Nazizi to judge Nokia rap competition

Kenya’s first lady of rap, Nazizi Hirji will lead a panel of celebrity hiphop judges in the first round of auditions for the upcoming Don’t Break the Beat competition. Nazizi will be choosing the best cypher talent from East Africa together with Point Blank Evumbi, Eric Musyoka, Joey Muthengi, P unit’s Frasha (Francis Amisi) and DJ Joe Mfalme.

They have a 70 per cent voting power to elect the rapper who will be crowned the Nokia Don’t Break the Beat rapper, while the other 30 per cent will be decided by the fans who will vote via YouTube.

Aspiring rappers in Nairobi get to impress the judges first, on Saturday, July 14 from 9am to 5pm at the Nairobi National Museums. Successful contestants from these auditions go on to battle it out at club nights and national finals, competing with rappers from across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania for the coveted East Africa title, and a whopping Sh250,000 in prize money, as well as a brand New Nokia Asha mobile phone.

“The youth in East Africa are all about self-expression and music is an important part of our culture,” says Angela Githuthu, Marketing Activation Manager for Nokia East Africa. This campaign, linked to the Nokia Asha range of mobile phones, centres on an East African wide search to find the definitive rapper amongst the youth.