Nigeria’s Neky wins Season 3 of The Mic: Africa

Put together by AMP Global, the competition is an interactive talent search programme that discovers and empowers talented youth across the continent. It is held in partnership with telco giant MTN. 

Neky beat nine other finalists, namely, Cheucra (Ivory Coast), Dagmawi (Ethiopia), Ric Spade (Ghana), Mistar Drey (Kenya), Drunk Panda (Morocco), Annick Pierra (Rwanda) Calvin Wysley (Senegal), Hearten Hitherto Productions (South Africa) and J93 (Tanzania). She takes the golden mic trophy and winner's cash prize, which was won by Fecko (Nigeria) and Yeyo (Tanzania) in season one and season two, respectively.

“Congratulations, Neky,” the organisers of the contest said. “You have captivated audiences around the continent and beyond with your powerful voice and story. There is no limit to your rise and we are here for it. This is just the beginning!”

Born Nneka Chimaucheya Ngwe, Neky who also works as a voice-over artist, is behind the Nghota album released earlier this year. The project, comprising eight songs, has been described as an Afro-alternative masterpiece. 

“With The Mic: Africa, our goal is to showcase and lift the amazing artists and filmmakers we discover on the Take Back the Mic platform to global recognition and prominence,” AMP Global founder Derrick Ashong said. “There is so much artistic excellence emerging from the African continent. We plan to work with these talents and other emerging stars for years to come in establishing Africa as a hub for music, media and technology while expanding our brand to other regions and continents.”

“The Mic: Africa highlights how the youth are using the power of their voice to impact positive change from community to country and ultimately across the continent,” MTN executive for marketing Bernice Samuels added.