Entertainment comes naturally; it is not peculiar to a race or sex. History shows that African has been the cradle of civilization. To be the cradle of civilization means that she is the mother of socialization in all ramifications. Right from the primitive era of Africa civilization, the people entertained themselves via the instrumentality of storytelling, proverbs, riddles and jokes, games, and the likes.
At a point in Africa’s history, her workforce was captured and taken across the sea thus the introduction of poverty to a once prosperous land. Africans were not only taken away but her entertainment. The slavers subjected the captured Africans to all manners of inhumanities such as sweating on their plantations, attending to them as maids, and other unholy tasks and activities.
Africans are not known to give up in all situations. They entertained themselves while working on the plantations by going back to their roots and engaging in songs in other to lift their spirits and keep their dreams alive. The slavers listened to and enjoyed the melodies of these great Africans. Gradually they stole from them and enhance various means of entertainment and decide to sell them back to Africans.
The African tongue twisters got rebranded as “rap music”; the same was done to her lullaby, dirges, chants, and incantations, etc. Due to technological advancement, this rebranded music and its likes are packaged and imported into Africa for sale. This means that repackaged African raw materials are being used to milk wealth off the soil of Africa.
Recently, Africans are beginning to recapture their lost glories in entertainment; these started in the forms of protest literature, drama, music, dance, etc. names like Lucky Dube, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Aminatta Forna, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Bessie Head, and so many others are pointers to the fact that African entertainment is accepted all over the globe. From one part of Africa to another we have notable people in the movie industries, music, dance, and the other art forms that are making waves globally. This global acceptance is an advantage for the eradication of poverty in Africa.
Poverty Must Die in Africa (PMD Africa) has seen this global acceptance of African entertainment as a tool for pulling African youths out of poverty; this we hope to do by engaging our talented youths in the production of entertaining content. We engage those talented in acting in movie productions. Note that movie production alone is capable of providing employment for so many people at a time. Scriptwriters, actors, costume designers, and managers, set builders, makeup artists, light designers, and directors, to name just a few come together for a single production. These artists are paid for their contributions thereby reducing poverty through them.
Akon, Angelique Kidjo, Tuface Idibia, Awilo Longomba, Wizkid, Burna Boy, Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Diamond Platinumz, Sarkodie, and many others of African origin are musicians of global standard. These musicians have taken their music around the world and have not only made names for themselves but also wealth. Many other musically talented youths are in Africa but are not spotted and known today. It is one of the targets of PMD Africa to spot these personified gold and put them in the spotlight for global consumption.
Poverty is put to death and buried if our youths are engaged in these productive enterprises. Do you know that if a music artist becomes a global or national figure he or she carries not less than ten persons along in his or her fame? Yes, that is how it works. Artists engage managers, personal aids, costume and makeup persons, etc and gradually we see the death of poverty.
These are lofty dreams we have in Poverty Must Die Africa. All we need from you is to become our partner by patronizing our products/ support us by patronizing our artists one way or the other because TOGETHER WE CAN.
