Jamaican artistes get spotlight on FEVA’s ‘We Outside’

Canada-based, global television network, FEVA TV – an acronym which stands for First Entertainment Voice of Africa – jetted into the island last weekend to shoot two episodes of We Outside, a music show which will highlight artistes in the Caribbean, Africa and the United States.

Using the UDC car park as their venue, FEVA TV’s crew rolled in on Sunday morning to set up. Jamaican artistes on the line-up are Pamputtae, Razor B, Twani, Renegade and Donna-Lee from Atlanta. Host of the two shows is Yanique ‘Curvy Diva’, who could possibly double as artiste and emcee.

CEO of FEVA TV Robert Onianwah, a black-conscious Canadian-Nigerian, told The Gleaner that his network is Canada’s first 24-hour black television and it focuses on the ABC market – Africa, Black and Caribbean. It is aimed at persons who appreciate black and African entertainment, and the programming categories include movies, music, comedies, dramas, documentaries, and talk shows

“We are here to shoot two episodes of our show called We Outside. Hopefully, we are coming to the end of the lockdown everywhere, and we are hoping also that this COVID pandemic is behind us. So it’s a way to celebrate, so that the kids can liberate themselves from all the lockdowns. This is the very first two episodes, and the next port of call will be Trinidad, where we will focus on soca music. This show is a way to highlight the local artistes and give them international publicity and recognition,” Onianwah shared.

The network’s boss already enjoys a relationship with Jamaica, which he shared, “is our base here in the Caribbean” and the island which hosted their 2014 launch. The channel is available on both FLOW and Digicel, and with FEVA Music now about to become a reality, Onianwah is hoping to expand his Caribbean market.

“ We Outside is the flagship show to launch FEVA Music in the Caribbean. We will be officially launching in April on both FLOW and Digicel. It will be representative of the African black diaspora. We show a lot of Nollywood, and Afrobeats music was also popularised by FEVA TV across the Caribbean,” Onianwah explained.

He added that it was important to separate the channels in order to highlight more serious content and vital social issues.

“We need serious black content; we don’t need song and dance all the time. We want to discuss the George Floyds; we want black people to take things seriously; and we do programmes that empower them. If you want to save money to buy your first house, we want to have a financial programme that can show people how to do that. If you are diabetic, how do you manage your health? We are a black station. We don’t make any bones about that. We are not pretending that we are not. We are very Pan-Africanist, so our role is to educate, inform and entertain black people,” Onianwah declared.

We Outside is scheduled to be aired in May.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com