Spotify Honors African Creators and Sounds of Africa
Spotify used the occasion to recognize a group of African producers who are making their voices known and, as a result, exposing the globe to a diverse range of African talent. The Sounds of Africa campaign, which featured six musicians and six podcasters, was launched through a social media campaign in the week preceding May 25.
It all culminated in a night of revelry in Johannesburg, South Africa, attended by some of the founders as well as music industry professionals.
Kenya’s Mantalk.ke and The Sandwich Podcast were among the six podcasters, as were Nigeria’s I Said What I Said and Tea with Tay, and South Africa’s True Crime ZA and After School is After School with Sis G.U. Kenya’s Chris Kaiga and Nikita Kering’, Nigeria’s Ladipoe and Preyé, and South Africa’s Nomfundo Moh and Zo Modiga were among the six performers.
Patricia Kihoro, the evening’s presenter, opened off the event with a fireside talk with Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Spotify Africa’s Managing Director. Muhutu-Remy spoke about the Spotify journey in Africa and how platforms like Spotify can help put African storytelling on the map in her first interview in the post. Eli and Oscar of Mantalk will be on a creator panel. Ky, Jola from the podcast ‘I Said What I Said,’ and South African singer, Zo Modiga all emphasized the need of communicating African experiences in order to change people’s perspectives of the continent.
Spotify also announced the introduction of the Africa Podcast Grant to help showcase African voices. The $100,000 prize will be distributed to ten innovators who are presenting the story of Africa. This fund aims to increase the visibility of underrepresented stories and viewpoints in podcasting.
Blinky Bill opened off the celebration with an exciting show that got everyone moving, and a couple of Kenyans in the house even joined him on stage. South African dancer-turned-actor Kamo Mphela followed with a building-shaking performance. DBN Gogo followed with an Amapiano set before Nasty C, the night’s main artist, hit the stage. The Coolest Kid in Africa certainly delivered, concluding with his smash hit Particular. Juls closed out the evening with an Afrobeats show that left everyone wanting more.
“This is the first of many efforts that will follow.” We would like to feature even more African inventors on a larger scale, so that the entire world understands that Africa is not a passing fad, but is here to stay.” — Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, Spotify SSA Managing Director