The motive of the tour was not only to find the best freestyle MC, but to initiate international awareness of the 'street life' surrounding social and cultural context of the localized music. In other words, the tour was attempting to better contextualize the application and reception of hip hop culture in each visited country.
The winner received $10,000, a video and a song deal.
Format and rules
The first season of Emcee Africa followed the host Leslie 'Lee' Kasumba to the various host cities, where the local MC/Rapper's were invited to an audition. The final eight MC's were selected to face off in a knockout competition to determine the winner. During the auditions, each performer had two minutes to prove their candidacy for the final eight to a panel of judges. A topic was given to each contender to Freestyle about in order to ensure each contestant was truly improvising and not using any written material. After eight contestants were selected from each country, a separate contest was held, where the eight members would face off to battle each other in two 30 second parts, divided into 2 rounds, followed by the Final. The winner from each country was then flown into Johannesburg to compete for the "Emcee Africa" title, as well as the grand prize. A judge from each country's panel was then flown in to ensure neutrality in the final competition.
The second season followed a similar format with similar rules, except that ten contenders were selected from the auditions, rather than eight. In the second season, contestants who made it through to the second round did not Battle each other but were rather judged based on a performance. From the performance, the judges panel selected two finalists to face off in a final battle.
Wildcard
For the Final Battle in the first season, audiences could log into www.channelo.co.za, and vote for their favorite MC/Rapper from the previous competitions, to reappear in the final stages.
Host
Leslie 'Lee' Kasumba (a top hip hop radio DJ from South Africa's YFM station) is the host. She also corresponds for Africanhiphop.com.
On the tour called 'the Battle Chronicles', she was chosen to narrate her daily experiences of traveling.[1]
Quotes
"Never before has a continental Hip Hop reality based competition such as this existed."[2]
Emcee Africa 1
Ghana
Date: Saturday, 22 December 2007 Location: Usher Forte, Accra, Ghana Co-Host: Eddy Blay (XFM) Judges: Dj Black (Ghanaian DJ), Kwame Swift, Reggie Rockstone
Final 8: Grafik, ID, J Town, Melodrama, Padlock, Rhyme Miller, Robin Hood, Trigger
Round 1
Round 2
Final Battle
ID
Trigger
ID
J Town
J Town
Robin Hood
J Town
Padlock
Melodrama
Padlock
Padlock
Grafik
Grafik
Rhyme Miller
Tanzania
Date: Saturday, 12 January 2008 Location: TCC Social Club, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania Co-Host: Reuben (Clouds FM) Judges: Lindu, Lufunyo, Professor Jay
Final 8: Abbas, Adili, God Emcee, Neville, Phoenix, Rage, Randal, X-Wray
Round 1
Round 2
Final Battle
God Emcee
Abbas
Abbas
Phoenix
Phoenix
Neville
Abbas
Rage
Adili
X-Wray
X-Wray
Rage
Rage
Randal
Nigeria
Date: Saturday, 19 January 2008 Location: Nimbus Art Centre, Lagos, Nigeria Co-Host: Tito (RayPower 100.5 FM) Judges: Blaise, Ikechukwu, Modenine
Final 8: Del, Delta P, E-Law, Jizzy, Maximum, Teeto, Torpedo, Vector
Round 1
Round 2
Final Battle
Teeto
Vector
Teeto
Torpedo
Torpedo
E-Law
Teeto
Maximum
Delta P
Jizzy
Delta P
Maximum
Maximum
Del
Kenya
Date: Saturday, 26 January 2008 Location: WAPI, Nairobi, Kenya Co-Host: Eve D'Souza (Capital FM) Judges: Doobiz, Mwafrika, Nazizi
Final 8: Big Mic, Faya, Kimya, Lethal Dynamic, Mohammed, Point Blank, SNM, Tua
Round 1
Round 2
Final Battle
Kimya
Point Blank
Point Blank
Big Mic
Big Mic
Tua
Big Mic
Lethal Dynamic
Lethal Dynamic
Mohammed
Lethal Dynamic
SNM
SNM
Faya
Angola
Date: Saturday, 1 February 2008 Location: Elinga Teatro, Luanda Co-Host: Judges: DJ Samurai, Kool Kleva, MC K
Final 8: Agape, Jorge, MG, Nigga Chi, One See, Ray D, Sunny Boy, Yung D
Round 1
Round 2
Final Battle
Sunny Boy
One See
Sunny Boy
Yung D
Yung D
Nigga Chi
Yung D
MG
MG
Agape
MG
Jorge
Jorge
Ray D
South Africa
Date: Saturday, 9 February 2008 Location: Roka Bar, Johannesburg, South Africa Co-Host: AK (YFM) Judges: Mizi, Proverb, Ready D
Final 8: Adamiz, Ben Sharpa, Heavy G, Projectah, Quaz, Slege, Snazz D, Steezy Stylish
Date: Friday, 28 March 2008 Location: The Pyramid, Johannesburg Co-Host: Proverb (Metro FM) Judges: Dj Black (Ghanaian DJ), Mizi (South Africa), Modenine (Nigeria), Nazizi (Kenya), Professor Jay (Tanzania), Wordsworth (United States)
Finalists: Big Mic (Kenya), J Town (Ghana), Rage (Tanzania), Snazz D (South Africa), Teeto (Nigeria), Yung D (Angola) Wildcard winner: Adamiz (South Africa)
Snazz D wins the first season of Emcee Africa, earning him $10,000 (USD), and a single and video deal featuring Wordsworth.
