About Mac Alunge

Mac Alunge is an internationally acclaimed Cameroonian Spoken Word Artist, Social Entrepreneur & Businessman. He is the founder of the Production House, Strawcademy and the Creator of its Art Brand & Label MA Park. He is an advocate for multiple Social Causes including: Equality, Climate Change & Sustainable Development; he is UNESCO Peace Ambassador as well as Brand Ambassador for the Africa Export Import Bank (Afreximbank)

Mac Alunge made African history in June of 2022 after performing the Opening Ceremony for the 29^th Afreximbank Annual General Meetings which took place at the prestigious St Regis Almasa Hotel in New Cairo – Egypt, in audience of H.E. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Alahdji Aliko Dangote, Sir Tony Elumelu, H.E. Dr Olusegun Obasanjo admist 3,000 other very high Administrative, Finance and Entrepreneurial Executives from all over the continent of Africa. Mac was invited by H.E. Tarek Hassan Amer, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, and Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of Board of Directors for the Africa Export Import Bank (Afreximbank).

Arguably the most important financial gathering in all of Africa, the Afreximbank Annual General Meetings (#AAGM2022) assembled hundreds of Ministers, Governors and Executives of major corporations from all over Africa as well as some of the biggest diplomatic, economic and industrial titans in the continent. Also present were: H.E. Mr Wamkele Mene AfCFTA Secretariat, Monica Musonda, HE. Ambassador Albert Muchanga – African Union Commissioner for Economic Development Trade, Industry, Tourism and Minerals; the United Nations was there in the guides of H.E. Dr Vera Songwe, Executive Director of UNECA and H.E. Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

In July of 2021, Mac Alunge made National history, performing the Opening Ceremony for the first ever National Women’s Convention for Peace, the largest International Civil Society gathering in the Nation, organized by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. The 3,000 Capacity Event assembled Ambassadors, High Commissioners, Government Officials and Directors of UN Agencies from all over Central Africa and even featured a Presentation from Prolific Nigerian Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. For Mac’s 20 minute performance, he wrote and memorized 72 stanzas of original poem which his team produced with new sound, visuals and choreography; all of which happened in a little over 2 weeks. Mac Alunge is the first Cameroonian Spoken Word Artist to have been hired to grace that magnitude of platform and also to win the multi-million art contract. In the same year, Mac graced the 6,000 Capacity Stage, making history to be the first ever Spoken Word Act to perform at the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope.

He has won several awards and is well accredited and endorsed by the international community including: the Commonwealth, UNESCO, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, UNDP, the German Federal Foreign Office, the World Wide Fund for Nature, OCHA, the African Union, the European Union and Afreximbank

Through his organization, Strawacademy, Mac Alunge uses his gifting, knowledge, experience, influence and networks to give back to his community by inspiring and mentoring the next generation of youth nation builders and artistic influencers

Mac Alunge is the winner for Spoken Word Artist of the Year 2022 at the Africa Podcasts & Voice Artist (APVA) Awards as well as an Honoree by AVICOMM GROUP 2021 Rankings of Cameroon Thought Leaders, Innovators-Entrepreneurs-Mavericks, in their ‘4^th Annual Powerlist of 40 Under 40 Honorees’, alongside inspiring figures like famous Cameroonian Footballer Toko Ekambi, Artist Ko-C and the seasoned youth humanitarian / peacebuilder Achaleke Christian Leke. Mac is the first Spoken Word Artist to make the list. Mac is also the receipient of the TLC 2022 Impact Award presented by Wisdom Foundation.

Mac was requested for by officials from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and later hired to perform during the ceremony marking the inauguration of the Afreximbank Central African Office; another multimillion contract for a performance lasting just 3 minutes. The event was cheered by the Head of State (rep) and the CEO of Afreximbank and attended by several other High Profile Dignitaries. In the same year, Mac was hired to perform the Opening Ceremony for Pro Meetup and Learn; the largest African Bank, Investment and Finance Operative-Gathering in Central Africa.

Upon recommendation by the Commonwealth Youth Delegate, Mac was hired to perform at the Opening Ceremony that marked the Launch of the Commonwealth Day set of activities 2022. His breathtaking rendition of his piece ‘One Africa’, prompted a second invitation back by the Director of the Commonwealth Department of the Ministry of External Relations to perform at the closing ceremony. Mac left a breathtaking Live Act rendition of his single Rebirth at TLC 2022 shortly after releasing the Official Video for Garden, the German Federal Office Funded Video against Hate Speech on Social Media.

