Ground breaking Nigerian radio show, Iroko Thursdays, is set to launch in Ghana before the end of the year.
The Abuja based youth urban music radio has been rocking the airwaves for over two years, and is currently running on Asor Fm and COOL Fm in Abuja and is also syndicated to six[6]University campus radio stations with plans to cover all 12 zones in Nigeria in a few months.
According to Lightman Foster, the show’s founder, who has reportedly been in Ghana recently to survey the local entertainment scene, the time is right to bring one of the continent’s finest urban music brands to Ghana.
The Iroko Thursday radio show is an offshoot of the hugely popular Iroko Thursday Live music and poetry jam and was started to increase mass audience appeal for the live shows hinging on the same concept of exposing upcoming artistes to the mainstream whiles featuring major headline acts on one show.
The monthly Iroko Thursday night live show is a music unplugged and poetry night that attracts singers and poets from within and outside the Nigeria has over the years served as a platform for upcoming artistes to burst into the mainstream urban music scene in Nigeria.
With over 300 attendees every month, the show is also recognized by many as one of the foremost music industry networking events in Abuja, which manages to bring together an eclectic mix of executive producers, sound engineers, A&R executives, publicists, radio and TV personalities, artistes managers, major music acts as well as upcoming artistes under one event, every month.
Powered by Iroko Records with support from Silverbird Nigeria, the show is currently held at the plush Platinum Lounge inside the Silverbird Entertainment Centre in Nigeria and has played host to the likes of DBANJ, and Tuface Idibia as well as a number of other big name acts in the Nigerian music industry.
The pre-recorded 60 minute Iroko radio show, runs on an exciting interactive format that features stimulating conversation with big name artistes who serve as guest presenters and also gives an opportunity to an upcoming act every week to receive airplay for their music as well as tell their story.
The show also includes the highly reputed, Nigeria Music Top 5 charts as well as the International chart show. With its introduction into the Ghanaian music industry, Iroko Records is looking to kickstart with the Iroko Thursday’s urban radio show before venturing into the monthly live event.
Ghanaian version of the show will be locally produced by a team of Iroko representatives from Nigeria and a Ghanaian creative team. It is expected that the original show format may be tweaked to fit the local entertainment industry and will be aired on two[2] Accra based urban radio stations as well as be syndicated to all campus radio stations across the country before the end of the year.
Lightman Foster, also reveals that, Iroko Records, the Abuja based parent company of Iroko Thursday weekly radio show and the Iroko Thursday monthly live show, is also looking to harness and develop local music talent in the country with a focus on talents in diverse music genres.
In Nigeria, the label is home to 4 successful acts including RnB gospel act, Japhy Davis ,whose debut single, YOU is presently on the Nigeria top 10 charts and is receiving major rotation. Also signed on is Afro-pop artiste, Jay Walker who debuted in February 2012, as well as phenomenal four-man “boy band”, Jungle Fever,who have been popularizing their unique brand of Nigerian pop music since launching on the scene earlier in the year. Naija rap veteran, Dinosaur is also under the Iroko Records label.
Most industry players, privy to the success of the Iroko brand in Nigeria, believe that, the introduction of the radio show and subsequently the monthly live music events in Ghana will go a long way to develop the young talents in the music industry as well as aid local mainstream acts to achieve international recognition.
In Lightman Foster’s own words on the Iroko brand, “We provide the globe with world class afro pop/African music experience for the advancement of the African youth while maximizing profit per artist.”