New York, NY (Top40 Charts) MTV World today announced the second season of its "Rebel Music" series, the thought provoking documentary project about young musicians and artists overcoming oppression and injustice around the world premiering Thursday, April 30th on MTV's YouTube channel. Additionally, MTV World will partner with Amnesty International to disperse the "Rebel Music" message and help viewers take action for positive change through the organization's Art for Amnesty program.
One country at a time, "Rebel Music" shares the untold stories of fearless young artists rising up against social and political barriers to forge a better future. Launched in 2013 and now in its second six part season, "Rebel Music" shines a light on young people around the globe who are rarely given a chance to speak for themselves, activating the power of music and art to connect, inspire and ignite action. The series will provide young American audiences a rare, unprecedented look into the lives of their counterparts in countries experiencing crises.
"We live in an increasingly connected global community and young people in
America are more interested and engaged in the state of the world than ever before," said Nusrat Durrani, GM/SVP of MTV World at Viacom Media Networks, and creator and Executive Producer of the "Rebel Music" series. "We are proud to present a fresh new perspective on important regions of the world through compelling stories of their youth - bridging the gap in knowledge and hopefully creating more understanding and compassion."
In season one, "Rebel Music" journeyed deep into the heart of revolutionary music in Egypt, Afghanistan, Mali, Mexico, and
Israel and Palestine. Buoyed by the success of the first "Rebel Music: Native America" premiere last November, which became one of MTV's top most viewed and most shared videos of all time, and an invitation to screen at the White House, the series continues to innovate and bring new untold stories to the forefront.
Season two of "Rebel Music" is even bolder and more intrepid, venturing into Iran, Myanmar, Turkey, Venezuela, Senegal, and the Native American communities of North America. Season two consists of half hour episodes and an extended "Rebel Music: Native America" episode, with the stories and conversation continuing online at RebelMusic.com and via social media, as well as in the classroom through the "Rebel
Music Educators' Guide."
The second season of "Rebel Music" transcends conventional documentary format with its cinematic sweep, pacing and state of the art production values. The executive production team includes Shepard Fairey, legendary artist and activist whose street inspired vision permeates the series' graphic design;
David Sable, humanitarian and Global CEO, Y&R, and chairman of the NY Philanthropic Advisory Board of UNICEF; and iconic punk singer songwriter
Laura Jane
Grace of the band
Against Me! as
Music Director.
Amnesty International's Art for Amnesty program, which harnesses the power and passion of art, music, film, and culture to champion human rights around the world, was a perfect partner for "Rebel Music." Together, MTV World and Amnesty are recasting turbulent situations throughout the world by amplifying the unheard and inspiring stories of young artists and activists and authentically portraying their struggles.
Working to further promote the stories of youth driving social change, MTV and Amnesty International will also launch the "Rebel with a Cause" contest to spotlight artists around the world. Set to live on
Rebel Music's Tumblr, the contest will engage the huge online activist community and provide a platform to let their rebel voice shine. For every submission, MTV will donate $1 to Amnesty International. Top submissions will have a chance to be featured on MTV,
Rebel Music, and Art for Amnesty's social media platforms and one lucky winner will win a $1,000 gift certificate to B&H to continue documenting their passion, as well as a co-branded MTV/Art For Amnesty
Rebel Music poster signed by Executive Producer Shepard Fairey.
"Working with musicians, artists, actors and filmmakers to amplify the voices of those who might otherwise go unheard has long been a vital part of our global human rights efforts and we're proud to extend this worthwhile legacy with MTV," said Marvin Bing,
National Director of Art for Amnesty at Amnesty International USA. "MTV's
Rebel Music and Art for Amnesty have a natural synergy and intersection of goals that made this partnership a great fit. Along with our Human Rights Concerts and Chimes of Freedom, this series is the perfect opportunity to raise awareness and inspire others to seek change."
As part of
Rebel Music's RebelED, episodes from the second season will be accompanied by lesson plans with a teacher's guide and background history to bring these topics into the classroom, available for free download at www.rebelmusic.com/edu. The curriculum will be distributed to Amnesty International's 750 high school and college groups in the USA and shared with other Amnesty sections globally and through Viacommunity, the umbrella for Viacom's social efforts, through the Get Schooled Foundation, a national non-‐profit dedicated to increasing high school graduation and college attendance rates, founded by Viacom in partnership with the Gates Foundation.
To learn more about the "Rebel Music" series, Art for Amnesty and the "Rebel Music" contest, visit www.rebelmusic.com.
About MTV: MTV is the world's premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy, Grammy and Peabody award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV's sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is a leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. For more information, go to www.mtvpress.com.
About MTV World:
MTV World, a division of Viacom Media Networks, is an innovation team producing cutting-‐edge, award winning pop culture content featured on Viacom channels and digital properties worldwide, and other platforms like Netflix, iTunes and Amazon. The division produces a variety of global-‐minded multiplatform content including the acclaimed
Rebel Music documentary series, Intel's The
Music Experiment (a transmedia live music program) and several forthcoming series about love/sex, EDM, fashion, and films.
