MAFIA is one of the single-most ground breaking and inclusive clubs Manipal has to offer. Running under the headline of “A collective of creators”, MAFIA has been one of the biggest collegiate forums for any sort of art, from singer-songwriters to stencil artists. In a long line of the inter-collegiate competitions for the fine arts the club has hosted, from the psycho-social deconstruction of the pandemic in Dystopiart, to the holiday themed poetry compilation of Season Unending now comes CADENZA – a music competition transcending language and genre. Prominent for its diverse and progressive membership and social stances, MAFIA is a spotlight for creators of all backgrounds, no matter what the personal identity of the artist is – from preforming with Her Campus for queer awareness, to the their artists preforming at the Malayali festival of Onam and its cultural richness. CADENZA is the next logical step in MAFIA Hustle, something for everyone to step into the spotlight with.
Commencing on February 1st, entrants may send 1-3 minute videos of their performances into the club via the link on the MAFIA’s Instagram page, a showcase for talent. Keeping true to the artistic purity the club treasures, use of auto-tune leads to immediate disqualification. Vocal performances are the forte of MAFIA Hustle competition participants, and the club is eager to see what colleges across India have to offer – and so does the judge, Anchit Magee, a cult singer-songwriter from Noida covered in Rolling Stone India. With the 6 finalists decided by him will gain the social media spotlight via a feature on MAFIA’s Instagram account on the 12th of February – the final winners will be judged by you, the audience, a la talent show television, on the basis of likes, comments, shares and saves on social media platforms.
The winners emerge on February 15th, taking the Cadenza spotlight for themselves. The most talented of these artists, the winner, receives a 1.5k cash prize, in addition to 100 percent off on one any MIT Store purchase of their choice. Runner ups also receive a piece of free MIT Store merchandise of their choice, in addition to 1k in cash. The 2nd and final runner up gets to claim MIT Store apparel for free, all for themselves. As this is a showcase for the best talent India’s colleges have to offer, entrants must be visible in the video, and only backtracks with no other vocals are allowed, in addition to external instrumentals that are only to accompany vocals.
As to not crowd the stage, MAFIA requests only one entry per artist, and properly compiled video. For MAFIA’s progress and to give back to the collective of creators, all entrants must submit a minimal registration free of Rs. 50, for the community and for the art that MAFIA has to offer. Vocalists, singer-songwriters, musicians of all larynx-based art gear up – submit your entries by the 7th of February and claim the Cadenza spotlight of cash and exposure for your own, regardless of what your art is rooted in!
by Arul Kirubakaran
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