Desert Foxes can still advance by beating Confederation Cup finalist U.S. and hoping Slovenia doesn’t lose to England in Wednesday’s other match.

The Ivory Coast _ packed with players from Europe’s top leagues _ had the misfortune of landing in perhaps the toughest group.

Despite drawing with Portugal, losing 3-1 to Brazil left them in need of a convincing victory over lowly North Korea on Friday and a Brazilian triumph over Portugal.

Midfielder Didier Zokora is feeling the pressure to deliver for his homeland _ and the continent as a whole.

“For us as Africans, it’s extremely important that we give a good image of the continent,” Zokora said. “When Ghana beat Serbia, I was so happy because it’s not only about Cote d’Ivoire, it’s also about the other African countries at the World Cup.”

Ghana, though, is the only one emerging as a force here. Despite only drawing with 10-man Australia on Saturday, a victory over Serbia left the Black Stars just needing to avoid losing to Germany to advance.

The organizers will be pulling for Ghana, the only African to advance in 2006.

“Of course this is an African World Cup, we’d love to see African teams going to the second round,” said local World Cup organizing committee spokesman Rich Mkhondo. “But that’s football.”

Emmanuel Egbogah, who serves as President Umaru Yar’Adua’s oil adviser, said Tuesday the auction will include both land and water leases. The Nigerian government has yet to decide what leases will be offered in the auction, but Egbogah said he expected the nation’s petroleum minister to make an announcement in the coming months.

The lands include those relinquished by the oil companies already working fields in Nigeria, Egbogah said. He expects China will be among those bidding to enter the nation’s oil market. The Chinese have been in negotiations with Nigeria for months and reportedly have offered $50 billion for 6 billion barrels of oil.

Egbogah declined to offer any specifics about the ongoing negotiations.

“I’m sure that if you have a hungry system like China, when the announcement is made, they’ll have an interest,” he said.

The Financial Times first reported news of the auction Tuesday.

If successfully carried out, the oil auction could propel Nigeria back to Africa’s top oil producer. Militant violence and oil thefts have cut Nigeria’s oil production by about 1 million barrels a day, allowing Angola to surge ahead. Still, Nigeria’s oil remains popular in U.S. as it is easier to refine. It is the third largest oil exporter to the U.S., behind Canada and Mexico.

With Nigeria’s position in the U.S. market, attacks, kidnappings and pipeline breaks in the Niger Delta have greatly swayed global oil prices since 2006. Militants there demand that the federal government send more oil-industry funds to Nigeria’s southern region, which remains poor despite five decades of oil production.

A presidential amnesty program brought a calm to the Delta. However, the program appears to have stalled as Yar’Adua has been in Saudi Arabia for more than two months to receive medical treatment for what his doctor described a heart condition.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the largest militant group in the region, announced Saturday it had abandoned the cease-fire agreement. Meanwhile, a Royal Dutch Shell PLC ruptured after the military says thieves tried to steal crude oil from it.

Egbogah dismissed the idea that the Delta remained a dangerous place for foreign oil workers and their companies.

“Some minor incidents can be used to say that the security situation is as bad as it was in the past,” he said. “I think the situation is cooling off.”

Oil workers also complain government approvals for their leases have stalled in Yar’Adua’s absence. While ExxonMobil Corp. already had its Nigerian oil field licenses renewed, Shell and Chevron Corp. still are in negotiations with the government. Shell also has announced its desire to sell off its rights to three oil fields.

It remains unclear what effect Yar’Adua’s absence may have on the proposed auction.