Mac Alunge directed the Movie, ‘Mbulle’, a film by the First Women’s Negotiations for Peace in Cameroon, written by the Nina Netzer, Country Director for the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) Central Africa Office and produced by Strawacademy

The One African 3 (Spirit of Africa) Spoken Word Official Video, written, directed and performed by Mac Alunge in support of the African Cup of Nations AFCON2021, was tagged by the Ministers of Culture and Youth and Civic Education in Cameroon, as the best video of its kind ever produced in the country. The viral video became the first Cameroonian Spoken Word Video to:

• Be aired on Boom TV
• To be aired on Trace
• To be aired on BBC
• To cross the 100,000 view mark on YouTube
• To be recognized by the African Union

In 2019, shortly after performing at the YALI Symposium at Palais de Congrais Yaounde, Mac quickly became UNESCO Peace Ambassador and carried out multiple performances on account of UNESCO and its activities around Central Africa. Mac graced the stage yet again as the only Spoken Word act at the first ever Cameroon International Music Festival (CIMFEST) in November of 2022. In a sendoff party for the outgoing UNESCO Regional Director for Central Africa Salah Khaled, Mac Alunge was the sole Spoken Word performer alongside prolific performances from Cameroonian Musical Icons including: Salatiel, Magasco, Asaba, Ewube, Witty Minstrel, Blaise B, and others. During the Na We We Sports Jamboree by Local Youth Corner, Mac Alunge performed together with one of Cameroon’s biggest musical superstars Mr Leo. He also performed for the Canadian High Commissioner, HE Richard Bale during his send off event alongside Mr Leo.

Mac has a plausible track record of performances within the international community. His first performance within the UN ecosystem was during the World Humanitarian Day Celebration in Cameroon in 2018 where he graced the stage to perform ‘Soldier’ before former UN resident to Cameroon, Mme Allegra Braiocchi, amongst other dignitaries. Since then, Mac has performed twice at the British High Commission on invitation by H.E. Rowan Laxton (in 2019) and by H.E. Dr Christian-Dennys Mcclure (in 2022), during Day 1 of the 16 days of activism against sexual violence and the Burns Night Scottish Celebration respectively. In 2019, he performed at the Canadian High Commission on invitation by H.E. Richard Bale to be the sole act to perform at an event that marked Day 16 of the 16 days of Activism against Sexual Violence. In 2021 alone, Mac was invited thrice to perform at the UNESCO Regional Multi-sectorial Office for Central Africa during the Launch of ArtLab, the Launch of the Resiliart initiative and the UNESCO Youth-Exchange Award Ceremony in partnership with MINJEC. In the same year, Mac was invited to perform at the Victoria International Media Merit Awards (VIIMMA) shortly afterwards, he performed at the 4^th Edition of the Silicon Mountain Conference before closing the year on December 28^th 2021 with a fantastic vocal rendition of ‘Destiny’, at the first ever Visionaries Humanitarian Awards by Youth with Visions Global .

After emerging winner of the Game Changers Art4Climate contest in January of 2022, Mac performed at the National Private Sector Coalition for Climate Action on invitation by the British High Commission & Game Changers Association. Within the same week, Mac was invited by the Okwelian group and hired to speak at one of their events; he was a panel speaker alongside former Governor Abakar Ahamat and other high profile individuals.

Mac was contracted to create the Official World Peace Day Video by #defyhatenow & UNESCO twice in a row, for World Peace Day 2020 and 2021. Following this, Mac was contracted yet again by #defyhatenow to create 20 Videos for Artivism for Hatespeech Mitigation, the prevention of violent extremism as well as to promote Peace and Social Cohesion in Cameroon. The multimillion contract which began in early 2021 will last 2 years. Within the same month, Mac was also contracted by UNESCO to create a documentary to expose the ills of the violent Anglophone crisis as well as a Spoken Word Video. The documentary ‘A Ray of Hope’, would be the second documentary he will produce since his 2017 production of ‘7 Most Critically Endangered Animal Species in Cameroon’ for WWF Central Africa. This project was part of the 3-phase UN Peacebuilding Fund Project by UNICEF, UNESCO & UN Women. Mac joined the Cameroon Association of Media Professionals (CAMP), to foster training and artistic initiatives which emphasize on ‘The Place of Creative Arts in Peacebuilding’. This happened just after he performed the closing Ceremony for the Na We We Sports Jamboree organized by Local Youth Corner in association with: UNIC, JRI, MINJEC, and British & Canadian High Commissions to Cameroon. Mac would also perform at the #defyhatenow PeaceJam on World Peace Day 2022 shortly after releasing the official spoken word video ‘Cry Guitar’, a video which voices out the pain of loss during armed conflict. Mac Alunge’s audio and video singles and albums are available on this website as well as on digital stores everywhere.

After starting his career in Spoken Word Art in 2016, he has written and performed more than 50 Spoken Word pieces (Slams) in English and has performed live before multiple local, national and international audiences. Being a true master of the art, his audiences appreciate the depth of his writings, his originality and uniqueness of style, the captivating lines, irrevocable flow and plausible rhyme scheme. He has won several awards, attained international recognition and delivered several astounding performances over the course of his career. Despite the insightful, poetic and provocative nature of his write-ups, one thing that bewilders his audiences the most during his live performances is his ability to memorize large chunks of data and deliver flawlessly and accurately with lots of passion and energy. Audiences can’t get enough of this fire; the veracious sweat and groan in the art, the drive, the sustained zest and power he puts into his performances, leave audiences wanting. His writings address issues of Self-Discovery, Nation Building, Spirituality, Peace, Love, Health, Nature Conservation, Climate Change as well as Entertainment. Most of his writings are in English bur more recently, he writes and performs in French, Pidgin and Bakossi.

