AMM Spotlight: Laurent Mundela, Afrofest and Caribbean One TV
Afrofest is the largest and fastest-growing Afro-Caribbean-based multi-city touring event in world, featuring live performances, DJ sets, and celebrity guest appearances. Laurent Mundela, Afrofest’s Creative Director and headline host, described the festival as “the perfect combination of dance party vibes and concert energy” and “the ultimate Afrobeat experience.”
Beyond showing its audiences a great time, Afrofest was established with a broader mission. Mr. Mundela explained: “[The] Afrofest tour was created to celebrate not only the rich history and culture of Africa, but the entirety of the global black diaspora. It embraces the special bond of unity between the motherland and the rest of the world. We strive to educate our audience about Africa’s rich traditions and values through dance, music, and fashion while highlighting many other black cultures from the islands, all the way back to the U.S.A.”
For Mr. Mundela (also known as “Apex Laurent”), Afrofest’s mission is of personal importance— it is also reflected in his lived experience. Mr. Mundela was born in the United States to Congolese parents, has traveled often to visit family in Canada, Belgium, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and speaks French, Tshiluba, and English. His parents ensured that he was immersed in the culture of the DRC while he was growing up in Montgomery County, Maryland. Mr. Laurent noted the “perspectives, insight, and experiences” that his travels provided him, and summed up his goal for the future: “I will continue building my status as a young public figure through my hosting to help bridge the gap in appreciating and learning more about all black cultures.”
AMM is pleased to announce a collaborative partnership between Afrofest and Caribbean One TV (C-ONE TV), a soon-to-launch multimedia streaming platform that will offer innovative programming and original content to Caribbean Global Market (CGM) communities worldwide. The CGM comprises over 40 million viewers who are already watching more than one billion hours of internet multimedia per month, and C-ONE TV will reach them with functionality on any internet-connected device, via web browsers and the C-ONE TV app. In addition to Video-on-Demand content (TV series, movies, music, news, sports, weather, etc.), C-ONE TV will offer its subscribers exclusive access to live streaming entertainment, including concerts. These features, along with C-ONE TV’s standalone streaming radio app, will offer many opportunities to connect Afrofest and its affiliated artists with a global audience.
Like Afrofest, C-ONE TV is setting out to do more than simply entertain. Along with sharing Afro-Caribbean media and culture with the world, C-ONE TV will take an active role in building a brighter future for the people of the Caribbean through its Creative Campus initiative. The Creative Campus will be a school that, in partnership with participating Caribbean governments and community colleges, will allow students with an interest in the Arts and Entertainment industry to get hands-on training as they study under experts in the field. Some students of the Creative Campus may even have their productions featured among C-ONE TV’s content, reaching an audience of millions.