MTV Throws Challenge To Local Artistes

Ghanaian music artistes have been challenged to produce creative music videos that are true to their lifestyle and not copy what they see in other foreign videos.

Applauding them for their creativity, the General Manager of pan-African music channel MTV base, Mr. Alex Okosi, speaking at a press briefing to kick off the MTV Base LIVE! tour in Accra, however commended them for using their local language in their music, and urged the artistes to sustain the hiplife art-form as its distinguishes that music as an original and fresh art-form.

Last week, a team from MTV base were in the country to film scenes to be included in programmes on the channel, and hosted the first of a series of events to tour the African continent dubbed MTV Base LIVE!, attracting a hip urban crowd, and featured local artistes Obour, VIP, Tic Tac and Mad Fish on the same stage with South African hiphop sensations, Skwatta Kamp, and New York superstar, DJ Ruckus.

Launched in February 2005, MTV Base so far plays a minimum of 30 percent of music videos sourced in Africa on the channel. This translates to a minimum of 4-6 videos every hour, and as GM Alex Okosi puts it, “We want to significantly alter this ratio, and we want a lot of it to come from Ghanaian artistes”.

Ghanaian music artistes have been challenged to produce creative music videos that are true to their lifestyle and not copy what they see in other foreign videos.

Applauding them for their creativity, the General Manager of pan-African music channel MTV base, Mr. Alex Okosi, speaking at a press briefing to kick off the MTV Base LIVE! tour in Accra, however commended them for using their local language in their music, and urged the artistes to sustain the hiplife art-form as its distinguishes that music as an original and fresh art-form.

Last week, a team from MTV base were in the country to film scenes to be included in programmes on the channel, and hosted the first of a series of events to tour the African continent dubbed MTV Base LIVE!, attracting a hip urban crowd, and featured local artistes Obour, VIP, Tic Tac and Mad Fish on the same stage with South African hiphop sensations, Skwatta Kamp, and New York superstar, DJ Ruckus.

Launched in February 2005, MTV Base so far plays a minimum of 30 percent of music videos sourced in Africa on the channel. This translates to a minimum of 4-6 videos every hour, and as GM Alex Okosi puts it, “We want to significantly alter this ratio, and we want a lot of it to come from Ghanaian artistes”.