Producers host Namibia’s first beat auction

THINK of it like an art exhibition, the musical kind or an event where artists can congregate to network, appreciate creative sounds and eventually bid to buy instrumentals that best fit their brand and lyrical content.

Hosted by young up and coming producers Nasha Blaque (Martin Amushendje) and WilliamMustBeControl’d (William Shilamba), they both created this initiative to set a bar for Namibian music. Each presented 24 beats to their intimate audience made up of artists with their feelers in the hip-hop, rap and R B genre. Artists were allowed to subscribe prior to the event to obtain their auction number.

Both producers have released beat tapes containing a compilation of instrumentals that they eventually decided should be auctioned off to the public based on the quality increase in the industry, said WilliamMustBeControl’d. Nasha Blaque says this was an opportunity to network and just “talk music”.

Explaining that such an auction has been done in the west, WilliamMustBeControl’d said this would be the perfect opportunity to introduce it in Namibia, especially now that the industry is growing.

For example, the Producers Beat Auction hosted in Atlanta, Georgia and founded in 2010, was created as a networking platform for unsigned artists and producers. Created by producer Vance C. Branch, tracks are played for artists at the venue or via a stream where those involved in the industry can bid and purchase beats on the spot.

Held at the Bank Windhoek Theatre School, and hosted by familiar artist Mappz, details of the event were outlined by the lively MC before they began. The producers played bits of their 24 beats in total for all to listen to at first. This was followed by the auction where they repeated the tracks. Bids started from an affordable N$200 each, with increments of N$20 per bid placed.

Mostly created to suit beats akin to those in the hip-hop/rap and R B culture, each artist had unique beats that could easily suits artist with interests old-school, trap and even mellow sounds. As expected, the first round was filled with listening ears, whispers of critique and some artists dropping bars and singing along to prepared verses, trying to find that beat that will fit like a puzzle.

As they moved on to the second round, artists were given a chance to listen to the track again and bid with their numbers. Not expecting all artists to jump on each and every beat, bidders kept bumping their heads and lifting up their hands with their bidding numbers as the songs were played. Familiar faces such as members of the group Paradox and The Boy Jay, were amongst the crowd of avid bidders at the auction.

Once the first round of auctions was over, Mappz announced that the remaining beats would be played for a third time, in case the audience change their mind. With Mappz freestyling on beats to keep the crowd enticed, the evening ended with 18 out of the 24 beats being sold.

The beat numbered 19 was the most sought after beat at that event, ending at a final N$300. Most beats were purchased by Most Popular Artist of the Year at the Namibia Annual Music Awards 2015 winner, Paradox.

Not every artist who subscribed pitched up to event, but the bonus was having artists who, after listening to their beats, decided to take part in the auction at the last minute. Organisers were in agreement that the auction went “very well”.

Check out The Weekender this Friday for more information on the event.

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.