Join #TheCookoutAfrica with Vincent Berry – Six-time Grammy Nominee
Masterclass in Collaborative Songwriting: Southern Africa
Presented by Intra-African Trade Fair 2021 / Promoted by the African Export-Import Bank
Songwriters from the following countries are eligible to apply: Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is pleased to announce that the second edition of #TheCookoutAfrica Songwriting series with multi-Grammy Award nominated composer and producer Vincent Le Carl Berry II is heading to Southern Africa. The second edition which will hold on Thursday, August 27th 2020 at 18:00 CAT , will be an interactive Songwriting Masterclass specially designed for the music industry of Southern Africa* and all professional and aspiring songwriters are invited to register now.
The highly anticipated series was launched on July 30th 2020 to East African songwriters as part of the build-up to the Intra African Trade Fair (IATF 2021).
While #TheCookoutAfrica will be conducted primarily in English, we are encouraging the participation of Portuguese speaking songwriters from the region.
Promoted by Afreximbank, #TheCookoutAfrica is a live collaborative song-writing experience, designed to engage participants and encourage creative writing, group function, reflection, peer learning, peer interaction and practice that culminates in a finished song.
#TheCookoutAfrica is a resource that empowers African songwriters to highlight their community’s creativity, as well as promotes team building and collaboration. This IATF2021 series of events is just one of many aimed at enabling Africa’s creative industries to continue to produce fresh, conscious, and culturally relevant content in a sustainable and cutting-edge manner.
Hosted by Vincent Berry II, #TheCookoutAfrica, brings the magic of collaborative song writing to life, as recently experienced first-hand by a range of top East African songwriters. This series will continue over the next few months, reaching across Africa in a celebration of the varied musical sounds and styles of the continent.
Vincent Berry II is most celebrated for being the Lead Writer of ‘Sandcastles’, on Beyonce’s highly acclaimed project “Lemonade”. “Lemonade” instantly became a pop culture phenomenon. The album and film provoked an intense worldwide discussion about race, feminism, social media and the music industry. Berry has the distinct honour of being part of this 59th Annual Grammy Award-winning Project! Continuing the path of success, Berry has been a part of six Grammy-Nomination projects in the past eight years, most recently participating with J. Cole & Dreamville on the “Revenge of the Dreamer III”, a 62nd Annual Grammy Award Nominee for the Best Rap Album of the Year. Berry has also written for Akon, Ari Lennox, Babyface, Brandy, Chris Brown, Estelle, Mary J. Blige, Migos, Sean Paul, Shaggy, Ty Dolla Sign and Usher, to name a few.
While the 2021 edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) will be taking place next year, the dynamic programme for Africa’s creatives has commenced. Africa’s creative industries will be a major focus at the event and #TheCookoutAfrica, along with other upcoming digital events aims to create an avenue to engage, educate and encourage creatives globally to collaborate as a part of the on-going build up to IATF 2021.
To take part in this free song-writing Masterclass, Southern African songwriters must register here:
https://intrafricantradefair.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_2aBBCd6eR5uRtx6_iePa1g
and fill out the application to reserve your spot. Space is limited, so sign-up now!
*Songwriters from the following countries are eligible to apply: Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
