Music - E.L - The B.A.R. 2 Mixtape

The word "mixtape is an anachronism. Today's themed compilation offerings are more of a digital download in a zipped bundle containing artwork and individual tracks; or a stream of tracks on Audio Mack, Bandcamp or Soundcloud.

This is not E.L's first effort at "dropping a mixtape". Even this iteration is a part two. His team was ingenious enough to actually print up CD with a sleeve, just to keep the "mixtape" feel.

When you truly think about it, this innovative genius of an artist has given away an excellent body of work for free! Not even a suggested donation was solicited by his label BBnZ. Don't take this gift lightly. Do E.L a favor by spreading the word about this body of work. Support him when he embarks on a showcase or concert in a city near you. Now, let's take a listen to "The B.A.R. 2 mixtape via his official Soundcloud page.

E.l is the star of this "mix stream". He's got this!. His versatility defines him as a true artists. Azonto? Hiplife? Yeah, forget what you heard. He straight up commands Rap/hip Hop effortlessly. He bodies the beat with contemporary lyrics, cadence and delivery.

Who joins hip on this mastery? Well there's his immediate crew members like C-Real, Lil Shaker and Gemini. But others like Ko-Jo Cue, DJ Juls, Reggie Rockstone, Dex Kwasi, Jayso, Joey B, Pappy Kojo, Recognize Ali, KiddBlack and Blackaway join in on the organized fray. DJ Juls, Kluvie, Slimbo and others as well as E.L craft the beats. The message is clear: Accra, Ghana's a viable, bankable rap scene that can hold on any terrestrial radio, TV station in any continent on the Earth.

The kicker track is called "Unity". diiiii! Talk about a "posse cut". This is the ultimate coming from Ghana. No special message, no benefits cause. Just straight braggadocio rap. Just how we used to like it. UNITY features Dex Kwasi, Lil Shaker, Medal, D-Black, Mornin Tee, Gemini, X.O Senavoe, Ko-Jo Cue, Lyrical Wanzam, Stargo, Akatus, Chimney Crane, Cabum, Looney, Slimbo, C-Real, Bebelino, Kay Swag, Dee Money, Pappy Kojo & Joey B. Too many choices to say who's the best. It's not a competition it's unity.

My standout tracks?

"The Ten Rap Commandments"

"Inside Out"

"16 Bars"

"Best Shape"

"Unity"

"King Without A Crown"

Spread the word!

SXSW Panel Picker 2016 - Vote for Africa + Mixerpot

Good news!

SXSW (South By SouthWest) is back again! 2016 here we come! Let the social campaign begin for Rab/Mixerpot

My panel has been accepted into the first phase for the Music part of SXSW 2016! I need your assistance to turn up the heat!

Register & Vote for this SXSW 2016 PanelPicker Here: http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/vote/56963

DEADLINE to cast vote: FRIDAY night 04 SEPTEMBER 2015

We need you to cast your "green thumbs up” vote and leave a comment. You MUST register (free) with a valid email address and password. You may have a login already on the site. Click “forgot password” to confirm.

How five cities propelled modern African music.

Africa as a continent is often misinterpreted. Many people outside of it fail to realize that it has vibrant and creative urban cosmopolitan areas. How did Accra, Lagos, Nairobi, Luanda & Pretoria/Johannesburg set the template for modern African music? These metro areas are making huge ripples in music creation and style movements associated with various music types. Natural ethnic languages or borrowed European languages are not a barrier for proper introduction to these influential cities to the attendees of SXSW 2016. The innovative sounds + visuals propelled by YouTube, Channel O, BET Int'l, Trace, Sound City and MTV Base along with their respective annual awards ceremonies up the competition and exposure.

PanelPicker Questions Answered

What are some examples of the musical styles from these five African metro areas?

Who are the lead creators of this music the respective five metro areas

How and where can this music be heard, seen, read about and appreciated in North America by SXSW attendees? 

SHARE that LINK above on FB and other social networks. We go hard + higher!

SXSW Music Conference (USA) is an event held every March in Austin, Texas, the SXSW Music and Media Conference aims to educate and inspire musicians and those who work with them. Whether you're a grizzled music biz vet or a wide-eyed newbie, you'll find great discussions and unique opportunities to meet people who can help advance your ambitions. The next one is 15-19 March 2016.

One Luv!

Tech - Suba Photo App launched in Accra

Suba Photo App entertainer collaboration was launched in Accra for public use with the mighty weight of Ghana /African music celebrity Reggie Rockstone exclusively vested.

Nelson Klutse, Reggie Rockstone + Eric Hackman of Suba Photo App

Nelson Klutse, Rab Bakari + Eric Hackman

Suba is an events, location-based, central photo stream app for the iOS + Android mobile platforms. This allows a curation of images from many sources at the same event to exist in one stream. The key developers are Ghanaians based in the cosmopolitan city of Accra. Nelson Klutse and Eric Hackman. Nelson and Eric are recipient students of MEST (The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology) campus in Accra. They participated in the MEST incubator program with ample mentorship from Business Development fellow Muhammida el Muhajir. 

MEST offers aspiring African entrepreneurs a fully sponsored twelve month, intensive full-time program. Sourced from top graduates in Ghana and Nigeria, 30 of these Entrepreneurs-In-Training (EITs) are selected each year and receive comprehensive training across the spectrum of skills required to build successful tech businesses, including computer programming, software development, product management, finance, marketing, sales and leadership best practices.

