Foremost music streaming service in Africa, Boomplay, has announced winners of its first-ever rap cypher challenge tagged #PassTheMic.
The competition which kicked off on Monday, 16th May 2022, saw five rising stars emerged champions in a grandfinale staged in Lagos on Thursday, August 4th, 2022. The initiative was created as part of its mission of connecting music lovers to their favourite songs and impacting the next generation of music talents in Nigeria and the African continent at large, saw the winners bagged cash prizes.
The competition which was billed to promote the rap genres and young rappers in Nigeria, also hosted some of the most talented upcoming artists on stage for a broad mix of music, art, and culture.
Speaking about the Importance of the show, Marketing Manager Boomplay Nigeria, Oluwatosin James Afuwape, disclosed the idea will help revive rap music in the country. He however revealed his outfit will help connect the winners to an audio and video rap cypher recording with top notch rapper, M.I Abaga.
In his words: “Reviving the culture of rap in Nigeria is a recurrent conversation in the music industry, especially since its arrival in Nigeria in the ’80s has seen the genre rise to more commercial-friendly sounds and lyrical chops delivered in various languages.
“The expansive growth of the rap genre has since influenced and birthed some of Nigeria’s most prominent entertainment exports, and it continues to be a platform for aspiring and emerging music talents in the country and beyond.
“As a dominant player in Nigeria’s music industry, Boomplay is unwavering in its mission to help unlock the potential of Africa’s music ecosystem, and the debut of this rap initiative is an addition to a stream of opportunities the streamer offers the industry.
“The Boomplay #PassTheMic cypher will also see the creative support of veteran and legendary rapper Jude “MI” Abaga under his TASCK initiative, an organization focused on harnessing the power of creativity as a tool for amplifying the right ideas that have the potential to lead a positive change.
“The competition was open to all emerging lyricists and music talents in Nigeria. The Top 3 winners will receive cash prizes of One million, five hundred thousand, and two hundred thousand Naira, respectively. In addition, the Top 5 will also have the opportunity to be in an audio and video rap cypher recording with M.I Abaga,” he stated.
From massive entries received, Foster Nnamdi Chima, emerged 1st runner up while Mayowa Ibidapo Amund, clinched 2nd runner up title. David Awoudu. Segun Awodu and Barnabas Micheal ended 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively.