Chocolate City and Ebonylife TV set to float Talent Hunt Show

(L-R) Artiste, Chocolate City Music, Victoria Kimani; President, Chocolate City Group, Audu Maikori; CEO, Chocolate City Music, Jude Abaga (MI); Founder and Executive Chairman, EbonyLife Television (ELTV), Mo Abudu; and Executive Director, ELTV, Lanre Olusola, at the Press Conference announcing "Chocolate City Unsigned" music reality show in Lagos. Photo: Bode Agbede.

One of Africa's biggest indigenous record labels, Chocolate City, in conjunction with Africa’s first Global Black Entertainment and Lifestyle network and production powerhouse, EbonyLife TV, have rolled out plans to organize an indigenous annual talent hunt show.

 Tagged:  ‘Chocolate City Unsigned’, the show, Newswatch Times learnt, is a genuine homegrown reality TV show created to search for the next Africa’s biggest music star.

They disclosed this proposed plan at a press conference which held on January 28, 2016 in Lagos, and which had in attendance the Executive Chairman and CEO of EbonyLife TV, Mo Abudu; President of Chocolate City Group, Audu Maikori; CEO of Chocolate City, Jude Abaga (M.I), as well as Victoria Kimani, and other key Chocolate City talents.

 According to them, Chocolate City Unsigned is set to be the first ever indigenous pan-African talent hunt show created with the sole aim of discovering, developing and supporting fresh artistes, giving them a platform to showcase their skills, launching them into a professional career of instant music sensation, stardom and celebrity status.

 There is no doubt that EbonyLife TV and Chocolate City partnership recognizes Africa as home to the highest concentration of a rapidly growing, vibrant and young class of people who have an amazing penchant for the most passionate and most fervent music culture in the world; a rising creative generation to watch and the next wave of stars poised to take the African music industry by storm.

In view of this, Chocolate City Unsigned is a great opportunity for brands that not only wish to gain a foothold with Africa’s teeming new audiences, but who also understand just how important music is to these young target demographic, and who therefore wish to form stronger connections with them while introducing their brands to them through the new and innovative music talent hunt property. Sponsors for the show will be unveiled by the end of March, 2016.

Speaking at the event, President, Chocolate City Group, Audu Maikori, said one of the biggest things in Chocolate City is that everyday, there is a demo. We want to do a talent hunt and find people from across the country. We want to give them the skill that will help them to survive.” He defined the word ‘Unsigned’ as “Until you are signed, nothing will happen in your career”. Maikori described the show as the best TV show that has taken place in the 50 years.

According to him, “Chocolate City Unsigned is set to bring in something that no music reality TV has ever had - artist discovery, developments and support from a team that has done so with some of Nigerians biggest artistes. The competition is the first indigenous music reality Television show in Nigeria to discover new talents across the African landscape.”

For Founder and Executive Chairman, EbonyLife Television (ELTV), Mo Abudu, “Africa is brimming with thousands of yet-to-be-discovered singing talents and this partnership of globally recognized brands, EbonyLife TV and Chocolate City, through Chocolate City Unsigned, is poised to create a truly indigenous platform that guarantees youths jobs for life from a record label that understands the African music scene more than anyone else; one that knows how to create stars and make them relevant to the African market. We are greatly excited about this platform, not only for the African youth, but also for brands that appreciate the power of an amazing music property to connect with the drivers of arguably the most vital segment of the economy.”

 Abudu adds, “I am excited about the partnership. Abudu and I have been talking about the show for the past two years. The Unique Selling Proposition (USP) about the show is the fact that it is homegrown. The recipe is there. What I like about Chocolate City is their professionalism. They are a properly structured organisation committed to excellence. It is important to create a star. It is about finding that talent we are going to sign every year, promote a local star and make him/her an international star."

In the same vein, the CEO of Chocolate City, M.I (Jude Abaga) emphasized that, “In summary, Chocolate City Unsigned is about creating stars. I’m a living proof of this exciting reality and I and the team are now ready to take others on this amazing journey to stardom. Chocolate City has the recipe for making music stars and EbonyLife TV have the recipe for making TV stars. It’s a partnership like none other. We both create stars because we understand the local nuances of making stars; we find raw talent from nowhere and take them right to the top. Chocolate City Unsigned will do nothing less.” This initiative, M.I., added, “aims to connect with Nigerians to give back to the society”.

Registration for the Chocolate City Unsigned competition will be opened to all interested participants across Africa on March 21, 2016 while the competition proper is billed to commence in Lagos, Nigeria, in May 2016. Chocolate City Unsigned will be televised on EbonyLife TV and other select TV channels.