If you were at Alliance Française de Lagos on May 9, 2025, you would marvel at the raw talent and creative ingenuity of four Nigerian emerging music artistes, who held the audience spellbound with their unique lyrics, dances and raps.
The performances by the foursome were simply electrifying and the corresponding cheers by the audience at evening outing said it.
They were the highlight of the The Amplify Bootcamp Live Showcase, by the French Embassy in Nigeria in collaboration with CIIFA.
At the live music talent show, two Lagos-based artistes; Ifé and Esoterica, enthralled the audience with their unique lyrics and dances, while Mannie Tseayo, and Salako, who are Abuja based, heightened the excitement with their various cultural rich and contemporary music performances
From ‘Welu nwayoo’, ‘Zeluu esemokwu’ to ‘Ikemfuna’, Ifé, a singer, songwriter, live performer, and a graduate of Music and Performing Arts, set the stage on fire with her Igbo infused lyrics and performances, while Esoterica, a Nigerian indie artist known for her captivating blend of folk, soul, and afrobeats, with her deep and philosophical lyrics, performed songs such as ‘Decisions’, ‘Being a Bobby’, others to the admiration of the audience.
With her Tiv culture infused songs like, ‘I know my origin!’, ‘Girls Like Me’ and ‘The Shine’ Mannie Tseayo stole the show.
Born as Emmanuella Tseayo, the singer, songwriter, and multidisciplinary creative whose sound fuses Afrobeats, R&B, and rap, lived up to the expectations as her performance of the electrifying ‘Kwaghi’ dance steps and raps saw the audience rooting for the Benue-born female artiste.
If the audience were allowed to choose a winner, Mannie Tseayo would have been declared one right from the stage.
But Salako, the only male artiste among the four and the oldest of them, also delivered with a bouquet of show; from lyrics inspired by his Yoruba culture, to dance contemporary dance and poetic moods.
Salako, an Afrojazz artiste, arranger, producer and festival curator, who also organises the Abuja Jazz Festival, enlivened the evening with songs like ‘Wande’ and ‘Changes’.
However, the showcase, attended by key players from the Nigerian music industry, was the result of diferent bootcamps held in both Lagos and Abuja.
It kicked off with an open call that received over 200 applications.
Following the open call, a jury including: Made Kuti, Blessing Azubike, Godwin Tom, Margaux Demeerssemen and Adeola Akinyemi, selected 32 artistes and managers from the initial 200 applicants based on their musicality, experience and motivation.
They then followed a 5-day bootcamp, in partnership with CChub, learning various skills such as storytelling and pitching, legal aspects in the music industry, artistic communication and the use of social networks, as well as concepts such as artistic identity and career planning, among others.
The jury met a second time, and chose four artists and their managers among them, based on their deliverables.
They then took part in a 5-day live performance training, in partnership with CIIFA on topics such as stage design, media etiquette, vocal techniques, establishing a technical rider, and live contracts, with experts as Foza, Major Bangz, Ice Nweke, Osafile Oladotun, Shimmer Goddess, Dr. Bukky George Taylor, and had numerous talks with Godwin Tom.
They also were stage coached by Made Kuti, and then got to perform a live showcase at Alliance française de Lagos, attended by key players from the Nigerian music industry.
The Amplify Bootcamp is part of the wider Création Africa fund, an initiative of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs designed to support and encourage African creation, artists and cultural industries through various programmes implemented by the French Embassy in Nigeria.
