Kora West Africa Showdown Tuface and Sasha from Nigeria, Christy B from Cote d?Ivoire, Togo?s Orcyno, and Benin?s Kassim on stage with Ghana?s own Tinny and Batman, this weekend will liven things up in Accra when they descend on the capital to spit rhythmic lyrics to funky beats as they compete wth each other in the KORA All Africa Music Awards competition in search of the ?Most Promising West African Artiste of the Year?.

The show which is aptly dubbed the ?West Africa Showdown? comes off this weekend at the Warehouse Nightclub in front of a live trendy audience. The finals take place the day after at TV3?s Studio B. The contest is open only to professional musicians who have released their first CD or cassette.

Preparations are at an advanced stage for the Accra competition, which is being billed as a hip event and the participating artistes all are excited to be taking part in a contest that could land them this ?once-in-a-lifetime? opportunity to perform at the KORA All Africa Music Awards platform, at this early stage in their careers.

Judges for the ?Showdown? are also drawn from across the sub-region to ensure a balanced result. Theresa Ayoade,the Event Director of Charterhouse, the production house representing Kora West Africa, who are managers of the ?Showdown? is just enthusiastic.

?This is truly an exciting event, even for us as the organisers as it provides the chance of bringing the people of the sub-region together through music, and also to give budding musicians the much needed international exposure?.The Kora Most Promising Artiste of the Year Award category will thus from this year be open for competition across Africa and will seek to turn the spotlight up on African artistes.

There will thus be representative artistes from all over the continent; on the North, South, Central, East and West regional basis, competing to have that impressive platform to expose their music.Each region will produce one representative, the winner of the regional contest, who will further go to compete against the others in South Africa at a special event prior to the KORA Nite.

Will Tinny or Batman live up to bill? Catch the action live at the Warehouse Nightclub this Saturday, August 14 from 8pm and TV3 Studio B this Sunday, August 15, for the final showdown.