Ghanaian veteran presenter and artiste manager Jay Foley has been appointed by Nokia to represent Ghana as part of the panel of Judges for the Nokia Asha ‘Don’t Break Da Beat’ (DBDB) contest.

Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday, Jay Foley admitted that he was highly honoured by the opportunity to represent Ghana on the panel of Judges.

“Hard work pays off and first of all I am very excited just for the fact that I got the recognition to lead the troops for us to go bring the $20,000 to Ghana. Secondly another thing that excites me is the fact that we have a major brand like Nokia stepping in to create opportunity for rappers. I’m that kind of person who is always looking out for new talent to push out there,” the General Manager for YFM, Jay Foley stated.

Interested contestants are to submit their rap lines from now till September 7, which should include three key features – WhatsApp, Dual SIM and Wi-fi- from Nokia’s new Asha 210 Dual SIM phone, via an entry form which can be found on the DBDB tab on the Nokia Ghana Facebook page.

“Just for the fact that Nokia has stepped in I know it is going to make the work little bit easier and that really excites me. We are definitely looking out for the best of the best in Ghana and we are going to take them to Nigeria and bring out the cash prize. Thank you Nokia for trusting my prejudgment, I really appreciate it and let us change the face of Ghana in this industry. We know Nigerians try and take some steps in the music, movie industry and all but this is the chance for Ghana to make it big in the areas we find ourselves,” Jay added.

According to David Anku, Retail and Customer Marketing manager for Nokia Ghana the DBDB contest which is open exclusively to rappers from Ghana and Nigeria is out to search for rappers who will be able to put together good rap lines which include the three key features from Nokia’s new Asha 210 Dual SIM phone.

“Over the course of the next three months, judges working both in Ghana and Nigeria will prune the contestants down to 100 contestants. This final squad will subsequently send in audio messages of their best lines. Based on the judging, this list will be further reduced after two more rounds to four contestants for the grand finale in Lagos, Nigeria. The mode of judging will include voting by the general public,” said Mr Anku.

To add to the whooping $20,000 cash prize, organisers of the event say the winner of the Nokia DBDB contest will also get a coaching session in the US with a recognized US producer.