Honourable Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Lagos State, Mobolaji Ogunlende; Dapo “D’Banj” Oyebanjo, Singer and Founder of C.R.E.A.M platform; Dandizzy, Rapper and Singer; A’isha Umar Mumuni, Chief Digital Officer, MTN Nigeria and Obi Asika, Nigerian music executive and Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture, NCAC have launched 2025 edition of ‘Best of the Streets’ Talent Hunt.
Speaking at the briefing in Lagos on Tuesday, The Chief Digital Officer of MTN Nigeria, A’isha Umar Mumuni said the CREAM platform is a justification for the existence of talents in Nigeria.
A’isha noted that it is a platform of opportunities for Nigerians, expressing company’s pride in taking part.
“The premise of Best of the Streets is that there’s talent in every street in Nigeria, whether it’s acting, singing, dancing, comedy, or other performance arts.
“Best of the Streets seeks to bring out that talent, to show Nigerian youths that there are opportunities everywhere; and at MTN, we are very proud to take part in creating these opportunities.”
“Best of the Streets is in collaboration with C.R.E.A.M (Creative Reality Entertainment Art and Music), founded by Nigerian rapper, Dapo “D’Banj” Oyebanjo is a platform which provides talent management, publishing, and funding support to grassroots artists” She said.
On the importance of empowering the creative capacities of the youth, Mobolaji Ogunlende, Honourable Commissioner for Youth and Social Development in Lagos State described the platform as an avenue to encourage creatives as different strokes apply to different folks.
“As a government, we have vowed not to leave anybody behind in Lagos state, irrespective of their background.
“There are about 30 million citizens in Lagos and 60% of the youth.
“Not every youth will be able to go to school, but we still have the creatives, digital, fashion icons, among others. This platform is an avenue to encourage them.”
The Artiste and Promoter, Dapo Oyebanjo known as Dbanj said the platform provides solutions and services for talents, creatives, and entrepreneurs, by granting them convenient access to showcase their skills and monetize their content.
He explained that the platform gives tools for talents to global, not just talent discovery.
“The C.R.E.A.M platform provides solutions and services for talents, creatives, and entrepreneurs, by granting them convenient access to showcase their skills and monetize their content.
“With our newly launched distribution arm, we are not just discovering talent, we are giving them the tools to take them global,” D’banj explained.
Nigerian-born LA-based American Executive, Chris Anokute known for discovering global superstar Katy Perry, commended the efforts of this initiative in pushing local Nigerian music to the international stage.
He noted that the music industry was a 30-billion-dollar industry, describing Afrobeats as the fastest-growing genre in the entire world, with over 1.1 million hours of music streamed out of Nigeria on Spotify this year alone.
“Not every youth will be able to go to school, but we still have the creatives, digital, fashion icons, among
“Best of the Streets is the greatest artiste discovery platform I’ve seen come out of Africa.
“The music industry is, as of last year, a 30-billion-dollar industry. Afrobeats is the fastest growing genre in the entire world, over 1.1 million hours of music streamed out of Nigeria on Spotify this year alone.”
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