Battle of the Sounds (BOTS) is a music and art contest for and by residents of local communities, with the aim of promoting communal unity and youth development through music, arts, and competitions that provide leisure, healthy rivalry, and eventually cooperation among the youths.

The concept was birthed in 2018, and the battles were held on the streets with winners emerging in 5 genres of music including Rap, Afropop, Reggae-Dancehall, Fuji-Apala, and Acapella after days of battles in a knock-out format against their opponents and taking home the sum of N100,000 each.



What Changed?
Well, the 2020 edition was a ‘banger’. Despite the fact that there is a global pandemic, the organizers found a way to make the edition a work, thus resulting in the theme of Season 2; ‘The Lockdown Edition’.

Let's look at a few changes and substitutions that were made in Battle of the Sounds (Season 2) Lockdown Edition:
• Live auditions for Virtual audition process
• Audiences reactions and preferences replaced by online/digital and social media polls
• Various outdoor venues for just one studio venue
• Five genres of music reduced to three and
• A whopping sum of 1 million Naira up for grabs

Getting To Know the Nations
The idea behind using planets as a representation of the Nations remains a mystery to us, but we definitely think they are cool and unique. In total, there were eight Nations, which include:
• Red Mercuries
• Venus Crew
• Mars Aliens
• Jupiter Clique
• Saturn Stars
• Uranus 77
• Da Neptunes and
• Pluto Gang
Celebrity Solidarity Throughout the Battle


Well, what started as a community project has been gaining traction both on and offline. While popular figures show solidarity by being judges, performing, and giving special appearances. The likes of GT da Guitarman, Indomix, K-Peace, Kelikume, and Sammy-J were on-ground as judges, while we had special appearances from Faze, Sound Sultan, and Lafup at the grand finale.
Introducing the 2020 Lockdown Edition Winners
• Overall Best Nation - The Pluto Gang (N400,000)
• Second Best Nation - Red Mercuries (N200,000)
• Third Best Nation - Da Neptunes (N100,000)

Individual Prizes Won
• Best in Rap - (Young Incredible) (N50,000)
• 1st Runnerup in Rap - Yxngpriince (N10,000)
• Best in Afropop - (Youngcrez) (N50,000)
• 1st Runnerup in Afropop - (Walexey) (N10,000)
• Best in Reggae/Dancehall - (L.A.B) (N50,000)
• 1st Runnerup in Reggae/Dancehall - (Tellz Ikima) (N10,000)
• Fan favourites - (Demmah OHO) (N10,000)

Partnerships
“To become a better you, remember to be grateful to people who have contributed to making you who you are today.” - Israelmore Ayivor

To have a better version and involvement of this concept in the future we must not forget to appreciate our partners, who not only believed in our dream but also helped us reach there.

Special thanks to:
• Digits Sounds
• Nigezie TV
• Area Ten TV
• TVC
• Inside Watch Africa Magazine and
• Festac Mag

Also to all our participants, our strong online audience, and every individual who supported BOTS Season 2, we say a big THANK YOU, we look forward to a continuous relationship and a bigger Season 3.

Cheers to an amazing event!