Annual Report: Voice2rep Project
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ANNUAL REPORT: VOICE2REP PROJECT (SEP 2018 – AUG 2019) Introduction The Voice 2 Rep project with funding from the Dutch Embassy is a first of its kind music competition searching for top upcoming WaZoBia-Pidgin English music artists who support greater representation, participation and accountability across Nigeria. The goal of the project is to identify, support, and showcase young talented female rappers to increase civic awareness through music and to advocate for greater accountability, equality and democracy in Nigeria. With funding from the Government of the Netherlands Embassy, The Voice2Rep project was implemented by Accountability Lab Nigeria in partnership with Chocolate City - one of the largest music platforms and entertainment companies on the African continent. In order to give these artists a platform to make their voices heard, connect with socially-conscious leaders in the music industry, and build the skills they need to shape the future of Nigeria through music, the following activities were implemented: Outreach Accountability Lab conducted outreach through a network of volunteers and online to search for songs from young emerging musical artists across Nigeria. The theme of the 2018/2019 competition was elections/ democracy and good governance. A press conference was organized for the official launch of the Voice2Rep music competition and to generate public interest for the upcoming music competition. Over 30 people attended the conference and the following media outlets reported the launch of the Voice2Rep campaign: 1. The Cable - ‘Voice2Rep’ project to hold politicians accountable through music 2. Smash 9ja - MUST READ: An Opportunity to Be a Superstar: “Voice2Rep” & Chocolate City 3. Leadership - Accountability Lab Nigeria Seeks Engagement of Youths in Governance 4. TrendVill – Voice2Rep Competition After the press conference, we had a social media outreach campaign geared towards getting young music artists to participate in the project by uploading a freestyle video of themselves singing or rapping to a socially conscious theme to either Facebook, Instagram or Twitter platform. The campaign reached over 10,000 young people within the ages of 18-35 years of age who are interested in music. Selections In a bid to find young first-time artistes, demos and video freestyle entries were submitted from across the country through the Voice 2 Represent online platforms (Emails, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, WhatsApp and www.voice2rep.ng) The selection process began with a call for applications for young artists who have the talent and energy to use their voices for positive change. The Voice 2 Rep platform received a total of 366 entries with a gender breakdown of 334 (91.25%) males and 32 (8.75%) females ages of 18-35. The entries were screened by the Chocolate City Group team. The selection panel was comprised of a diverse selection of local music industry professionals, including M.I Abaga, CEO Chocolate City Music, Nkasiobi Chukwu, Head of Promotions department, and G-Plus Chang, Label Head, UpNorth Records. The selection process took place in 3 phases, selecting the top 50, 10 and 3. The first phase selected the top 50, who were chosen based on three criteria: content, creativity, and relevance to the Voice2Rep campaign. 2 | Page Chocolate City Music then produced a video on the selection process of the top 50, which was shared on social media and had a total of 1,814 views on Instagram and 2,101 views on YouTube (Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3). The second phase selected the top 10 artists using twitter polls, phone interviews, and one wild card. Twitter users voted for their favorite finalists on polls conducted via the Chocolate City Music twitter handle. The finalists with the highest votes were selected. Each selected finalist then had a phone interview to gather information on the finalists’ thoughts about the Voice2Rep campaign and the motivation for their entry. The phone interview was conducted by Accountability Lab Nigeria’s in-house team to select the top 10 finalists. Lastly, one wild card selection was made to balance low entry turnout from female applicants and ensure equal gender representation. The selected top 10 are: SArtists Songs S/N 1 Celeste Weapon 2 Joel Prodigee Just so you know 3 Cill All You have got 4 Bliizzy My people 5 King Khavali Fire 6 Sharon Save Us 7 AfroLucy Ordinary men 8 MC Lauda Progress 9 Emkay Unity 10 Olajumoke Freedom We collated and uploaded the 10 songs produced for the finalists to a soundcloud link and disseminated the link to 3 | Page fifteen random key stakeholders in the music sector and governance experts who rated the songs and scored them based on two major criteria namely the lyrical message and creative delivery using a google form. The end result of the process saw Adebanjo Boluwatife (Bliizzy), Celestina Ojatula (aka Celeste) and Joel Nwabuisi (Joel Prodigee) as