Mr Eazi’s emPawa initiative, a talent incubator for rising African artists, is reopening to submissions on Friday, August 15.
This time around, emPawa Africa will offer 30 artists the funds to film their music video, as well as offer mentorship and guidance from cemented names like Diamond Platinumz, Sarkodie, Kwesta, Guilty Beatz, Juls, E. Kelly, DJ Neptune, Diplo and Mr Eazi himself, who will all be participating as mentors.
To be considered, artists just have to upload a short video (up to 1 minute in length) to Instagram of themselves performing an original song, cover, or freestyle, with the hashtag #emPawa30.
In this second phase of the program both artists based in Africa and across the African diaspora are welcomed to apply. “The #emPawa30 will include 10 artists from Nigeria, 10 artists from other countries on the African continent, and five U.K.-based African artists, with the remaining five spots open to African-born artists in countries around the world, including the U.S. and Canada,” a press statement reveals.
YouTube Music will be partnering with emPawa to provide support for the 10 Nigerian artists that are chosen. “It’s critical to develop the next generation of talent—and there is so much talent exploding out of Nigeria and the African continent right now,” says YouTube’s Global Head of Music, Lyor Cohen. “Africa is setting the tempo all around the globe.”
In its initial phase last November, emPawa had some notable successes from the likes of Ghana’s J. Derobie, Nigeria’s Joeboy and others.
The program will close to submissions on September 15, after which each entry will each be evaluated by Mr Eazi and his team
