This week, Lagos- the entertainment capital of West Africa- will stand still when Sound Sultan‘s concert Jungle Story opens on Friday, and with good reason too: the 18th-anniversary celebration of the multitalented musician, actor, producer and director is a three-day event which starts on Friday and ends on Sunday.
Such a massive production is unprecedented, not only by the long list of A-list entertainers that are billed to feature on Jungle Story and the huge cost of the event.
Although the man himself is guarded about the actual figure his concert will cost, NET has estimated it to be approximately four hundred million naira. Jaw-dropping right? That’s what we thought too.
The full cast of entertainers that will sing, act and perform over the three days will take the lion share of the voluminous budget while production costs and the venue charges also add up to the estimated figure.
The cast can be divided into three categories: musicians, actors and comedians. Musicians MI Abaga, Seyi Shay, Harrysong, Reekado Banks, Falz, Olamide, Simi, Niniola, Baba Dee and Ozzy Bosco. With performance fees among these acts ranging from 2 million naira (for the youngest musician in the lineup, Ozzy Bosco) to fifteen million naira that the likes of Olamide, MI and Falz currently charge, it’s safe to chalk off 100 million naira to guest musicians.
Nollywood icons Joke Silva and Richard Mofe-Damijo lead the line up of actors Wale Ojo, Mr Ibu, Saka, Ramsey Nuoah Kate Henshaw, Kunle Afolayan, Fred Amata, Segun Adefila and Crown Troupe of Africa. Another one hundred million naira is expected to go towards their performance fees.
Similarly, the comedians on the cast: Alibaba, Gbenga Adeyinka, Bovi, Basketmouth, Helen Paul, Emmanuella and the emerging crop of social media comics Lasisi Elenu, Broda Shaggi, MC Lively– charge anywhere from 1 million to 15 million naira.
With fee for talent already topping N300 million, production costs make up the final one hundred million. Jungle Story 2018 will last for three days at Terra Kulture, the most important arts venue in Lagos. In addition to the three-day duration, the cast will be on ground all week long for dress rehearsals and final touches. By the time fans walk in on Friday after having bought their tickets (N5,000 for early bird buyers, N10,000 regular and N30,000 all available exclusively on NETShop), the hall would have been transformed into a full-fledged jungle to match the concept of the event.
This is Sound Sultan’s biggest project till date. “My songs are satiric in nature so for me to serve them I need to bring them to life with drama and embellish it with dance. The event place is very suitable for such events but sits only five hundred at most. So we want to cater for at least 2500 audience,” he told NET in a recent interview.