After completion of the program, the EITs have the opportunity to pitch a concept. Winning teams receive a seed round from the MEST incubator to pursue their idea. Nelson and Eric hit it big with Meltwater. They needed a marketing plan. The tech stuff was largely completed and primed. Since the entire concept of their app was based upon social use amongst strangers, they needed an influential entity or person that had the reach on thousands of test subjects. They settled on Reggie Rockstone for a number of reasons. Mostly because, he creates specific events, or is an integral part of major events in Ghana and across the African continent. 128,000 Instagram followers; 267,000 Twitter followers, hundreds of thousands that subscribe to his Ghana mobile telecom Instavoice messages and a combined Facebook profile/pages around 62,000 of Reggie is the one who can spark the convergence of the thousand of images #hashtagged on various platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and SnapChat. Although Reggie did invest some monetary capital, the jewel lies in his ability to drum up early adapters and users weekly. Apps like these need to become a universe of it's own to gain acceptance and recognition. 

The event was well-attended by other start-up members of MEST, business people, TV, radio and print journalist as well as tech, lifestyle and angel investor bloggers from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya.

To see photos from particulate event such as the recent Chale Wote Street Arts festival 2015; download the Suba photo app and search for: #chalewote2015 or visit bit.ly/chalewote15   

KORA African Music Awards 2015

The KORA All Africa Music Awards are officially open for entries from musicians from across the African continent and the diaspora.

The first music awards ceremony to celebrate excellence in musical artistry in Africa and the diaspora, the KORA Awards are set to take place on the 13th of December, 2015 in Windhoek, Namibia. Featuring 27 categories across regions and genres, there is a monetary reward associated with each trophy, with the main prize, Best Artist of the Continent receiving a grand prize of USD 1 Million.

To be eligible for the Best Artist of the Continent trophy, an artist must have been voted the best of their region on the continent. The financial reward will only be given to award-winners who are in attendance at the awards ceremony – absent artists will be awarded the trophy alone.

The eligiblity requirements for the KORA All-Africa Music Awards 2015 are as follows:

Kora Awards are opened to all musicians, singers of Africa and its diaspora living on the continent or abroad.

The competition includes several awards – each artist may enroll in one or more categories of their choice. The song or songs participating in the competition must have been published between January 1st, 2014 and July 15th , 2015.

The songs must be of quality, must not be damaged and must be readable on any drive.
The artist, author, or composer of the titles in competition must submit his / her application(s) to the KORA Awards’ Team on info@koraawards.org or koraawards@gmail.com – the submissions deadline is the 20th July, 2015.

Formal, written authorization must be sent to KORA Awards Committee. This authorization should communicate consent that the KORA Awards can use the artist’s image, videos, music and biography for promotion of the KORA’s 2015 edition. This letter must be sent to info@koraawards.org or koraawards@gmail.com

The application must include the following elements:

a) digital version of the album

b)Two (2) high-resolution color publicity photographs in jpeg format (ideally between 500KB and 2MB’s) – NOT passport or ID photograph;

c) A biography in French, English and Portuguese.

d) Digital copy of the video (High quality)

ARTISTS CAN SUBMIT THEIR ENTRIES DIGITITALLY VIA DROPBOX OR WETRANSFER TO : info@koraawards.org or koraawards@gmail.com

KORA All-Africa Music Awards – Categories and Prizes

Best Male Artist – West Africa: 50 000$ USD

Best Female Artist -West Africa :50 000$ USD

Best Male Artist -East Africa: 50 000$ USD

Best Female Artist – East Africa : 50 000$ USD

Best Male Artist – Central Africa: 50 000 $ USD

Best Female Artist – Central Africa: 50 000$ USD

Best Male Artist of Southern Africa : 50 000$ USD

Best Female Artist – Southern Africa : 50 000$ USD

Best Male Artist – North Africa : 50 000$ USD

Best African Group : 20 000$ USD

Best Male Artist – Spiritual Music : 20 000$ USD

Best Female Artist – Spiritual Music : 20 000$ USD

Best Group -Spiritual Music : 20 000$ USD

Best Traditional Music Artist – male :20 000$ USD

Best Traditional Music Artist – Female : 20 000$ USD

Best Traditional Music Group of Africa : 20 000$ USD

Most promising artist – Male : 20 000$ USD

Most promising artist – Female: 20 000$ USD

Best Artist of the African Diaspora : 20 000$ USD

Best Video of the year : 20 000$ USD

Best Collaboration of the year: 20 000$ USD

Best Album of the year: 20 000$ USD

Legend Award : 50 000$ USD

Best Hip Hop Artist : 20 000$ USD

Best Urban Music Artist: 20 000$ USD

Most Downloaded Song of the year: 20 000$ USD
Best Artist of the Continent: 1 000 000$ USD

More the KORA website: www.koraawards.com
FB: KORA Awards • Twitter: KORA_Awards • IG: KORA_Awards

AFRIMA 2015 Entry Submission for music artists

AFRIMA 2015 Entry Submission for music artists is now open until 20 July 2015

…as Africa Union declares music industry vehicle for social development

All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, in partnership with the Africa Union Commission, AUC, have opened submission of entries for this year’s edition of the continental awards on Monday, May 18, 2015. 
Music professionals of African origin including artistes, songwriters, video directors, music/entertainment journalists and music producers resident on the continent or abroad are eligible to enter in any of the 33 award categories and entry submission closes on Monday, July 20, 2015. Works to be submitted must be produced/released in the year under review –May 31, 2014 to July 20, 2015. 
Format of submission: Detailed information about eligibility and format of submission is available on www.afrima.org. Entries should be done by completing the registration form on AFRIMA website while a URL link of the music work on YouTube, SoundCloud, MySpace and other compatible platforms must be included in the space provided on the entry registration form.

