RocDaMic
RocDaMic is Nigeria's first hiphop and alternative music reality television show. It is being shot and produced in Nigeria by Abuja-based television content firm, Zara Productions. It was borne out of the need to create a platform for the thousands of Nigerian youth who have the talent and passion for hip-hop and Nigerian music but who have been denied the opportunity to showcase their talent in other competitions. History. The show is hosted by the show's producer, Sara Williams-Konha and the panel of judges consists of veteran rapper/producer, Fr3Style, producer and DJ, DJ  Klem, and on-air personality Tyeng Gang. For most of the audition venues, a resident judge has joined the other judges. For Port Harcourt, indigenous rapper, Double K came on board. At Benin and Lagos, popular OAPs Sydney Shocker and El Boogie took their place as part of the jury while Eastern rapper, Slow Dogg filled up for the Enugu auditions. Auditions were open for every Nigerian, irrespective of age, in five different cities across the country, namely Abuja, Benin, Enugu, Lagos and Port Harcourt. The first season will go on air in December 2011 and is shown on different  channels all across Africa. A total of 23 contestants were so selected for "Da Roc" as the show's final location is called. Season 1. The auditions were to be aired on both local and satellite TV channels including AIT, StarTimes, HiTV, Proudly Africa, PrimeTime TV in mid-December 2011. Sessions from Da Roc will be shown in January. Season One was to run for approximately 13 weeks, counting three weeks for auditions and the remaining ten at Da Roc. Selection process. In a series of steps, the show selects the eventual winner out of many tens of thousands of  contestants. Contestant eligibility. The eligible age-range for contestants is 13–35 years old. The contestants must be legal Nigerian residents. Following several different tests, tasks and scheduled performances, contestants will be critiqued by a panel of judges based on competence, content and marketability. Eventually, viewers of the show will be allowed to vote to keep their favorite artists on the show. Initial auditions. Contestants go through at least three sets of cuts. The first is a brief audition with other contestants in which they can rap their verses using any of the three available options. The first is to rap  as an a cappella (with no beat). Alternatively, a contestant can come with an instrumental of his own or use a random one played by the resident DJ. All who are talented enough to make it to the second round are grouped into fours or fives or sixes, depending on the number of those who scale past the preliminary round. The next round takes the form of a cypher as the DJ plays a different instrumental for each group and each contestant tries to outdo others in his group by freestyling eight bars. A bar is hiphop jargon for a  line in a verse. The weaklings are dropped and yet another round of cypher is done till the judges are satisfied. The finalists, usually five or six, proceed to the house. There was an exception during the Benin auditions for the first season where there was a dearth of quality in that city and so only two rappers were picked. Audience voting. The fate of the contestants is decided by both public vote and the judges, according to a pre-determined percentage. Prizes. For the first season, prizes include four million naira, a brand new car and an international recording  contract for the winner; two million naira and a local recording contract for the first runner-up; and one million naira with loads of consolation prizes for the second runner-up.