the top 3 finalists. Training The top 10 Voice 2 Rep artists convened in Lagos State for a 10-day training where they were mentored on developing a music career, understanding good governance, and using their voices to promote good governance. The workshop sessions were facilitated by music industry experts from the private sector (M.I. Abaga of Chocolate City Music, Todalael Buki Kafang, Head of Music, Chocolate City Music, Tamunosaki Romeo, Entertainment Lawyer with Chocolate City Music, Oluwaseun Omilani, Head Digital Marketer and Social Media Manager, Kamara Bature, content manager for Chocolate City Music, Lola Kanye of Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)) and civil society leaders (Iyanuoluwa Bolarinwa, Manager at BudgIT, Damilola Ogundipe from BudgIT’s Civic Hive). Using the tools gained from the mentorship workshops, each Voice 2 Rep artist produced a song based around the social theme of elections and good governance. The artists shared that the training gave them a positive mindset and heightened interest in the issue of good governance. As a result, they were further inspired to use their voices as a tool for the transformation in Nigeria. The training assessment showed a 45% increase the artists’ base knowledge of accountability, good governance, democracy and elections. The ten songs produced were disseminated through social media accounts via @voice2rep on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and on a live performance at Bogobiri’s “Don’t Drop the Mic Challenge” in Ikoyi, Lagos. The top 10 artists were also mentored by industry experts over a two-month period. 83.3% of the Voice 2 Rep artists reported the training and mentoring sessions were the most impactful of the program activities. Additional mentoring was provided by Alternate Sounds and Don’t Drop the Mic (DDTM) to support the finalist’s music development. 4 | Page Photo Highlights from the Training and Mentoring Sessions 5 | Page 6 | Page Concerts and Performances The National Concert On February 3, Accountability Lab Nigeria, in conjunction with Chocolate City, OSIWA, and the Embassy of the Netherlands hosted the Choc Boyz Nation (CBN) tour. The purpose of the tour was to inform Nigerians of the importance of voting, accountability, and good governance. Voice 2 Rep artists performed their songs to over 1000 attendees. The concert was well timed as it aligned with the upcoming 2019 general elections. All the artists created their songs to address the state of the nation. The Tour’s star act, M.I. Abaga, made a special speech to the youth, informing them that 55% of registered voters were young people who had the power to change the country. In line with the theme of accountability, the concert ticket was free for anyone who registered and collected their permanent voter’s card. The concert provided Voice 2 Rep artists with the opportunity to gain valuable experience in a live performance setting, and showcase their talents to a wider audience. The sense of community was apparent, as the artists encouraged each other with spirited performances and raw exhibitions of lyrical craftsmanship. The event was covered by Reuters, and had over 49,000 views on Twitter. Smaller Concerts To further use the top ten songs as a tool for national development, Voice 2 Rep artists had the opportunity to perform at 5 additional concerts: ● The Coronation: (Number of People in Attendance – Over 300) 7 | Page A Rap festival featuring mainstream musical acts like Ycee and underground veteran, and battle rappers Maximum and Holyfield. Our Voice2Rep finalists Adebanjo “Bliizzy” Boluwatife and Gbajumo “MC Lauda” Taiwo were featured at the Coronation IVs held at the Seven Seasons in Lekki, Lagos on the 26th of April, 2019. ● O’Live Concert: (Number of People in Attendance – Over 400) The O’live concert was co-hosted by Accountability Lab on April 27, 2019, with featured sponsorship from top brands and media houses such as Showgear, Max FM, TVC Television station and Chocolate City Music. Voice 2 Rep artists Celeste’ Ojatula, Chioma ‘Cill Soul’ Ogbonna, and Arowolo ‘Sharon’ performed in front of an audience of over 400 people. A variety of young musicians have started to show interest Voice2Rep and socially conscious music. ● Bogobiri House Concert Series 1 & 2: (Number of People in Attendance – Over 200 for both events) The Bogobiri House is home of Don’t Drop the Mic (DDTM) - an Urban Variety Show where artists create free- style songs and battle on the spot. On July 6th and 13th 2019, DDTM hosted five of the top ten finalists – Olajumoke, Bliizzy, King Khavali, MC Lauda and Joel Prodigee. The artists delivered an electrifying performance, thrilling audience members with their socially conscious themes. The series of concerts were teasers for the main event, slated for July 20, which featured all of the Voice2Rep finalists. ● Willis Give Dem Fest: (Number of People in Attendance – Over 900) The Willis Give Dem Festival was a live concert that held on July 14th at Central Park in Abuja.