Ever wondered what the perspective of a privileged upcoming musician in an Afrobeats industry might be? Orange City has a clue.

Stop what you’re doing and picture this, an animated show about Afrobeats, the zanku dance and all her cousins, the Nigerian music industry and a troublesome artist and his team navigating all the drama. That’s Orange City. 

Orange City is a hilarious expression of the pop culture, politics and lifestyle in Africa’s most polarising city, Lagos. It takes the story from the perspective of young Afrobeats artist Wahala (meaning trouble) and his dysfunctional crew on their journey through stardom and celebrity as they discover the true meaning of the African dream.

Inspired by Seth MacFarlane and Matt Groening, Somto wanted to create a story adults could connect with, using the most polarising elements of Africa including music, politics and street culture. 

I wanted to create a story that shared a side of Lagos which excites everyone, a side of Lagos that makes you just want to be there.

Somto Ajuluchukwu (creator and director).

The main character Wahala ever the optimist is a hot-on-the-streets Afrobeats musician living with his ex-military grandmother Mama Nne. When his uncle, a well-known money thirsty politician Chief Obadike invests heavily into his indie record label Orange City, Wahala and his dysfunctional team – Kome, Kabuki and Ape – take on a hilarious journey through stardom as they discover the true face of Nigerian celebrity, lifestyles and culture!

I really can’t wait to continue telling the story as we pull you deeper into this wacky universe.

Somto Ajuluchukwu

Orange City premiered at the maiden Accra Animation Film Festival in August 2019 and was screened at the Encounters Short Fim and Animation Festival and Silicon Valley African Film Festival. Orange City was one of the 12 finalists in the Annecy MIFA pitch competitions at the Accra Animation Film Festival last year. 

Somto Ajuluchukwu hopes to make Orange City a six-part limited series which can be sold to any Video-on-demand platform such as Netflix. This vision comes at a critical time when platforms such as Netflix and Cartoon Network are paying attention to animation in Africa and making a push into the continent. This year, for instance, Africa has been marked as the spotlight territory for the Annecy International Animation Festival. 

Africa is at a tipping point and animation worth millions and it is time for African investors to step in and own it .

Somto Ajuluchukwu

Orange City is produced by VX Animation, a subsidiary of Vortex Corp. Vortex Corp is an award-winning creative content company keen on exporting African culture through comics, animation and games. The company has to its credit, titles such as Orisha Pikin by Kiyindou Yamakasi and Land of Gods. 

Watch the first part of Orange City below.

Looking for a weekly dose of animated goodness from Africa? Head over to our Weekly African Animation Shorts page and satisfy your content needs.

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