Kenyan stars, Idris Elba to share stage during YouTube Africa Day Concert
Idris Elba, who hosted this year’s Africa Day concert. Africa Day is celebrated every May 25.
Top Kenyan artistes are set to share the stage with acclaimed British actor Idris Elba in Nigeria as the star play host to YouTube Africa Day Concert on May 25, 2022.
Returning for the third year in a row, the YouTube Africa Day concert will feature a number of Africa’s finest music stars. The event will form part of a series of events announced by YouTube to run throughout the month of May in celebration of Africa creatives.
During this period, Kenyan and other content creators across the continent will benefit from virtual and in-person training sessions.
YouTube, has, however not revealed any names of the Kenyan artistes selected to take part in this mega event.
Celebrated actor
Nation.Africa understands that YouTube intends to hold on to the names of the selected Kenyan artistes who will share the stage with the celebrated actor until the date of the concert nears.
This year, the event will be held in person and streamed live on YouTube unlike last year where it was held virtually with all-men band Sauti Sol and chanteuse Nadia Mukami flying to Nigeria as part of the Kenyan representatives.
These series of events are intended to reaffirm YouTube’s commitment to growing Africa's creator ecosystem, and to spotlight and celebrate the artists and creatives who are driving the growth of Afrobeats and Africa's music industry.
Content creators in Africa will receive support from YouTube through virtual and in-person training and workshops to help them grow their channels and improve their skills.
These include a Creator 360 virtual workshop, which will allow African content creators to collaborate and share skills, and in-person Creator Day workshops, which will be led by industry experts and help aspiring creators learn the skills they need to continue thriving on YouTube.
“We’re proud of YouTube for providing a platform that shares Africa's creativity with the rest of the world. From music, fashion, and beauty to the latest trending movements, YouTube plays an important role in the emergence and expression of Africa's unique cultural stories to local and global audiences. By commemorating Africa Month through these impactful initiatives, we continue to spotlight, and elevate the work of creators and artists who are at the forefront of the continent's creative explosion”, says Alex Okosi, Managing Director, Emerging Markets, YouTube.
Empower budding producers
YouTube will also offer workshops under its Future Insiders Programme to empower budding producers and songwriters with hands-on training taught by seasoned producers such as Nigerian Sarz known for his Mad and Ego hits featuring Wurld and famous South African Amapiano producer Musa Keys.
The YouTube Africa Day Concert will once again commemorate Africa Day by using music as a platform to showcase African culture.
The virtual and in-person trainings' build on past initiatives such as the YouTube Black Voices Funds and the YouTube Shorts Fund, a $100 million fund (Sh11.5 billion) designed to reward creators who make creative and unique shorts for their contributions.
Earlier this year, Angel Lately, Cheymuv, Mandi Sarro and Justus Nandwa were among 26 creators selected from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa who joined the 135 creator-strong 2022 YouTube Black voices creator class.
The creators receive seed funding alongside dedicated support to help them develop their channels and thrive on the YouTube platform.
Recently, the YouTube NextUp programme, which focuses on providing access to learning through one-on-one coaching, workshops and resources was launched to amplify the growth of many successful creators across the region.
