OkayAfrica turned Lincoln Center Out of Doors into the ultimate African party full of top-notch talent coming from the continent and its diaspora Thursday evening with Mzansi Heat and Naija Beats, hosted by Young Prince and Shernita.
In OkayAfrica's third year of partnering with the free concert series, Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park was jam packed with over 5,000 people in anticipation to see Nigerian star Yemi Alade, South Africa's DJ Maphorisa and Afrobeats' DJ Tunez in action—and they didn't disappoint.
Tunez warmed up the crowd with a diverse set, debuting the Sounds of Brotherhood—a music group from Brooklyn's Eagle Academy for Young Men at Ocean Hill—where they hyped the crowd with a medley including jams from Bell Biv Devoe to Bruno Mars. Dotman also graced the stage, performing his hit "Akube," as well as percussion from Frankie Malloy, killer dance moves from Nestreya and Judith McCarty, who was accompanied by her dance crew.
DJ Maphorisa followed, doing what he does best—vibing the crowd and getting more of them out of their seats to dance to the latest in South African house.
Yemi Alade, the headliner extraordinaire, graced the end of the concert with a class act of a performance, despite torrential rain unfortunately cutting her show short. Weaving in the hits that spread all over the world like "Ferrari" and "Knack Am" to her newer tunes like "How I Feel," Yemi shows what high-energy performing with perfect vocals truly looks like. Not to mention, her dancers and backing band performed seamlessly as well. New York City needs to see more of what she's got, so we're looking forward to her returning soon.
OkayAfrica would like to express much gratitude and thanks to Jill Sternheimer, director of public programming for Lincoln Center, Yemi Alade, DJ Maphorisa and DJ Tunez for an awesome night the city will never forget. Another special thanks to YouTube and First Tube Media for heading the livestreaming production of the show, as well as Beats by Dr. Dre. You can still catch it in full here.
You can catch Mzansi Heat & Naija Beats it in full here.
Take a look at images of the show, with some behind-the-scenes shots, by Oluwaseye Olusa below.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.
Photo by Oluwaseye Olusa.