Channel O Launches ‘Skika'

East African beats, East African lyrics and East African rhythm… That's what Channel O is going to deliver to DStv audiences from March 10 when it's brand-new, first-ever, dedicated East African music series Skika: Be Heard begins!

Running for 13 weeks, Skika is hosted by Kenyan personality Aimee Ongeso and was created for Channel O by Nairobi-based production house Mondeas, in collaboration with two other local production companies, Quite Bright Films and Mwafrika Entertainment.

Showcasing the East African entertainment scene, Skika will focus on the region's vibrant youth culture while shining a spotlight onto its emerging and established stars. Featuring three music videos in each episode, along with a news segment and behind-the-scenes footage, Skikais structured to entertain and inform its audiences.

Channel O General Manager Yolisa Phahle says that Skika is set to give audiences across Africa the opportunity to take a closer look at East African talent and creativity.

“Channel O was born in Africa and for over a decade, it has profiled the continent's artists, provided a platform for African music and supported African success. We're very proud that we are able to serve as a community meeting place for African music fans and we intend to continue creating new programming that will keep audiences tuned in. With Skika, we're taking another step forward, one that we believe our audiences will directly benefit from. East Africa has a vibrant music legacy and dynamic future. We believe that our audiences want to see this, understand it and celebrate it.”

With the each episode of Skika themed, the show features a wide variety of music guests. In the episode titled 'Freedom of Expression', fans can look out for Majimaji, Eric Wainaina, DNG and Die Hard. In the Ghetto episode, musicians Girongi, Ojiji, Rastaman, Wakamba Wawili and Wenyeji make appearances whilst in Old VS New, its Zippi, Yunasi, Sauti, Longombas, Grandmaster Masese and Chizi who are featured. And in the SHENG episode, viewers tuning in will see Chiwawa, Dream, MC Kah and Muki Garang. And that's just four episodes! So all-in-all, Skika is set to be packed with guests, local musicians, videos, interviews and more.

Excited about the launch of Skika, Mondeas Director Rand Pearson says, “This project highlights the commitment we all have towards the development of quality local content. It's a content revolution in Kenya and we're proud to be a part of it.”

Meanwhile, though Skika is the first East African dedicated series on Channel O, East African musicians have had a long association with the channel. Several performers from the region have taken home Channel O Spirit of Africa Awards and last year's winner roster included Nameless (Kenya), Peter Miles (Uganda) and Juma Nature (Tanzania).

In addition, Channel O's popular reality series Dance Africa and Emcee Africa have all made stops in East Africa whilst its continental music series Urban Massive also visited Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in 2006. Further Channel O was a sponsor at Kenya's Kisima Awards in 2006. And late last year, two lucky competition winners from Kenya and Tanzania jetted into Johannesburg for the Mary J. Blige concert, courtesy of Channel O.