Telecommunications service provider, Airtel Nigeria, has announced the trio of rap artistes Phyno, Illbliss and one of Nigeria’s fast rising producers, Masterkraft as judges for the East Regional final of Airtel One Mic, a music talent-hunt show for tertiary institutions.
The judges are tasked with the responsibility of selecting a winner from the six zonal finalists who will be participating in the regional finals holding this weekend in Port Harcourt.
The finalists comprise two representatives each from Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Enugu; University of Port Harcourt and University of Calabar who will vie for the star prize of a Kia Picanto and a recording deal with a renowned Nigerian producer.
Their performances will be assessed on parameters such as creativity, lyrics, punch line, appearance, stage performance and connection with the crowd during the freestyle, acapella and studio recorded track performances.
The music talent hunt is currently taking tertiary institutions in Nigeria by storm and has so far produced three winners from the Ogun, Lagos and West regional finals. The last leg of the competition will be in the North region and will hold on February 13, 2014 in Gwagwalada, Abuja, with contestants drawn from the University of Abuja, Nasarawa State University and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
The first winner of the competition, Temidayo Omoniyi aka ZlatanIbile, an undergraduate of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, emerged from the Ogun zone while a 200 Level student of University of Lagos, Oladotun Alade, popularly known as Dotman, clinched the star prize for the Lagos region. The third winner, Alalade Ololade, a 200 level Psychology student of Ekiti State University (EKSU), outshone competition to win the West Regional final which was held in Ilorin, Kwara state.
Popular Nigerian artistes and producers such as ID Cabasa, Reminisce, Black Magic and DJ Jamalot have also been part of the competition as mentors to the contestants and judges as well.
The Airtel One Mic is aimed at discovering and promoting musical talent from tertiary institutions in Nigeria, in line with the company’s commitment to consistently encourage and empower Nigerian youths towards achieving their dreams through various identified passion points.