Performers thrill at Africa Day Benefit Concert

Windhoek • michael@namibiansun.comMTV Base Africa and YouTube hosted the Africa Day Benefit Concert At Home yesterday, a virtual event that took us on a tour of Africa and the world at large. In my column last week, I mentioned that the line-up wasn’t a fair representation of the continent’s musical talent, and having watched the show, I decided to review the event.Hosted by Idris Elba, the show was opened with a speech by South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, who also doubles as the chairperson of the African Union. Nigeria’s Davido delivered the first musical performance, with Sho Madjozi, Fally Ipupa and Sauti Sol being some of the other acts on the half of the line-up.The performances were very instrumental and diverse. The melodies varied; some were slow, while others picked up the pace. Humanitarian initiativeThe theme of the concert was very relevant to the current season, and it was great seeing global superstars in the entertainment industry setting time aside to be a part of this humanitarian initiative. All funds raised will go to the world food programme and The United Nations Children's Fund for coronavirus pandemic assistance to children and families in need. Overall, I enjoyed how the show was put together. It was indeed a night filled with entertaining performances from various African musicians. This concert also gave us insights into how musicians can improve their performance delivery online. Standout performancesPersonally, my favourite performance was by Tanzania’s Diamond Platinumz, whose act was like watching MTV Cribs as he showed us around his beautiful home while performing his smash hit, Jeje. Another standout performer was South Africa’s Nasty C. His stage design and set-up were testament to how seriously he takes his craft. Like many other performers on the line-up, Nasty C only performed one song, but his stage was beautifully adorned. Lacking line-upI however still stand by the argument that musically, not nearly enough African artists were featured. I’m not sure what criteria they used in drawing up the line-up, but it would have been great to see all African countries represented. This is worth mentioning because it is not the first time an African event only features big artists. Upcoming artists also need to be represented at events of this magnitude and they need the exposure that comes with events of this calibre.

Performers thrill at Africa Day Benefit Concert

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-07

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Performers thrill at Africa Day Benefit Concert

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-07

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