A total of N1 million in prize money was awarded at the conclusion of a fiercely contested music session at the third Edition of the Battle of the Sounds, themed “Fierce Edition,” which began on November 5 and concluded on Sunday, November 27, 2022, at the Hennessy Basketball Court in Festac town, Lagos.
The prize money was divided among three nations of 15 finalists who emerged from over 40 contestants for the eight nations that participated in the music competition, with the Red Mercuries earning 115 points of combined judges coins and fan coins to emerge as the overall winning nation and take home the grand prize of N400,000.
The first runner-up nation, Uranus 77, won N200,000 with a total of 104 coins, while the second runner-up nation, Jupiter Clique, won N100,000 with a total of 101 coins. Other prizes were given to individual warriors who won first place in their respective music genres. Wale Ogundiran (Walexey), Shola Hamzat (Sholly-B), John Akinfolurin (Mistabouncy), and Nosiru Talabi (Lucky Vibe) were the best in afropop, fuji, reggae, and rap, respectively, and Olaoluwa Folakan (Eizzy Boi), Afeez Adesiyan (Feez4), Anthonia Philip (Linezy), and Johnson Oseh (Youngcrez) were the first runner-ups in the same categories.
Other prizes included music recording deals from the Hive Records given to Mistabouncy and Titilola Odunigba (Titi), recording deals from The Golden Prince Production, Perf perf Sounds, sound mixing deals from Indomix Records, and free collaboration deals from Faze, GT da Guitarman, and K-Peace.
Mr. Oluwaseun Ayeni, the chief convener and CEO of Bizzybody, spoke during the presentation of the prize money and congratulated all the finalists for making it this far in the competition. He reiterated the organization’s willingness to provide everything needed to help the aspiring artists succeed. According to him, “after the competition, all individual bests would receive a music production deal and possible features of celebrity artistes on their choice music project.” Our expectation is that we will help kick-start their music career and hope that they will soar from there. So, based on what we’ve been through, I can tell you that a lot of iron has been set ablaze. The only thing that remains is to unleash the talents, skills, and showmanship that will result in a new entertainment economy for Nigeria.”
The one-month music festival, described as a huge success by participants, featured topics on social awareness such as the “japa syndrome versus staying back to fix our country,” money versus love in a relationship, and other trending social issues.
The event also featured a goodwill message from the Lagos State Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola, who was ably represented by the CEO of the Lagos State Council of Arts and Culture, Mr. Idowu Johnson. Other notable guests included: Faze of Platashun Boiz fame, ace sound engineer; Indomix, award-winning song writer; GT da Guitarman, K-Peace of Nigerian Idol fame, celebrity disc jockey; DJ-Fresh, Sammy-Jay the Hip-hop head, Solosoundz, Oga jojo, and others.
Ms Oluwaseyi Halima Adebanjo, co-convener of the 2022 edition of the Battle of the Sounds, stated, ‘We are happy about the presence and participation of the Lagos state government, because it not only raises the profile of the event, but it also provides an excellent opportunity for its inclusion in the state’s tourism calendar as well as possible material technical and logistical support of the state government.’