Friday, 11 SEPTEMBER
“It’s the rhythm of Africa, the beat of the youth and the message to every corner of the continent of a new tomorrow.” Yemi Alade
Today, an all-African ‘first’ will explode onto the music scene and into the charts. The hit song and video, titled Tell Everybody, features some of the continent’s biggest stars, including Mafikizolo (South Africa), Yemi Alade (Nigeria), Diamond (Tanzania), Sauti Sol (Kenya), Toofan (Togo), Becca and Sarkodie (Ghana). Written, recorded, produced and released by Africans for Africans, the song attempts to ignite the political passions of young people to hold their leaders to account in meeting the Global Goals: to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and fix climate change by 2030.
Tell Everybody is Africa’s contribution to the ambitious global initiative to get the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to everyone on the planet within 7 days of being adopted by all the world’s leaders on 25 September. It features verses in English, French, Swahili, Pidgin and Zulu.
The song will be released by Universal Music for download on iTunes and Apple Music. Both Universal Music and iTunes, alongside the artists and producers have waived their royalties and all proceeds will be donated to charity. The music video can be viewed on the Tell Everybody YouTube site where viewers are also invited to join the movement to ensure their leaders deliver the Global Goals in the years to come.
Nobel peace prize nominee and Africa’s ambassador for the Global Goals campaign, Victor Ochen said; “The song is a triumph! Not only to your ears but your mind too. I hope this song activates young people to start challenging their governments to deliver these goals, starting today!”
Tell Everybody is also Africa’s first-ever crowdsourced song.
To capture the voice of Africa’s youth, award-winning producers Cobhams Asuquo (Nigeria), David KING DAVID Muthami (Kenya) and Ellputo (Mozambique) decided to crowdsource two verses (one in French and one in English) using a competition, “Add Your Voice/Add Your Verse”, run by Every1Mobile for even the most basic of phones. During the two-week competition, 5,712 people from 24 African countries submitted lyrics via their mobile phones. The winners received a $500 prize each and a songwriting credit on the track.
Cobhams Asuquo said, “We decided to let the young voices of Africa be heard in this song. Not only did we love the winning verses but all the entries informed the vision, lyrics and sound of the song. The African youth are powerhouses in their own right and collectively they can make change happen.”
The historic signing of the UN’s Global Goals for Sustainable Development by 193 world leaders will take place on 25 September at the United Nations in New York. The 17 goals, successors to the Millennium Development Goals, cover everything from water and sanitation, access to quality health care and education to forced marriage, child labour, hunger, deforestation and more.
“As artists we have the opportunity to reach so many people, and an obligation to give them more than music, more than entertainment but to educate and empower them as well. This is our gift and our privilege,” said Mafikizolo’s Theo Kgosinkwe and Nhlanhla Nciza.
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For more information on the Global Goals, visit: www.globalgoals.org