For hard copy entries, download the registration form and the completed copy alongside two copies of the entry must be sent to the nearest physical address provided on the AFRIMA website. 
The dates for entry submission and closing were recently announced by the AFRIMA President/Executive Producer, Mr. Mike Dada during the AUC-AFRIMA Joint Conference held on April 29, 2015 at the African Union Headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The conference witnessed by international media, select African musicsuper stars, members of the international committee of AFRIMA and senior AUC officials, also served as a forum for unveiling the AFRIMA 2015 event calendar by the AUC Commissioner of Social Affairs, His Excellency, Dr. Mustapha S. Kaloko who formally declared the 2015 activities of AFRIMA open. 
While explaining the series of activities and programmes lined up on the AFRIMA 2015 calendar for African music followers and lovers, Mr. Dada urged talented and eligible music professionals to optimise their chances of earning a nomination for AFRIMA in 2015. The actual awards show will take place in 
“Last year, many artistes contacted AFRIMA Regional Directors and Country Directors complaining that they were not nominated. The reality is if an artiste does not submit his or her work during the entry submission window, then he or she misses the opportunity to have the music work considered or even nominated for its merit by the AFRIMA jury”, Dada said.

L-R: Ahmed Soultan (Morocco) Winner Best Male Artist in North Africa, Tsedenia (Ethiopia) nominee Best African Contemporary ommissioner for Social Affairs, African Union Commission, Dr. Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko; Best Female Artiste in Southern Africa, Cindy Munyavi (Zimbabwe), Winner, 2014 Album of the Year, Olamide, (Nigeria) and Laurette La Perle (DRC) during the AUC-AFRIMA joint conference held at the African Union Secretariat, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on April 29, 2015.

Video - M.anifest - "Forget Dem"

M.anifest continues the lyrical and visual creativity path. This time with "Forget Dem'. The Cape Town, South Africa ice cream café and barbershop role comes off very naturally for this gifted emcee.

Track produced by Accra's Killbeatz. Directed by Garth Von Glehn for Film Fam
Assistant Director: Jonas Stark. Cinematography/Camera: Karl Schmidt. Female interest in the video storyline: Ghanaian Africa's Next Top Model, Roselyn Ashkar. Who is the South African mate that stars along with M.anifest for the majority of the music video?

Video - Kobi Onyame - "Imminence"

This guy keeps the juices going. It's always refreshing to hear material out of the United Kingdom that combines hints of other cultures.

In this case veteran British emcee by way of Ghana, Scotland and England Kobi Onyame drops us a melodic one called "Imminence (Only Matter of Time O)". Defined as "Something that is imminent or impending".. Check the beach and Black Star/Independence Square visuals from Ghana throughout the video setting the tone/taste for the lyrical delivery.

Directed and filmed in Ghana by Bright Asare for Easy Day Studios

Video - Blitz The Ambassador - JuJu Girl

As usual, Blitz The Ambassador (Ghana - USA) gets it right with this retro-visage of 1950s Highlife Accra.

Filmed primarily at the current Republic Bar in the Osu-RE section of Accra. Starring Yaa Opare as the love interest woman/Mami Wata. Directed by Blitz himself along with cinematography assistance from Stanley Adjetey of Take Two Films. NOTE: This is Blitz's first video offering through his own official VEVO account.

The music is expressed in this video is exactly a summation of what has taken Blitz The Ambassador around the world. Hip Hop scratches, lyrical delivery, snappy snares, rumbling basslines but also the brass and woodwind horns, percussive teases and Highlife guitar licks/bass strums from yesteryear.

Music video for JuJu Girl performed by Blitz the Ambassador. Site: https://blitz.mvmt.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/BlitzAmbassador Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlitzAmbassador Instagram: http://instagram.com/blitzambassador Copyright (C) 2015 Embassy MVMT. -- Powered by http://www.vydia.com

Video - VVIP dishes out 4 video singles.

Super GHanaian group VVIP (based in Accra) release four music video singles at one time. 

Watch: 

1. "Skolom" feat. Sena Dagadu

- Directed by XBills Ebenezer

2 . "Hustle" 

Directed by  

3. "Get In Da Picture (Selfie Remix) Featuring  Idris Elba + Zeal + Prodigal + Reggie Rockstone (VVIP) + Phyno

Directed by Idris Elba directed his part in Accra & London, Reggie directed this part in Accra; Phyno directed his part in Lagos and Prodigal & Zeal directed their part in Amsterdam. All edited by Lex MacCarthy of Ghana.

4. "OMG" 

Directed by Lex McCarthy

Video - RedRed - "Ghetto"

M3nsa (FOKN BOIS) + ELO (Irie Maffia + Sena Dagadu) fulfill their collaboration dream with a production group called "Red RED". here is their first video release. > Ghetto.

REDRED (rĕdrĕd) 

A popular dish in Ghana made from black-eyed peas. Named from the combination of red pepper and red palm oil. Usually served with Fried Plantains.

M3NSA, the pioneering Ghanaian producer/songwriter and performer also known for his solo work and conquests with FOKN Bois. Budapest’s seasoned DJ/music producer and instrumentalist ELO is known for his work with Irie Maffia & Sena. RedRed is the musical sum of experiences and evolution delivered through what they call African Electronic Dance Music. 

In 2012 ELO & FOKN Bois released "Dunaquest In Budapest" (Akwaaba Music) with which they toured both Europe and Ghana. 
REDRED’s latest, also prepared in Budapest, is the natural continuation. 
Woven with introspective lyrics, it’s a production masterclass fusing dance music influences from these artists’ European and African connections: It pushes the dial back to charged up 90s House, warbly Garage Basslines and Dreamy Synths.

The vibrant first single ‘Ghetto,’ featuring Ghana’s very own Sarkodie, is equally matched with an energetic video shot in Accra. A bright and dynamic event with entertainingly animated dance scenes. 
Altogether, what they have cooked up is an oddly satisfying feat - best served live.