Emcee Africa 2
Botswana
Date: Saturday, 18 April 2009 Location: Fashion Lounge, Gaborone, Botswana Co-Host: Judges: Apollo Diablo, Zeus,
Final 10: Aztech 1, Blain, Cibil Nyte, Dizzo, EQ, Kid, King Ming, Nitro, Oracle, Simba
Round 1 Blain vs. Aztech 1 Cibil Nyte vs. Nitro Kid vs. Dizzo EQ vs. King Ming (both disqualified) Simba vs. Oracle (both advanced due to disqualification)
Date: Saturday, 25 May 2009 Location: Roka Bar, Johannesburg, South Africa Co-Host: Reason Judges: HHP, Nthabi, Zubz
Final 10: Adamiz, G.C., Maraza, Mr. Calibre, Otis, Phoenix, Rhyming Type, S!ck, Soniq, Ulysses
Round 1 Otis vs. Adamiz Rhyming Type vs. Phoenix G.C. vs. S!ck Ulysses vs. Mr. Calibre Maraza vs. Soniq
Round 2 (Individual Performance) Adamiz Phoenix S!ck Mr. Calibre Maraza
Final: Maraza vs. Adamiz
Winner: Maraza
Ghana
Date: Thursday, 7 May 2009 Location: Tantra, Accra, Ghana Co-Host: Eddie Blay Judges: Kwaku T, Scientifik
Final 10: Augustt, Boy Gemini, C-Real, Chymney, Krime, Melodrama, Padlock, Props, Robin Hood, Rocky
Round 1
Padlock vs. Chymney (both advanced due to disqualification) Props vs. Augustt Melodrama vs. Robin Hood (both disqualified) C-Real vs. Boy Gemini Rocky vs. Krime
Date: Sunday, 10 May 2009 Location: Insomnia Nightclub, Lagos, Nigeria Co-Host: Judges: B.O.U.Q.U.I., Modenine, Naeto C
Final 10: Black Jesus, Collyde, Cwitch, Dirty-A, Emperor Trench, E.Y.M.E., Jizzy, Sergio, Taikoff, Torpedo Mascaw
Round 1
Dirty-A vs. Torpedo Mascaw (both advanced due to disqualification) Collyde vs. Taikoff (both disqualified) Cwitch vs. Sergio (both disqualified) E.Y.M.E. vs. Jizzy Black Jesus vs. Emperor Trench (both advanced due to disqualification)
Round 2 (Individual Performance)
E.Y.M.E. Dirty-A Emperor Trench Torpedo Mascaw Black Jesus
Final: Black Jesus vs. Dirty-A
Winner: Black Jesus
Kenya
Date: Sunday, 28 June 2009 Location: Club Clique, Nairobi, Kenya Co-Host: G-Money Judges: Doobiz, Mwafrika, Nazizi
Final 10: Bizzill, Kaligraf, Kimya, Kips, Lethal Dynamic, Lon' Jon, OD, Olu, Point Blank Evumbi, X-tatic
Round 1
Point Blank vs. X-tatic Kimya vs. OD Lethal Dynamic vs. Bizzill Lon' Jon vs. Olu Kaligraf vs. Kips
Round 2 (Individual Performance)
Kaligraf Kimya Lethal Dynamic Lon' Jon Point Blank
Final: Point Blank vs. Kaligraf
Final Battle
Date: 28 June 2009 Location: Club Clique, Johannesburg, South Africa Co-Host: Proverb (Metro FM) Judges: HHP (South Africa), Naeto C (Nigeria), Nazizi (Kenya), Proverb (South Africa), Zeus (Botswana)
Finalists: Black Jeez (Nigeria), Cibil Nyte (Botswana), C-Real (Ghana), Maraza (South Africa), Point Blank (Kenya)
Round 1 (Individual Performance)
Black Jeez Cibil Nyte C-Real Maraza Point Blank
Final: Zeus vs. C-Real Final 2: Cibil Nyte vs. Zeus
Winner: Cibil Nyte
Cibil Nyte wins the second season of Emcee Africa, earning him $10,000 (USD), and a single and video deal.
2008: "Battle Chronicles (Emcee Africa)" - (by DJ Black, Rage, Yung D, J Town, Mode9, Snazz, Professor J & Nazizi) (3:49) Produced by Don Juan (Octave Couplet) as featured on Hype Sessions Vol. 21: Jazzworx FM The Album. CD published by HYPE Magazine in their 25th Issue, June/July 2008.
2009: "All Around The A" - (by Proverb, Naeto C, HHP, Nazizi, Zeus, Tamarsha & Cibil Nyte) (5:15) Produced by Don Juan (Octave Couplet).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
Usher Forte, Accra, Ghana
TCC Social Club, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
Nimbus Art Centre, Lagos, Nigeria
WAPI, Nairobi, Kenya
Elinga Teatro, Luanda
Roka Bar, Johannesburg, South Africa