Alex Okosi is the brain behind the entry of Mtv Base to African market. He is an entertainment guru and he has been spearheading the projection of African music to the world. The inclusion of Africa award categories into BET AWARD is one of his doings.
In this exclusive interview with OSG at the venue of BET AWARD, Alex is proud at the number of African entries at the BET award.
Read the interview
What should viewers, particularly African viewers and lovers of entertainment, be expecting at the BET Awards this year?
Everyone should expect amazing BET Award. It has been a phenomenal award show, one of the highly rated award shows in the world from the television perspective. I think it’s great we have best Africa act as part of the initiative; it is also great to see our talents based in the US to also be included in the award category.
How would you describe the quality and number of entries and nominations from Africa this time around?
It’s really great. It’s a US award show but we have the opportunity to include Africa, UK and France and it’s tremendous. It’s a great testament to the fact that as the brand of BET, we recognize that African talent is important. Having seen the future, we are going to create our own award in the continent related to the BET.
What are your thoughts about the kind/level of growth experienced in the last couple of years in the Africa music industry – from core musicianship to endorsements/awards/global recognition and artiste management standpoints?
African music is growing at great pace. There is nowhere in the world that you will not hear about it, especially Nigerian music, whether you are in France or New York, even in Russia, I believe they listen to our music. It’s a testament to the fact that Nigeria is so blessed with great talents irrespective of the situation we find ourselves
Are there any new projects from Viacom media Africans should be looking forward to in the near future?
Yes, we want to bring BET to the Nigerian audience. We did it with MTV Base and it’s doing great. Nickelodeon is another brand we want to bring. Also, Ridiculousness Africa is going to be launched this July and it will be hosted by BasketMouth with other two top African comedians. It is a Pan-African Ridiculousness . For us, it’s about creating good content that will take Africa to the nest level.
Any other thoughts you would like to share with Africans in Africa and the Diaspora
It is good that our talents and artistes are being recognized on a global platform as this. I am so proud to be associated with this. We should understand that African music is arriving and it will keep growing.
Leave a Reply