WATCH: 

Video - M.Anifest tells us about "Mind Games"

"... U dey talk dey say I'm bad, but I'm the best U ever had!" M.Anifest @Manifestive tells us about "Mind Games" with this new visual posted to his official YouTube account.

This rap (English, Pidgin, Twi languages) tells the tale of a complicated romance – a tale of two broken hearts.

The video, which was shot in Brooklyn, New York USA, sees director Garth Von Glehn (Film Fam) skilfully weaving between the happy and frustrating moments that characterize many romantic relationships. Von Glehn focuses on the emotional detail of a relationship’s toughest times with stylistic elements of organic retro chic.

An aesthetically minimalist video, we see the two protagonists, M.anifest and his love interest (played by Aube) reminisce on the vicissitudes of relationships - happy to sad to angry all over again. M.anifest plays an avant garde avid 8MM filmmaker who blurs the lines between life, love and art.
Get mp3 taken from the full album release: "Apae" http://bit.ly/1oXQMD6

Watch and listen below.

Directed by Garth Von Glehn (Film Fam) Get mp3 http://bit.ly/1oXQMD6. Twitter/Instagram: @manifestive TTD Media/ Singitdamnit Music Song Produced by G Mo Location: Brooklyn, NY "All these old happy photographs framing us Mind Games give migraines, how I for do? In the war of roses, nobody wins, it's true..."

All Africa Music Awards [AFRIMA] premiered on 27 Dec 2014

Internationally-recognised music stars from Africa and around the globe arrived Nigeria, the entertainment hub of Africa, to be part of the 2014 All Africa Music Awards Main Ceremony on Saturday, December 27, at the Grand Ballroom of the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. Hosted by Democratic Republic of Congo “French speaking hot” female broadcaster and music presenter, Madinga Sona Maria and Nigerian legendary contemporary music star, 2Face Idibia.

The glitteringly ceremony which celebrated musical talent across the African continent was broadcast live on 109 TV stations and attended or entertained by a host of international African music celebrities including; Temi Dollface (Nigeria), Wiyalaa (Ghana), Davido (Nigeria), 2face Ibidia (Nigeria), DJ Arafat (Cote D’Ivoire); Mi Casa (South Africa); Ahmed Soultan (Morocco); Laurette La Perle (Democratic Republic of Congo); Vanessa Mdee (Tanzania); Radio and Weasel (Uganda); Lawi (Malawi); D Bling (Mozambique); Davina Green (Mozambique); Cindy Munyavi (Zimbabwe); MC Mahjoul (Algeria); Elani (Kenya) and Dear Zim (South Africa). The multi-cultural event included themes from the rich Egyptian heritage of the Pharaoh era to the earthy depth of the artistically intricate Benin Kingdom and the fierce power of the Zulu Kingdom. 

AFRIMA had done a noticeable job in providing a great awards platform to include all African countries. It was an enormous task. I predict that it will become the premier African awards event for artists and music lovers alike within the next five years.

But this awards show was without controversy. The awards show was originally scheduled to take commence on 9th November with a few days of a music conference and workshop plus an African Village before the main event. A major corporate sponsor pulled out.

Also, many on the public social networks such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Instagram expressed disbelief about the winners of many categories, although then it was written that it would be the public that would ultimately decide the category winners.

Some questionable representatives (winners) of the categories.

2Baba a.k.a. 2Face Idibia (the male host of the awards show itself that night) won for "Best African R-n-B Soul" for a record that was released to the public more than ten years ago ("African Queen") although the AFRIMA submission rules stated the date period of the submitted release. This song should have never made it to be even considered. Perhaps this was a mis-association because the organization actually recognizes his recent composition called "Dance In The Rain".

Best female in West Africa was questioned on social media with Angelique Kidjo winning. Although respected, It's hard to see how Yemi Alade, Omawumi, Niyola, Tiwa Savage, Chidinma (Nigeria) and Wiyalaa (Ghana) were in the same voting category.

Another WTF moment on Twitter was how Nigerian artist Davido won the category for "Best African Hip Hop Song". It is not clear what song he won for. But the voting for the Hip Hop category was never made public although there were many, many Hip Hop rap artists representing the continent such as M.Anifest (Ghana), Sarkodie (Ghana), Octopizzo (Kenya), Cassper Nyovest (South Africa) and Stanley Enow (Cameroon) that fell in the release date period and could have legitimately represented the African form of rapping, djaying, beat-making and showmanship of Hip Hop. If you have visited the AFRIMA Voting site in the past, you would have immediately recognized how flawed the coding of the voting process was implemented. 

One remarkable theme was how the winners were heavily biased toward the nation of Nigeria. Although, there are 54 other countries in Africa whose music was thoroughly vetted by a hand-picked team of well-noted African music and entertainment executives. It must be noted that a production company based in Nigeria had won the right from the African Union Commission on Music Culture to organize and administer this event. Some remarkable points.