Mac was first inspired by Jon Jorgenson, the American Christian Spoken Word Artist, and fell in love particularly with his Spoken Word piece entitled ‘The Wall’. He watched, memorized and performed this piece in several Christian settings before writing his own pieces. The first Spoken Word piece he ever wrote entitled Destiny, inspired by Dr Myles Monroe’s ‘The Power and Principle of Destiny’ and Tina Campbell’s hit singly ‘Destiny’, made him an impressionable name in the hearts of his audiences. With the impact made from his first Spoken Word Pieces (slams) like Destiny, Pain Gain, The Message, Fear Fear, Today, Last Night, Little Valerie, Risk it, I am future, Spotless Highness, Emjay and A Letter from Zion, Mac is referred to as the ‘Father of Inspiration’.

Mac has organized 5 Artistic Tours including: the #DiamondTour, Diamond Media Tour, the #defyhatenow Field Guide, The Spreadlove Campaign Tour and #TourAlcohol with more than 700 Live Performances, and more than 400 Media House Appearances on several National and International Media Houses over the years. With as well a plausible body of work with the self-publishing of over 8 Audio Studio Spoken Word Albums, 4 Video Spoken Word Albums and 3 Live Video Albums and sales of a few thousand Spoken Word pieces, Mac has gained international recognition especially around the UN and the International Community. He has been met with credibility, winning several awards and gaining accreditation with several well-to-do organizations and even written and verbal accreditation from high profile individuals including: PM Chief Joseph Dion Ngute, H.E. Prof Nalova Lyonga – Minister of Secondary Education, Nina Netzar – Director for Central Africa Office for Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Dr Benedict Okey Oramah – President of Afreximbank, HE Asheri Kilo- Secretary of State for Basic Education, HE The Minister of External Relations, HE Mme Anne Oben – Director of the Commonwealth Department of the Ministry of External Relations, H.E. Dr Christian Dennys-Mclaure – British High Commissioner to Cameroon, Salah Khaled – UNESCO Regional Director for Central Africa, HE The Minister of Youth and Civic Education, HE the Minister of Culture, H.E. Richard Bale – Canadian High Commissioner to Cameroon, Achaleke Christian, Agbor Gilbert Ebot, Mme Rebecca Enonchong, Mme Esther Omam and several others. He is currently working on Development-based Projects with Mme Ama Tutu Muna, former Minister of Culture.

Mac always delivers performances in Peace Initiatives around the Southwest Region, especially with Reach Out Cameroon with Mme Esther Omam. Mac also performed for former Separatist fighters in Buea at the National Disarmament and Demobilization Centre where he went on a charity visit with the Southwest Women for Peace and Development (SWWPD). He also performed for the organization, Nature’s Benefit to support Breast Cancer Awareness. Mac was also recently listed in Phases of 237Gospel in the area of (Performing Artist & Cinematography) and also became Dignity Ambassador with Royalty World after delivering an astounding performance at the Royalty Dignity Gala, promoting Women’s Menstrual Health. Mac has performed purely as an entertainer in multiple events leaving a stunning reputation for making weddings and birthdays memorable.

Mac is the Creator and Organizer of the Spoken Word Event With Mac Alunge, an Event series that has over the years demonstrated his power in front of a live audience. There have been 3 editions with the fourth edition coming up, scheduled for late 2023. He is also part of a vibrant community of artists in Southwest – Griot Hub and in Northwest the Black Swagger and will get together with the community annually to celebrate the World Poetry day led by the amazing Spoken Word Artist Mottani.

Mac is currently deep in production working on 5 Major Projects:

1. ‘Soldier’ a 40-Minute Spoken Word Film
2. ‘The Soldier Spoken Word Album’
3. The ‘Soldier – Spoken Word Poetry Book’
4. 2023’s ‘The Soldier Tour’
5. ‘The Soldier Spoken Word Event with Mac Alunge’

Mac Alunge is applauded nationally for his health and fitness journey. He lost 43kgs (95b pounds) of weight between 2020 and 2022 and is now in great shape.

‘My name is ALUNGE NNANGSOPE MACAULAY NZIE. I am not sure why, but some people find it hard to pronounce. Over the years I found that some people shortened the name to ease its pronunciation. Now, I am professionally and artistically known as Mac Alunge; I did not pick the name, my friends and contacts did, and I love it.’

‘I wear 2 professional hats. I am a Spoken Word Artist and the Leader of the Organization / Production House Strawacademy. I did not exactly choose this profession; I kind of stumbled into it. I consider it the product of a personal journey I commenced many years ago. A journey that took a lot of bravery to commence as I broke every profession-rule I was taught at the time. Simply put, I did what I loved, what I felt I was created to do; which was writing and leading. From very humble beginnings I started, and almost 7 years later, my work and I have been branded as such’.