“The competition which began on May 1, 2025, offers unsigned artists a transformative platform to compete for life-changing rewards, including a grand money prize, professional music video production, and an EP recording deal”
By John Odunayo
Telecommunications service provider, MTN Nigeria, has begun move to reignite the dreams of creatives with the launch of the 2025 edition of its ‘Best of the Streets Talent’ competition.
The Chief Digital Officer of MTN Nigeria, A’isha Umar Mumuni, said that the initiative aimed to discover and nurture Nigeria’s next generation of creative talents.
* L-R: Lagos State Commissioner for Youth, Mobolaji Ogunlende; Singer and Founder of CREAM platform, Dapo “D’Banj” Oyebanjo; Rapper and Singer, Dandizzy; MTN Nigeria Chief Digital Officer, A’isha Umar Mumuni; and Nigerian music executive and Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture, NCAC, Obi Asika at the Best of the Streets Media event
Mumuni made the disclosure at a media event in Lagos recently.
She said that the competition which began on May 1, 2025, “offers unsigned artists a transformative platform to compete for life-changing rewards, including a grand money prize, professional music video production, and an EP recording deal”.
Mumuni emphasized the initiative’s impact, saying, “The premise of Best of the Streets is that there is talent in every street in Nigeria, whether it is acting, singing, dancing, comedy or other performance arts.
“Best of the Streets seeks to bring out that talent, to show Nigerian youths that there are opportunities everywhere; and at MTN, we are very proud to take part in creating these opportunities,” Mumuni emphasized.
According to her, Best of the Streets is in collaboration with Creative Reality Entertainment Art and Music (CREAM), founded by Nigerian rapper, Dapo “D’Banj” Oyebanjo, is a platform which provides talent management, publishing, and funding support to grassroots artists.
Mumuni said, “To participate, aspiring contestants can dial *463# on their MTN line, upload original content via the official @creamplatform, and mobilise votes from the public.
“Over 2584 creatives are set to be showcased and rewarded this year. Entries into this competition continue up until December, with daily, weekly and monthly winners, with a final winner who will secure the grand prize.
“The Best of the Streets initiative reinforces MTN’s commitment to youth empowerment and creative innovation, aligning with Nigeria’s growing entertainment industry demands,” she said.
In his remark, D’banj said, “The CREAM platform provides solutions and services for talents, creatives and entrepreneurs, by granting them convenient access to showcase their skills and monetize their content. With our newly launched distribution arm, we are not just discovering talent, we are giving them the tools to take them global”.
Nigerian-born American Executive, Chris Anokute, known for discovering global superstar Katy Perry, commended the efforts of this initiative in pushing local Nigerian music to the international stage.
Anokute said, “Best of the Streets is the greatest artiste discovery platform I’ve seen come out of Africa. The music industry is, as of last year, a $30bn industry. Afrobeats is the fastest growing genre in the entire world, over 1.1 million hours of music streamed out of Nigeria on Spotify this year alone.”
On the importance of empowering the creative capacities of the youth, the Lagos State Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mobolaji Ogunlende, said, “As a government, we have vowed not to leave anybody behind in Lagos state, irrespective of their background.
“There are about 30 million citizens in Lagos, and 60 per cent of them youth. Not every youth will be able to go to school, but we still have the creatives, digital, fashion icons, among others. This platform is an avenue to encourage them,” the commissioner said.