 

A FULL LIST OF THE AWARD WINNERS HERE

BEST MALE ARTIST IN WEST AFRICA
Winner - Davido (Nigeria)

BEST FEMALE ARTISTE IN WEST AFRICA
Winner - Angelique Kidjo (Benin)

BEST FEMALE ARTISTE IN NORTH AFRICA
Winner - Noura Mint Seymale (Mauritania)

BEST MALE ARTISTE IN NORTH AFRICA
Winner - Ahmed Soultan (Morroco)

BEST EAST AFRICAN MALE ARTIST
Winner - Diamond (Tanzania)

BEST EAST AFRICAN FEMALE ARTIST
Winner - Vanessa Mdee (Tanzania)

BEST MALE ARTISTE IN CENTRAL AFRICA
Winner - Fally Ipupa (D. R. Congo)

BEST FEMALE ARTISTE IN CENTRAL AFRICA
Winner - Laurette La Perle (D. R. Congo)

BEST MALE ARTISTE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
Winner - Heavy K (South Africa)

BEST FEMALE ARTISTE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
Winner - Cindy Munyavi (Zimbabwe)

BEST FEMALE ARTISTE IN AFRICAN INSPIRATIONAL MUSIC
Winner - Nikki Laoye (Nigeria)

BEST MALE ARTISTE IN AFRICAN INSPIRATIONAL MUSIC
Winner - Bro Philemon (Ghana)

BEST AFRICAN CONTEMPORARY
Winner - Angelique Kidjo (Benin) for "Shango Wa"

MOST PROMISING ARTISTE IN AFRICA
Winner - Wiyaala

BEST AFRICAN ROCK
Winner - Dear Zim (Zimbabwe)

BEST AFRICAN TRADITIONAL
Winner - Adjiboye (Benin) & Yinka Ayanda (Nigeria) for "Inna" & "Issa"

BEST AFRICAN HIP-HOP (SONG)
Winner - Davido (Nigeria)

BEST AFRICAN POP (SONG) 
Winner - Elani (Kenya) for "Kookoo"

BEST AFRICAN RNB & SOUL
Winner - 2BABA (Nigeria) for "Dance In The Rain"

BEST AFRICAN REGGAE, RAGGA & DANCEHALL
Winner - Radio and Weasel (Uganda)

BEST AFRICAN ELECTRO
Winner - MiCasa (South Africa) for "Jika"

BEST AFRICAN GROUP/ DUO/BAND
Winner - P-Square (Nigeria) for "Personally"

BEST AFRICAN COLLABORATION
Winner - D’Banj and Friends for "Cocoa na Chocolate"

REVELATION OF THE AFRICAN CONTINENT
Winner - Wiyaala (Ghana)

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Winner - Olawale Ashimi (Nigeria) for "Down" sung by Brymo (Nigeria)

PRODUCERS OF THE YEAR
Winners - Don Jazzy (Nigeria) "Eminado" and Robbie Malinga & Mojalefa Thebe "South Africa" for Impilo

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Winner - Olamide (Nigeria) for "Baddest Guy ever Liveth"

BEST VIDEO
Winner - Bez with director Kemi Adetiba (Nigeria) for "Say"

SONG OF THE YEAR
Winner - Davido (Nigeria) for "Aye"

ARTISTE OF THE YEAR
Winner - Davido (Nigeria)

AFRICAN LEGENDARY AWARD
Winner - FELA ANIKULAPO KUTI (Nigeria)

Video - M.anifest + Obrafour - "No Shortcut To Heaven"

M.anifest panning for gold in Ghana below.

M.anifest Releases Powerful Visuals for No Shortcut to Heaven. 

M.anifest has just released the much anticipated music video for "No Shortcut to Heaven," his single featuring Hiplife legend, Obrafour. The video, which was shot at two locations in the Eastern Region of Ghana, is set primarily at a gold mining river site.

We see M.anifest in atypical fashion, assuming the role of a small-scale miner while narrating the cautionary tale of a young hustler trying to make money and navigate love.

Director: New York based Garth Von Glehn for Film Fam 

Producer: Ann Modey 

Executive Producer: TTD Media 

Song/Music producer: G Mo Beats

M.anifest & Obrafour Clothes: Chocolate by Kweku Bediako 

Choreography: Jerry-1 

Make Up: Dzidzi 

Starring: Katou, Efo Mawuli, the miners at Kwabeng, and people of Akosombo of Ghana

Video - Yassssss! Gingam speaks! Efya - "Life"

O-M-G “…listen to my story”. Wow! I always adored this song piece from “0d0" Efya (Eh-fee-ya) but this cosmopolitan video seals the love affair. A montage of clips from world-wide metro area appearances give the authenticity and dedication to her craft, wait! Erase that! Correction: Her career! She is a performing artist. Respect that ish! Aiiiight! Eh no be easy kraa to continually feed the fans, but Efya does an admirable job to spoon this on out. Appropriately titled "Life", this video works as an introduction to the moderately glammed but rooted Jane Efya Awindoor repping from Accra Ghana for the love of music. Hopefully, the VEVO alliance will help people outside her Gingam fan base pick up on West Africa’s best soul secret.

Her new single “Life” is a mellow song chronicling her trials and rise to her present status as a music icon in the making. The video was shot and directed by Sony Addo, who previously worked on her music videos for “The Getaway” & “Nowhere To Run” (her collaboration with Ghanaian rapper Treasure).

All Africa Music Awards [AFRIMA] 2014 Poll page

The public gets to vote on their most-cherished artist representing one of these categories.

AFRIMA 2014 Nominees List

VOTE HERE from now until 04 November 2014

All Africa Music Awards [AFRIMA] 2014 category Nominees list

The public gets to vote on their most-cherished artist representing one of these categories.

AFRIMA 2014 Nominees List

Africa music’s big names make AFRIMA 2014 Nominees’ List

…Mafikizolo, Davido, Amr Diab, Diamond Platnumz, Fally Ipupa, Uhuru, others make AFRIMA 2014 nominees list

…as the six-week voting process stirs fever pitch excitement

The five regions of Africa gave an impressive account of their respective music industry as the 2014 Nominees’ List of the All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, was unveiled, September 23, 2014 during a world press conference held at Protea Hotel Leadway, Maryland Estate, Lagos, Nigeria.

