A night of awe at the #BETXAFRICA

All roads led to the Ticketpro Dome in the city of Gold, Johannesburg this past Saturday for are of the biggest lifestyle and entertainment event to take place on the continent - BET Experience Africa –trending under the hashtag, BETXAFRICA.

The event, the first of its kind, organised by BET Africa, a channel showing on DStv, marked the first time that the BET Experience took place outside the United States of America. And it lived to its hype of bringing only the crème de la crème, of music, comedy, fashion, as well as motivational speakers. For 24 hours, multitudes of fun lovers descended on the venue, and partied like rock stars.

One thing that media personalities from several African countries including Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Botswana, Zambia and Ghana noted was the amount of work that went into putting an event of this magnitude. It also became evident once, one walked into the venue that a lot of manpower and infrastructure had been deployed to give revellers the best Christmas outing, one that will forever remain etched in their memories. 

The most important event of the day for those who were itching to dance till their feet hurt was reserved for the evening. On the line-up were top performers who have over time mastered the art of live performance. Starting off the mouth-watering line-up was none other than Tanzania’s Diamond - the young performer left no stones unturned, and gave his fans a thrilling set.

Next up was the sexy Nigerian born Flavour of Nwa baby fame. The minute he took to the stage everything changed, the man who is popular for his rubber waist was in his best element and brought the house down. He was particularly on point when he completed his set with the performance of his most popular hit, Nwa baby, sending all in the Dome into a frenzy.

Even the VIP section where the likes of the minister of Sports, Fikile Mbalula was seated turned into something else, with many silently shaking what their mamas gave them. Others who also held their own was the Twitter king of South Africa, AKA who for once was not spewing bile on social media, but was using his talent to spread love. For once, people were not looking for a corner to hide, but were embracing him and his music.

American rapper, Young Thug making a grand entrance on stage with a heavy jacket that looked like a heavy blanket sold at Oriental Plaza, also rewarded his fans for their loyalty. He was short and sweet, and even for those who could not grasp his lyrics, they still enjoyed his perf.

The last two performances of the night were by U.S born award winning artists Mary J.Blige and Maxwell. MJB was in her best element and she was a marvel to watch.

Pausing between performances to give her fans a bit of wisdom, she thrilled with performances of several of her all time hits. Maxwell, of ‘This woman's work,’ who was also the headline artist, also delivered, taking time to spread love and showcase why he is one of the best performers in the worlds right now. Flexing his muscles on stage, and taking routines that appeared like he was in an exercise session, he beautifully concluded the first of many BET Experience Africa events.

Prior to the main festival taking place in the evening, dozens of revellers trickled into the venue, both young and old, all looking forward to a one of a kind experience. They were treated to several build-up events that took place at the venue including a fashion show featuring none other than Africa’s top designer, David Tlale who recently returned from New York Fashion week with his retro themed designs. 

On the one end, those who were looking for motivation were given the opportunity to listen to inspirational talks from gurus that included South Africa’s Sports Minister, Fikile Mbalula, Khanyi Dlomo a media mogul, Amadou Fall, Beverly Bond of Black Girls Rocks, Greg Maloka, as well as Stephen Hill.

For those who were looking for some light entertainment that could loosen their jaws, they were treated to the best of Comedy with stand-up comedians that included David Kau, Jason Goliath, Kenya’s Churchill and many more.