The Cookout Africa 2021 - Songwriting Masterclass Eastern Africa

The Cookout Africa 2021 with Vincent Berry- 6-time Grammy Nominee

Masterclass in Collaborative Songwriting

Presented by Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) at IATF2021

It’s time to announce the launch of the Cookout Africa 2021, following the success of the Cookout Africa Masterclass series launched in 2020 that saw Grammy Award winner Vincent Berry II, in partnership with The African Export- Import Bank (Afreximbank), engage with over one hundred emerging songwriters from across Africa.

Throughout 2020 five songs were created through this collaborative process that included over 50 legally recognized African songwriting contributors. With international interest in the songs heating up, all official collaborators stand to be part of African music history.

The Cookout Africa is part of the build-up to the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) at The Intra-African Trade Fair 2021 (IATF2021). This dynamic programme for Africa’s creatives will take place in Kigali, Rwanda from 6-12 September 2021 where Africa’s creative industries will gather in the most important and memorable creative gathering of the year. 

The Cookout Africa series with official IATF Goodwill Ambassador Vincent Berry II, is just one part of an on-going virtual programme that aims to build a transformative way to engage, educate and encourage creatives globally to collaborate.  The Cookout Africa 2021 will reach out virtually across Africa, commencing with the first session in 2021 focusing on Eastern African songwriters on Wednesday 31 March at 19:00 EAT. Once again, songwriters will have the opportunity to create a song in real time, contributing lyrics to locally created beats through a truly collaborative process (creatively & legally). This collaboration with IATF2021 will enable the creative industry of the future to continue to produce fresh, conscious and emotionally available content in a sustainable and cutting-edge manner. 

Vincent Berry II is most celebrated for being the Lead Writer of ‘Sandcastles’, on Beyonce’s highly acclaimed project “Lemonade”. “Lemonade” instantly became a pop culture phenomenon. The album and film provoked an intense worldwide discussion about race, feminism, social media and the music industry. Berry has the distinct honour of being part of this 59^th Annual Grammy Award-winning Project! Continuing the path of success, Berry has participated in six Grammy-Nominated projects in the past eight years, most recently participating with J. Cole & Dreamville on the “Revenge of the Dreamer III”, a 62^nd Annual Grammy Award Nominee for the Best Rap Album of the Year. Berry has also written for Akon, Ari Lennox, Babyface, Brandy, Chris Brown, Estelle, Mary J. Blige, Migos, Sean Paul, Shaggy, Ty Dolla Sign and Usher, to name a few.

To take part in this free songwriting Masterclass,  register here: https://bit.ly/3tfUM54 and fill out the application in order to reserve your spot. Space is limited, so sign-up now!

Please note, songwriters whose country of origin is one of the following are eligible for this edition of The Cookout Africa 2021: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Réunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Please note this edition will be hosted in English.

Follow-up editions of the Cookout Africa 2021 will roll out for other regions of Africa, April: Southern Africa, May: Anglophone Western Africa, June: Francophone Eastern, Central & Western Africa, and July: Northern Africa.

All participants will receive an official certificate of participation.

About CANEX AT IATF2021

The second edition of the biennial Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF), powered by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in collaboration with the African Union (AU), will be hosted by the Government of the Republic of Rwanda, in Kigali, from 6^th to 12^th September 2021, under the theme “Building Bridges for a Successful AfCFTA”. Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) at IATF2021 is an extensive programme including an exhibition, business to business and business to government meetings, masterclasses, live theatre, and culminating in the 2-day CANEX Summit.  For more information, visit https://www.intrafricantradefair.com