Shocking? Culture in its undiluted form is the element that defines us as a people, influences how we interact, absorb new ideas, innovate and even entertain. Basically, it is the grundnorm from which we draw as we innovate and evolve. Hence, preserving it is the highest duty we can take on, one we have not always revered.
Historically, we have been a people who accommodate other cultures, at the risk of losing our own. There was a time when being African, being Nigerian was believed not to be a thing of prestige or pride; but rather an identity that had to be hidden and discarded— perhaps because we had been taught to do so. All of that began to change, with cultural champions who refused to whisper “Nigeria” at the expense of feeling inferior when asked to identify their country of origin. These phenomenal people paved the way, I daresay, for the revolutionary work Paramount Africa commenced in the country.
A cursory glance at the quality of videos being produced at the time, in comparison to what was being produced by leading international acts, assured us that changes had to be made. If African music was to become mainstream, we needed to elevate the quality of videos to enable African creatives make the stories woven into music videos more captivating. Our discovery also revealed the impasse we were at— Africa, at the time, lacked the local capacity needed to elevate African-produced music videos to global standards.
To solve this problem, we began training and upskilling videographers to improve the quality of their video and production quality. In 2007, we partnered with Shell on the “African Video Project” to improve the quality of African music video production. Through the project, MTV Base provided indigenous acts access to the expertise of international talents, including U.K Music Director Nick Quested and sensational singer Amerie. We also availed African artistes an opportunity to have their videos shot, edited, and produced by an internationally-acclaimed music video crew. With these efforts, MTV Base helped indigenous creatives build the capacity to produce phenomenal videos locally.
More than seventeen years after, because of these investments, it is normal to see African creatives clinching Awards like Video Director of the Year. But not before we kickstarted the tradition of celebrating Africa’s incredible talents. In 2008, we initiated the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs) — the first international awards platform to celebrate the brilliance of African music acts. This platform has been a beacon of some sort, further drawing attention to indigenous artistes. Since its inception, the MAMAs has showcased and celebrated many artistes who have either been nominated for or have won various highly-acclaimed international awards, including Burna Boy, Wizkid, Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Davido and Tuface Idibia.
Unsurprisingly, more than a decade after we made the decision to showcase, invest in and celebrate African talents, sounds conceived on Africa’s soil emerged. Today, the world consumes the eclectic sounds of Afrobeat, Amapiano, and Afro-soul — sounds that have unarguably taken the world by storm and have fast become mainstream. Proof of what we believed all along that African talents had the potential for the global stage and that if Africans could embrace their identity and culture without reservation, they would unlock unbelievable levels of creativity.
Our mission to reimagine Africa did not stop with the music industry but rippled into other entertainment industry segments. Leveraging what we had begun with MTV Base, we expanded the channel’s offering to include drama. Over the years, we have launched several edutainment and entertainment series that cut across different genres — the most popular of which is our MTV Shuga series.
We launched MTV Shuga to have difficult conversations, conversations that in the past were treated as taboo topics that had to be shied away from or held in whispers. Through the initial series of MTV Shuga, which was launched in 2009, and the subsequent spinoffs, including MTV Shuga Down South, MTV Shuga Naija, and MTV Shuga Alone Together, we tailored episodes to address a wide range of issues — HIV prevention, HIV testing, gender-based violence, gender equity, mental health, and modern contraception amongst other things.
Surveys evaluating the impact of the edutainment series revealed that it has caused significant behavioural change among viewers. One survey by the London School of Medicine and Tropical Hygiene (LSHTM) showed that exposure to the series led to an increase in awareness of HIV self-testing (60%), PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) (52%), and HIV status (71%). Exposure to the MTV Shuga Alone Together episodes — which focused on debunking COVID-19 myths, highlighting lockdown coping mechanisms and methods of prevention — also had a massive impact as 90% of viewers reported learning new facts, while 85% adopted new behaviours.
Beyond the impact it has had in causing behavioural change across the continent, MTV Shuga has been the springboard that launched the careers of some of Nigeria’s most sensational actors. Since 2009 when the series was launched, the series has featured many who have now become household names, including Jemima Osunde, Rahama Sadau, Timini Egbuson, Amal Umar, Tomiwa Tegbe, and Abayomi Alvin.