Although popular names in the continental music industry showed up on the highly-anticipated Nominees’ List of the awards project that is rewarding excellence by budding and established music professionals as well as journalists, the nominations of a generous number of emerging African artistes in many award categories threw more excitement into the unveiling event witnessed by local and international press as well as critical stakeholders in the music industry.

Among the well-known African music names on the nominees list are: Mafikizolo (South Africa) 6 nominations, Davido (Nigeria) 6 nominations, Diamond Platnumz (Tanzania) 2 nominations, Amr Diab (Egypt) 2 nominations, Zahara (South Africa) 3 nominations, Angelique Kidjo (Benin Republic) 2 nominations, Fally Ipupa (DRC) 1 nomination, Sakordie (Ghana) 1 nomination, Tiwa Savage (Nigeria) 2 nominations, Uhuru (South Africa) 5 nominations and Mi Casa (South Africa) 4 nominations. Leading the budding music acts on AFRIMA Nominees’ List is: TemiDollFace (Nigeria) 4 nominations, others are Wiyaala (Ghana) 3 nominations; Patoranking (Nigeria) 2 nominations; Davina Green (Zimbabwe) 1 nomination and Noura Mint Seymale (Mauritania) 2 nominations, among others.

Heavyweight African music producer, Don Jazzy (Nigeria) made the Africa Producer of the Year category for the song ‘Eminado’ alongside top contenders: Robbie Malinga & Mojela Thebe (South Africa) for ‘Impilo’; Oskido and Shizzi (Nigeria) for ‘Tchelete’; Mikky Me (Nigeria) ‘Down’ and Del’B (Nigeria) for ‘Pull Over’.

Present for the AFRIMA Panel of Jurors at the unveiling event was jury member Mr. Oscar Kidjo, a seasoned music producer, representing West Africa (Benin Republic). Also representing the International Committee of AFRIMA were: Executive Producer/President, Mike Dada; Director Brand Communication & Sponsorship, Matlou Tsotetsi; Chairman, International Media Committee, Steve Ayorinde and Co-Producer/Country Director, Nigeria, Kingsley James. Other attendees included African music industry personalities, heads of partner corporate organisations and music industry stakeholders.

Giving details into the criteria by which the nominees list emerged, Matlou Tsotetsi explained that the jury panel adhered strictly to the entry submission requirements while being guided by AFRIMA’s core values of FACE IT –Fairness, Authenticity, Creativity, Excellence, Integrity and Transparency. “The adjudication panel of jurors consisting of experienced names in the continental and global music industry were in Lagos in July to evaluate the submitted works. The entries which made the laid down criteria and qualified on merit were shortlisted based on their scores and this was sent to our Kenya-based auditors who then tabulated these scores. The result is what we are presenting today”, Ms. Tsotetsi stated.

While 30 of the 33 award categories will be open for voting by the public and AFRIMA Academy of Voters, Mike Dada revealed that recipients of the AFRIMA Legend Award and the Africa Entertainment/Music Journalist Award will be decided by the International Committee of AFRIMA and announced at the main awards ceremony on Sunday, November 9, 2014.

AFRIMA voting online platform will open on Tuesday, September 30 for the five-week voting process, while encouraging the public, fans and followers of African music to visit the AFRIMA website,  www.afrima.org , to view the nominees in the 30 categories of the award and vote for their favourite artiste (s).

For the 2014 edition, the award project opened entries on May 15 and closed the submission of entries on July 21 in the process receiving a staggering total of 2,025 works for assessment submitted by African music industry artistes, professionals and journalists.

The AFRIMA Jury, made up of seasoned African industry practitioners, were in Lagos, Nigeria, between July 31 to August 6 for the week-long adjudication of entries from artistes, songwriters, video directors, producers as well as journalists. In addition to Oscar Kidjo, the other jury members include: Kawesa Richard (Uganda) Eastern Africa; Tabu Osusa (Kenya) Eastern Africa; Laolu Akintobi (Nigeria) Western Africa; Robert Esong Ekukole (Cameroon), Central Africa; Kiki Toure (Equatorial Guinea) Central Africa; Delani Makhalima (Zimababwe) Southern Africa; Chris Syren (South Africa) Southern Africa; Angela Martins African Union Commission; Rab Bakari (USA) Diaspora and Rita Ray (UK), Diaspora. The result of the Jury’s work and the thorough collation by AFRIMA’s Kenya-based internal auditors has produced the AFRIMA 2014 Nominees’ List.

Nominees are vying for the coveted AFRIMA trophy in 33 categories divided into the regional and continental categories and including the AFRIMA Legend Award –a honour for a great African who has contributed immensely to the advancement of African music, the creative sector in general and impacted on the positive image of the continent and its global reckoning.

The CONTINENTAL award categories are:

Best Male Artiste - Inspirational Music

Best Female Artiste - Inspirational Music,

Best Inspirational Music Group

Best Traditional African Artiste

Best African Contemporary Artiste

Most Promising African Artiste

Revelation of the Year

Producer of the Year

Artiste of the Year

Song of the Year

Video of the Year

Songwriter of the Year

Album of the Year

R ‘n’ B Song of the Year

Pop Song of the Year

Rap Song of the Year

Collaboration of the Year

Best African Ragga/Reggae/Dancehall Song

Best African Group

Music/Entertainment Journalist of the Year and AFRIMA Legend Award.

