MTV BASE LIVE PARTY IN LAGOS WITH PRAS

Source: nigeriafilms.com

Nigeria has come and gone is no more news, but what is news is the opportunity the show provided in exhibiting the abundance of musical talents in Nigeria.

Hip-Hop royalty and 'Ghetto Supastar', Pras Michel and five Nigerian Artistes alongside DJ Big Ted from UK, DJ Humility and DJ Fresh
Wave were on hand to entertain music lovers over the weekend.

Pras Michel, who was a third of the nineties super group, the Fugees,
mounted the stage after other arts have performed and threw a challenge to
the audience to present anybody among them who could sing. He randomly
handpicked three males and two females to participate in a competition for a
NOKIA handset. After each of them was given to opportunity to prove his or
herself with three of them singing and one male and a female dancing, two of
them who rapped made it to the second and final stage. After rapping to the
delight of the audience amazement of Pras himself, one of them carried the
day based on the preference of the audience.
Save for the fact that theaudience saw them climbing the stage from among
them; they could have passed for established Artistes. Pras presented the
NOKIA handset to him.

Before engaging the four members of the audience in the competition, Pras
had rendered two tracks, a rehash of Bob Marley's "Africans Unite" and
"We Are The World", saying the second was a message from
Michael Jackson toNigerians.
He said he called Michael Jackson before leaving for Nigeria, and
the Pop Star told him to tell Nigerians that "You're Not Alone". The entire
arena became charged when Pras began rendering one of the greatest and
memorable hits from The Fugees' musical repertoire, "Killing Me Softly With
His Song." It was as if the lyrics of the song went into the spine of the
audience, as they soulfully sang along with Pras and danced to its beat.

To wrap up his thrilling performance, Pras also did a superb rehash of
Dolly Parton's "Island In The Sun," which the thrilled audience also sang
and danced to. The Fugees' DJ Leon and US chantress China Black,
who took the role of Lauren Hill, joined Pras Michel in the performance.
The event took place on Friday, October 14, 2005 at The Vault nightclub
in Lagos.

Prior to Pras' performance, the Nigerian Talents billed to perform at the
party had took turns to entertain the capacity filled arena. Jazzman set the
ball rolling, after which P-Square came in with the razzmatazz dance steps,
which has become their trade mark. They did "Bizzy Body" and "Get Squared"
from their second and latest album. The well choreographed and energetic
dance they displayed during "Get Squared" really thrilled the audience, who
applauded them and screamed in ecstasy throughout the performance. After
them came Nigeria's new discovery ASA, and then 2-Face Idibia, the 'Best
African Act' nominee in the MTV Europe Music Awards.

2-Face did one of his hit tracks – "Ole". This hit song, no doubt, sent the
audience into soulful moods as they danced and sang along with him.
Performances by the Acts were spiced by vibes from the turntables of the
DJs. DJ Big Ted was the first to entertain, while the two others, DJ
Humility and DJ Fresh Wave performed at interludes before the next Act
mounts the stage and during their performances.

Each of the artistes was handpicked by MTV base to create a fantastic and
funfair one-off party event with the music channel's signature urban music
vibes and outrageous party atmosphere. Highlights from the MTV base LIVE!
Party in Lagos were recorded and will be televised across Africa on MTV base
(DStv channel 88) on Wednesday, November 2, 2005 and repeat broadcast a week later on Wednesday, November 10, 2005.

Earlier in the day, the global music channel and Silverbird Television had
announced a landmark MTV base programming deal in a press conference. The
deal, according to Alex Okosi, Vice-President and General Manager, MTV
Networks Africa, will see Silverbird TV (Stv) broadcasting 14 hours per week
of MTV base's innovative music and youth programming to Stv's Nigerian
viewers. In the words of Ben Murray-Bruce, Chairman, Silverbird Group, "MTV
base and Stv will jointly leverage the block to develop marketing solutions
for advertisers looking to reach the mass Nigerian young adult market. The
two brands will also explore co-production opportunities aimed at showcasing
the talents of Nigerian musicians and artists." The joint programming will
commence on Monday, October 17, 2005 on week days between 18:00-19:00;
23:30-00:30 and Saturdays and Sundays, between 17:00-19:00.

ABOUT MTV BASE

MTV base is a pan-African, 24-hour English language music television channel
airing to 1.3 million households in sub-Saharan Africa. Targeted at mass
African youth, MTV base MTV's first bespoke channel for the African market
and features the Continent's broadest mix of contemporary artists and music
genres. Launched on 22 February 2005, MTV base combines African and
international music genres relevant to young African viewers including
R'n'B, dancehall, hip-hop, kwaito, hip life, reggae, zouk, mbalax and
Afrobeat, and celebrates the cultural vibrancy and creativity of African
music and artists, showcasing them alongside their music peers from around
the world. MTV base is a wholly owned subsidiary of MTV Networks Europe.