MTV BASE LIVE PARTY IN LAGOS WITH PRAS
Nigeria has come and gone is no more news, but what is news is the opportunity the show provided in exhibiting the abundance of musical talents in Nigeria.
Hip-Hop royalty and 'Ghetto Supastar', Pras Michel and five Nigerian Artistes alongside DJ Big Ted from UK, DJ Humility and DJ Fresh Wave were on hand to entertain music lovers over the weekend.
Pras Michel, who was a third of the nineties super group, the Fugees, mounted the stage after other arts have performed and threw a challenge to the audience to present anybody among them who could sing. He randomly handpicked three males and two females to participate in a competition for a NOKIA handset. After each of them was given to opportunity to prove his or herself with three of them singing and one male and a female dancing, two of them who rapped made it to the second and final stage. After rapping to the delight of the audience amazement of Pras himself, one of them carried the day based on the preference of the audience. Save for the fact that theaudience saw them climbing the stage from among them; they could have passed for established Artistes. Pras presented the NOKIA handset to him.
Before engaging the four members of the audience in the competition, Pras had rendered two tracks, a rehash of Bob Marley's "Africans Unite" and "We Are The World", saying the second was a message from Michael Jackson toNigerians. He said he called Michael Jackson before leaving for Nigeria, and the Pop Star told him to tell Nigerians that "You're Not Alone". The entire arena became charged when Pras began rendering one of the greatest and memorable hits from The Fugees' musical repertoire, "Killing Me Softly With His Song." It was as if the lyrics of the song went into the spine of the audience, as they soulfully sang along with Pras and danced to its beat.
To wrap up his thrilling performance, Pras also did a superb rehash of Dolly Parton's "Island In The Sun," which the thrilled audience also sang and danced to. The Fugees' DJ Leon and US chantress China Black, who took the role of Lauren Hill, joined Pras Michel in the performance. The event took place on Friday, October 14, 2005 at The Vault nightclub in Lagos.
Prior to Pras' performance, the Nigerian Talents billed to perform at the party had took turns to entertain the capacity filled arena. Jazzman set the ball rolling, after which P-Square came in with the razzmatazz dance steps, which has become their trade mark. They did "Bizzy Body" and "Get Squared" from their second and latest album. The well choreographed and energetic dance they displayed during "Get Squared" really thrilled the audience, who applauded them and screamed in ecstasy throughout the performance. After them came Nigeria's new discovery ASA, and then 2-Face Idibia, the 'Best African Act' nominee in the MTV Europe Music Awards.
2-Face did one of his hit tracks – "Ole". This hit song, no doubt, sent the audience into soulful moods as they danced and sang along with him. Performances by the Acts were spiced by vibes from the turntables of the DJs. DJ Big Ted was the first to entertain, while the two others, DJ Humility and DJ Fresh Wave performed at interludes before the next Act mounts the stage and during their performances.
Each of the artistes was handpicked by MTV base to create a fantastic and funfair one-off party event with the music channel's signature urban music vibes and outrageous party atmosphere. Highlights from the MTV base LIVE! Party in Lagos were recorded and will be televised across Africa on MTV base (DStv channel 88) on Wednesday, November 2, 2005 and repeat broadcast a week later on Wednesday, November 10, 2005.
Earlier in the day, the global music channel and Silverbird Television had announced a landmark MTV base programming deal in a press conference. The deal, according to Alex Okosi, Vice-President and General Manager, MTV Networks Africa, will see Silverbird TV (Stv) broadcasting 14 hours per week of MTV base's innovative music and youth programming to Stv's Nigerian viewers. In the words of Ben Murray-Bruce, Chairman, Silverbird Group, "MTV base and Stv will jointly leverage the block to develop marketing solutions for advertisers looking to reach the mass Nigerian young adult market. The two brands will also explore co-production opportunities aimed at showcasing the talents of Nigerian musicians and artists." The joint programming will commence on Monday, October 17, 2005 on week days between 18:00-19:00; 23:30-00:30 and Saturdays and Sundays, between 17:00-19:00.
ABOUT MTV BASE
MTV base is a pan-African, 24-hour English language music television channel airing to 1.3 million households in sub-Saharan Africa. Targeted at mass African youth, MTV base MTV's first bespoke channel for the African market and features the Continent's broadest mix of contemporary artists and music genres. Launched on 22 February 2005, MTV base combines African and international music genres relevant to young African viewers including R'n'B, dancehall, hip-hop, kwaito, hip life, reggae, zouk, mbalax and Afrobeat, and celebrates the cultural vibrancy and creativity of African music and artists, showcasing them alongside their music peers from around the world. MTV base is a wholly owned subsidiary of MTV Networks Europe.