REGIONAL categories are:

Best Male Artiste Eastern Africa

Best Female Artiste Eastern Africa

Best Male Artiste Central Africa

Best Female Artiste Central Africa

Best Male Artiste Southern Africa

Best Female Artiste Southern Africa

Best Male Artiste Northern Africa

Best Female Artiste Northern Africa

Best Male Artiste Western Africa

Best Female Artiste Western Africa

In partnership with the African Union Commission, All Africa Music Awards promises to be a premium star-studded event on November 9, preceded by the AFRIMA Music Village between November 4 and 7, a four-day festival style open concert of non-stop music, fanfare and exhibition from countries in Africa and performances by African artistes. There will also be an African Music Summit, November 6 to 7, themed "Reviving the Business of Music in Africa". The two-day conference will be a platform for the music industry stakeholders to engage and deliberate on how the industry can be nurtured and be a major contributor to national and continental economies.

Video - M.anifest rocks with live instrumentation on BBC Africa Beats

Award winning Ghanaian Rapper M.anifest kicks off new season of BBC Africa Beats with a medley of hits. ("Daabi Daabi", "Someway Bi"). Check out below the interview and performance with  the Kwame Yeboah & OBY (Ohia B3y3 Ya) Band. He is "ridiculously inspired". Ha! Always the witty one with a great laugh!

Audio - VVIP featuring Idris Elba + Phyno - "Get in Da Picture” (Selfie remix)

 VVIP featuring Idris Elba + Phyno - Get in Da Picture” (Selfie remix)

Genre: Afrobeats - Track time: 3:36

VVIP is Ghana Rap/Hiplife veterans Reggie Rockstone (Reggie Ossei) and remaining V.I.P. members, Prodigal (Joseph Nana Ofori) and Zeal (Abdul Hamid Ibrahim). They released their debut single ‘Selfie' in May 2014 and now they have raised their star game by introducing  Hollywood and British TV/Film actor Idris Elba on the remix along with Nigerian rap artist, Phyno. The group have confirmed that they have filmed a music video for the track which will be released publicly within 30 days.

Idris Elba + Phyno join the Ghana rap veterans.

You should know by now, that the British actor and Disc Jockey (DJ) of Ghanaian and Sierra Leonean heritage; Idris Elba, came to film a movie project in the Eastern and Western regions of Ghana earlier this year. The name of the film is called “Beast of No Nation”. This is an adaptation of a novel about civil war through the eyes of a child soldier, written by Uzodinma Iweala. (He’s a commanding officer, Hence the beard in the photo). When Idris Elba had downtime, he connected with Ghana rap superstar, Reggie Rockstone in Accra. Idris Elba felt that he had to “bust a flow’ on Reggie’s current project: VVIP. “Selfie” Original VVIP - “Selfie (Audio + Video here)

VVIP employed Ghana super producer Magnom Beats (Sarkodie, Edem, Raquel, C-Real, Samini) to re-work the track originally set ablaze by Ghana’s DJ Breezy.

Listen here: 

Up and coming rap artist Phyno of Nigeria heard about the collaboration and decided to join in and get in “da picture”. So here we have a beautiful collaboration of West African artist making music primed for the dance floor.

Order of rap verses: Idris Elba (Rapper I.E.) > Zeal > Reggie Rockstone > Zeal > Phyno > Prodigal.

Feel free to talk/blog it up! One shot, One luv!

Rab Bakari part of adjudication panel for 2014 All Africa Music Awards

Wow! Over 2,100 entries reviewed for 2014 All Africa Music Awards

Grading music songs during the adjudication process, Lagos, Nigeria

Following an overwhelming flood of entries in the past two months, the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) has closed submission of entries for its maiden on July 19, 2014 recording an impressive  total over 2,100 (two thousand and one hundred) entries received at the close of the submission.

Of the entries received on the AFRIMA website and Facebook page, 38 were from music and entertainment journalists, others were from artistes, songwriters, video directors, music producers and record companies across the continent and in the diaspora whose works were produced in the year under review, May 31, 2013 to July 05, 2014.

The call for entry was initially opened on May 15 and billed to close on July 5. However, the International Committee of AFRIMA extended the closing date to July 19 to accommodate the deluge of more entries from interested participants across the continent and also to give an equal chance to many who felt disenfranchised due to lack of Internet access. The entry finally closed at 24.00 hrs CAT on July 21.

A 11-person jury panel, who have been carefully selected to represent the five (5) regions of Africa and the African Diaspora, screened the submitted works. The jury members who are part of the AFRIMA Academy of Voters arrived in Lagos on July 31, 2014 for the week-long adjudication process in the presence of an international auditing firm.

Prominent and seasoned music professionals like Rab Bakari (U.S.A. - representing Diaspora - North America); Oscar Kidjo (Benin - representing Western Africa); Rita Ray (U.K. representing Diaspora - Europe); Kawesa Richard (Uganda: representing Eastern Africa); Delani Makhalima (Zimbabwe - representing Southern Africa); Christian Syrén (South Africa - representing Southern Africa);  Laolu 'Akins' Akintobi (Nigeria - representing Western Africa); Kiki Touré (Equatorial Guinea - representing Central Africa); Robert Ekukole (Cameroon - representing Central Africa); Tabu Osasa (Kenya - representing Eastern Africa) and Angela Martins (South Africa - representing the African Union) with Mike Strano (Kenya - Jury Panel Co-Executive Producer) are part of the jury. A nomination list will be released to the public on a later date to vote for a winner in each of the 31 categories of the award.

The 11-person jury panel who are part of the AFRIMA  Academy  comprising of 527 members are grouped into two layers of adjudicators spread across the five regions of Africa and Diaspora arrived in Lagos for a week-long adjudication process. The preliminary process ended on Wednesday, 06 August.

“The role of the Jury is to ensure maximum credibility, certify that entries are properly screened and positioned in their correct categories. There are all assurances that with the calibre of persons on our jury panel, nominees would be well selected and announcements made afterwards”, stated Country director, Nigeria; Mr.Kingsley James

Mike Dada (Executive Producer of the All Africa Music Awards) reiterated the core values of the All Africa Music Award which are Fairness, Authenticity, Creativity, Excellence, Integrity and Transparency. “In line with our integrity and transparency values, we are trying to ensure that the adjudication process, pre-selection process, the auditing phase, the nomination process and the eventual voting process are all transparent.”

