BBA Africa Forum.
Four continental musical heavyweights will light up the Big Brother: The Chase stage this Sunday during the stunning 2-hour live finale, as Africa’s votes decide who out of Beverley, Melvin, Elikem, Cleo and Dillish will take home the USD300 000 prize after 91 days of epic action. Ice Prince, DJ Ganyane, Keko and R2bees are household names across the continent, and will add the perfect musical accompaniment to what promises to be a dramatic evening.
Ice Prince has been performing and rapping since he was in secondary school. Since then, the Nigerian superstar has charted and performed around the world, collaborating with some of the continent’s hottest artists and selling out shows wherever he goes.
Influenced by Notorious B.I.G, Rakim, Jay-Z, Common, Talib Kweli, Kanye West, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Lauryn Hill, M.I and Jesse Jagz, he has won numerous awards such as The Headies Awards 2011 for Song of the Year and Best Rap Single, African Act of the Year at the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards 2012, the Ovation Award: Africa Pop Songs 2012, Best Hip Hop Artist at the 2012 Channel O MVA’s.
He has performed at the HMV Apollo Afrobeats Festival, the O2 Arena in London, Botswana’s Wharic Park, the Expo Hall in Lagos, hosted the 2012 Channel O MVAs, played at SXSW in Texas in 2012 and was the audience host for Chris Brown’s show in Nigeria in 2012. South Africa’s Ganyani Tshabalala – DJ Ganyani – has been in the music industry for over 20 years.
His passion for music led him to teach himself DJ-ing techniques, aged 15. Today he is recognized for his mastering of harmonic mixing – and killer beats! A household name amongst the youth in South Africa and the SADC region – particularly in Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana, he is the DJ of choice for the South African Football Association.
DJ Ganyani has tutored, mentored and inspired a host of local and international DJ’s and his latest album, Ganyani House Grooves 5, achieved gold status within 3 months of its release. Multi Award-winning Ugandan rap star Keko recently joined the Sony Music stable, alongside international superstars like Alicia Keys, P!nk, Usher, Christina Aguilera, Pitbull and Chris Brown. Her rise to fame began in 2010 with the release of “Fallen Heroes”, where she appeared alongside other established Ugandan artists like Don MC, SP, DAVIS and the Mwanba Children’s Choir.
Keko began to turn heads with her lyrics, delivery style and sheer presence. Her 2012 chart-topping club hit entitled “Make You Dance” featuring Kenya’s Madtraxx, became a smash hit on radio stations across Africa, with the video on high rotation across leading music television channels. Ghanaian group R2BEES believe in not only making songs for Ghanaians living at home or abroad, but believe that the world can relate to their message. Comprised of cousins Peadae and Mugeez, they started out as a group called Camp Yard in Tema, winning radio contests and competing at shows around Greater Accra.
The group released its first single in August 2009 titled “Yawa Gal”, which was an instant hit. They followed their debut track up with “A Dey Mad”, which immediately topped charts across Ghana, while their third single “Kiss Your Hand” ft Wande Coal made massive inroads across the continent and catapulted the group to international fame. At the 2013 Ghana Music Awards, the group took home wins in 6 of the 9 categories in which they were nominated, including Song of the Year and Artist of the Year.
Don’t miss out on the Big Brother: The Chase Finale this Sunday at 19:00 CAT live on DStv Channel 197 & 198 and AfricaMagic Entertainment as these musical superstars rip up the stage, and the massive USD 300 000 prize is handed over to one of the remaining housemates.