This is a guest post by Zimbabwean TV personality / producer and entrepreneur Farai Gundan
These are powerhouses in the making. Inking unprecedented deals,
performing in sold-out venues, chartering new commercial territories and
making in-roads globally, they are Africa’s new generation of
celebrities. They are exporting the African “brand of celebrity” across
the continent and globally.
Last year Forbes readers were asked to name the most
influential icons in contemporary African pop culture. And the response
from that exercise was overwhelming, with musicians dominating the list
of the “40 Most Powerful Celebrities In Africa”.
Included on the inaugural list were some of the continent’s blockbuster
actors, supermodels, athletes, movie producers, TV personalities and
authors.
According to the 2012 Forbes Celebrity 100
list that came out earlier this year, it used to be sufficient for a
celebrity to be really, really good at what they do – acting or singing.
However today, celebs need to be businesses. And we are seeing that
trend emerge with African celebrities. They are becoming so savvy in
converting their celebrity into lucrative deals that the African “brand
of celebrity” is becoming as bankable as that of Western superstars.
It makes perfect sense. Africa is a market unto itself. The African
middle class alone is reported to be approximately the same size as the
middle class populations of China and India.
This middle class is a highly influential and rapidly growing consumer
segment with a buying power that is demanding more products and services
closely aligned with its own culture and lifestyle. This is evident in
the success of content platforms such as iRokoTV
(online distributor of Nigerian movies) and music, with D’Danj,
Atumpan, Don Jazzy, Wizkid — big names behind Afro-beats, the West
African sound that is going global, fast.
With a projected population of 1.2 billion people, and of that 313
million moving into the middle class, Africa’s exploding consumer base
is a compelling enough force for its own celebrities to become BIG
businesses. Not only are they entertainers and performers, but African
celebrities are now negotiating and cutting big deals in the boardrooms
of corporate Africa and around the world.
With their influence growing in Africa and globally, check their
social media power, African celebs are commanding major magazine covers,
negotiating big endorsement deals and touring across the globe.
Nigerian recording artist, Tiwa Savage secured a lucrative endorsement
deal with Pepsi; South African media personality, Boity Thulo inked a
deal as the brand ambassador for Iman Cosmetics Africa and mega duo from
Nigeria, PSquare reportedly charged USD$300,000 for their concert in Ghana earlier this year.
Their media visibility has been dramatic. South African media
personality Bonang Matheba snagged the June 2011 cover of FHM Magazine,
becoming the first Black South African celebrity to grace the cover of
that men’s entertainment magazine. Nollywood actress Omotola Jalade
Ekeinde is latest African celebrity with a reality show
on African multi-national cable company, Dstv Mnet; so is South African
singer and actress Kelly Khumalo with her reality show “Rolling with Kelly Khumalo” on free-to-air commercial television station, eTV. Plus African recording artists are now regulars on the popular BBC Radio 1Xtra.
More African celebrities are now Twitter verified, boasting six-figure followers, including Trevor Noah, D’Banj, Ajak Deng, 2Face, Don Jazzy, Genevieve Nnaji, Bonang Matheba, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, WizKid, M.I. and BankyW. This speaks to their star power. Their Facebook fan pages, combined, run in the millions, indicating heightened engagement with their fans.
To form our list, we looked at African celebrities’ media visibility
in print, television and radio, as well as online references on Google
plus social media power, measured by looking at each celebrity’s
presence on Facebook and Twitter. We combined that with information from
record deals and releases, box office sales, touring, endorsements, new
ventures and their general clout across the continent and the diaspora.
Here are the Top 13 African Celebrities To Watch in 2013:
Ahmen Soultan, Recording Artist, Morocco
Winner of the 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards for “Best Middle East Act”
and “Best Middle East, Africa, India” and nominee for the “Best
WorldWide Act”, Ahmed is a
Moroccan singer artist who is considered as one of the leading artists
of “Nayda,” the new Moroccan scene. In 2011, his song “Jokko” was
nominated as best North African song and best African reggae song of the
year. Ahmed has collaborated with American R&B recording artist,
Ne-Yo on a song called “Amazing You”. He’s now working on his third
album (planned for Spring 2013), for which he promises amazing
collaborations.
David Oyelowo, Actor, Nigeria
David Oyelowo is a British-born Nigerian actor based in the U.S. This
year has been a very busy year for David. He was in the George Lucas
produced bio-pic “Red Tails”;
Oscar-nominated film director, Lee Daniels’ “The Paperboy” opposite
Nicole Kidman and Matthew McConaughey; Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Tommy Lee Jones and most recently “Jack Reacher” starring Tom Cruise. David also starred in the indie film, “Middle of Nowhere” for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male Actor.
Trevor Noah, Comedian, South Africa
Trevor is South African stand-up comedian, who made his U.S. television debut on NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”
in January of this year. A megastar in South Africa, Trevor has also
been a radio DJ, actor and TV host. He toured the U.S with stand-up star
comedian Gabriel Iglesia and presented his one man show “The Racist” at
the Edinburgh Fringe in the U.K. Fresh off a very successful three
month national tour in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, Trevor is
currently appearing in a six week sold out run at London’s Soho Theater.
Serge Ibaka, NBA basketball player, Republic of Congo
Born in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, Serge Jonas Ibaka Ngobila
is one of the most improved professional basketball player in the
National Basketball Association (NBA). Commonly referred to as Serge
Ibaka, Serge is a power forward with the Oklahoma City Thunder
basketball team. He won a silver medal with the Spanish national basketball team at the 2012 Summer Olympics and is reported to be dating American R&B artist Keri Hilson
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