He continued: “We don’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past. We’ve seen many awards where the people and followers of music in Africa have questioned the integrity and transparency of these awards. As such, we deliberated and did a lot of research and finally had a model which is the 13-person jury panel and 527 members of the Academy.”

“I have been dreaming of such process and initiatives for a while, This is the platform to let the whole world know that Africa is not all about hunger, war and diseases. It is a platform to show the whole world that we have something. This is a first time where professionals in the music industry in Africa will come together to lift up to the vision of Africa.” enthused Oscar Kidjo.

Describing the adjudication process, Oscar Kidjo said: “No music is bad music. Africa has great talents but the problem is with quality of video production. Of the 2,100 entries received, 60 per cent had good quality videos. This shows the quality of music we have in Africa.”
Rita Ray added: “This is a totally new award and to get over two thousand entries is quite a feat. With such influx from music and creativity all over the world, there is bound to be mediocrity and sub-standards. We have to sort through the entries to get what we want. But within these, we still found talents who stood out, who made good creative sounds. The watchword in AFRIMA is excellence and that is what we look out for.”
For Delani Makhalima from Zimbabwe, AFRIMA goes beyond a musical award. He believes that it is a platform to unite Africans through music.

In partnership with African Union, AFRIMA is a combined effort by music professionals across the continent aimed at celebrating the rich musical heritage of the African continent  and encouraging  the growth of talented artistes in the Diaspora.

The award ceremony, which promises to be a premium and star-studded event, will take place on Sunday, November 9. It will be broadcast to 84 countries on 109 television stations. This will be preceded by the AFRIMA Village, a four-day event of music festival featuring art exhibitions and music concerts between November 4 and 7. There will also be an Africa Music Summit (November 6-7) themed “Reviving the Business of Music in Africa”. The two-day conference will be a platform for the music industry stakeholders to engage and deliberate on how the industry can be nurtured and be a major contributor to national and continental economies.

Submit an entry to be considered for a 2014 AFRIMA

Are you a musician with your music geared from the African continent or toward the African continent? Or do you know a musician that seriously needs to be considered? Then you have until 19 July 2014 to register yourself or your band to be nominated for an #AFRIMA award in late October. This is the AFRIMA ENTRY SUBMISSION page. http://www.afrima.org./index.php/en/ Do not hesitate! This is the biggest and most legit awards recognition coming out of Africa.

The All Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA, in partnership with African Union Commission, has extended the call for entries for the 2014 edition by two weeks, from July 5 to July 19, 2014. Submission of entries for the continental award project aimed at showcasing the culture of Africa and rewarding the music talents, had opened on May 15, 2014 and closed on July 5, 2014.

Going by the enthusiastic response of African music professionals and journalists who have flooded the AFRIMA website with entries from across the continent and from Africans in the Diaspora, the International Committee of AFRIMA was under pressure from the African music and media industry to extend the closing date to accommodate the late entrants who are eager to be part of the award process but are constrained by limited internet access in their various cities.

* Eligibility: Music professionals of African origin living either on the continent or abroad are eligible. The award is open to Artistes, Songwriters, Video Directors, Music Producers and Music Journalists as well as unrecorded artistes.

Entries will close on Saturday, July 19 at 12.00 a.m. UTC (Universal Time Coordinated). The entry guidelines remain as before on AFRIMA website: www.afrima.org. Format of submission: Only musical or journalistic works released or published in the year under review- May 31, 2013 to July 18, 2014 are eligible for submission.

Entries should be done by completing the registration form on AFRIMA website and other AFRIMA social media platforms. * Entry Registration link is also available on Twitter: @AFRIMAWARDS and Facebook:  

A French, Portuguese and Arabic version of the entry form is available on AFRIMA’s Facebook page. A URL link of the uploaded work on YouTube ONLY must be included in the space provide on the entry registration form.

For hard copy entries, download the registration form and the completed copy alongside two copies of the entry must be sent to the nearest physical address provided on the AFRIMA website. Qualified entries will be selected by the Academy of AFRIMA which consists of the Jury and College of Voters.

Explaining further, AFRIMA Director of Brand Communications and Sponsorship, Ms. Matlou Tsotetsi said:“First, I must say we are impressed by the level of participation by Africa, on the continent and in the Diaspora, in the entry submission process. This is an encouraging success marker for us considering the fact that we surpassed the 1000 mark. We are receiving entries from African music professionals and journalists in countries like Finland, Germany, and other interesting locations.

“Secondly, some regions of Africa have appealed to us for this extension and we are obligated to accede to them in the spirit of our FACE IT value of Fairness, Accountability, Creativity, Excellence, Integrity and Transparency. There can be no fair play or competition if there is no equal representation. We hope this 14 days will give everyone a chance to get involved in AFRIMA”.

In partnership with the African Union Commission and Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in Nigeria, the 2014 All Africa Music Awards will produce a star-studded, world-class event in Nigeria on October 21 to 25, 2014, with live performances and television broadcast to 84 countries on 109 television stations around the world.

The AFRIMA program includes: AFRIMA Village, Media Workshop and the Africa Music Summit -A platform for the music industry members to engage and deliberate on how the industry can be nurtured and packaged in a way that contributes to the GDP of the continent under the theme “Reviving the Business of Music in Africa”.

For further information please contact

Project Director, Adenrele Niyi on Email: adenrele.niyi@afrima.org

Tel No: +234 803 7208586