Expectations high as Coke Studio Africa kicks off

It is a season that brings out the best of fusions from the vast African continent and over the years it has become the melting pot of African arts and culture.

Just when it looked uncertain, organisers this week announced that the production of the Coke Studio Africa has kicked off in Nairobi with the new season set to air on TV across Africa, starting February 2019.

Just like it has always been viewers of the show should expect to once more watch more than 25 talented stars drawn from Sub Sahara Africa.

Some of the artistes are making their debut to the programme whereas some like making a return to one of the most popular live marsh-up shows on the continent.

Some of these artists include Wasafi music producer, Lizer, “2 in 1” hit maker Naiboi (Kenya), Winky D (Zimbabwe), Mahlet (Ethiopia), Messias (Mozambique) and Alvin Kizz (Uganda).

Returning on the show are continental stars: hip-hop heavyweight Khaligraph Jones (Kenya) and BET award-winner Rayvanny (Tanzania) back for a second time.

Speaking earlier on in the week Monali Shah, Head of Content Excellence, for Coca-Cola Southern and East African Business Unit said they were excited to be back for yet another captivating season of Coke Studio Africa.

“With the program, we continue to set pace in the industry by using music to connect with our consumers, who are big enthusiasts of it. The program continues to create business opportunities for hundreds of people in the industry, across the continent, working on the various components of this production.”

According to her, Africa has a young and growing population with an average age of just 18, and so it’s essential that our brand connects credibly with young Africans, and there is nothing that unites Africa more than a love of music.

“Music is the heartbeat and the soul of many diverse communities throughout Africa and Coke Studio Africa is helping introduce different musical styles and cultures to new communities for the first time, while maintaining a long tradition of Coca-Cola’s support of music to build its brands”, explains Monali Shah once told CNN.

The selected artists will spend the forthcoming weeks at the recording studios of Coke Studio Africa in Nairobi, Kenya creating music that will connect people across the continent proud.

They will be paired alongside Coke Studio Africa Super producers, who will produce the show’s musical fusions like Covers, Throwbacks and Original Compositions.

Previously there was Coke Studio Africa and Coke Studio South Africa. The two have been merged to form one bigger, better show now called - Coke Studio Africa.

There is every reason why artiste love this program and many indeed cannot wait to hit the road because while there contacts are made and even opportunities for collaborations are born.

In 2016 after their session in Nairobi rapper Joh Makini and Nigeria’s Chidinma went on to produce a hugely successful hit single ‘Perfect Combo’ and it was while there that Diamond Platnumz met Ne-Yo and they too went on to produce Marry You. And as Vanessa Mdee once admitted, it is the contacts that you make at such places that make you the kind of musician that you want to become.

It was while there that WCB’s Rayvanny went on to meet Jason Derulo, the two have since remixed the hugely successful single ‘Tip Toe’.

Musical talent doesn’t just exist on stage. There’s also an impressive array of producers from around the continent who have graced the show including Yuvir Pillay Nivedan a.k.a Sketchy Bongo from South Africa, Kiff No beat from Ivory Coast, Nahreel and Wasafi’s Liazer from Tanzania.

Big names in the music industry beyond the African continent have on many occasions made guest appearances at the show. Some of the international musicians include Wyclef Jean, Neyo and Trey Songz and Jason Derulo have starred on previous seasons.

One of the elements that makes Coke Studio Africa 2017 so unique and entertaining to watch, is the specially formatted performances.

Artists come together to create and perform music in different ways, to show off their own unique styles as well as complement one another. There’s also ‘The Originals’ where the singers create a fresh new song from scratch. There’s the ‘Big Break Artistes’where musicians who have a lot of potential and haven’t quite made it yet, get to collaborate with the continent’s biggest acts. Last year saw the s the introduction of ‘The Throwback’. This is where singers perform hits that they used to listen to back in the day.

Social media is evolving quickly. We are constantly being presented with new and exciting ways to communicate and share content, and Coke Studio Africa 2017 is a perfect example. Last year, for the first time, the show used Instagram Stories as well as Snapchat, to keep fans up to date as well as to promote user generated content.

Coke Studio Africa was first launched in 2013. The show embraces different styles of music within a single platform which allows each artist to showcase their talent and genres while creating and performing fusion compositions with different artists across Africa.

The show’s footprint continues to grow every day, airing on 27 local stations in 14 countries with over a million African music fans reached each week through the digital platform alone and 400 million radio impressions of the music featured on Coke Studio.