MAMAs nominees – MTV BASE
The website is gorgeous, the range of Pan-African musicians nominated cuts across genres and (stale) stereotypes (no longer relevant in today’s futureforward music industry) and the best part of all, you, the fan, get to vote for your favourite African artists online… SO GET CLICKING ASAP… We’re impressed with the first taste of the MTV Mama’s that will take place on the 22nd November 08 in Abuja, Nigeria… Our only confusing question is how the hell did Coldplay, Alicia Keys and Rihanna make this list??? Maybe it cuts across continents too… Here’s the official PR: MTV Networks Africa have announced the contenders for the first ever MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain (MAMA). The nominations for the inaugural pan-African music awards ceremony were revealed at a VIP soirée at Planet One, Lagos, Nigeria by Alex Okosi, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, MTV Networks Africa and Norman Moyo, Chief Marketing Officer, Zain Nigeria, in the presence of nominees D’Banj, Wahu, DJ Cleo and Naeto C. Selected by an independent voting ‘academy’ of 150 music professionals and opinion formers from 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the nominations for the MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain showcase the wealth of musical talent that Africa has to offer, and provide the ultimate vehicle for young Africans to salute the African and international artists that rock their worlds. Heading the nominee list with 5 ‘nods’ from the MAMA nominations academy are Nigerian R&B duo P-Square (Best Group, Best Live Performer, Best R&B, Best Video and Artist of the Year), closely followed by triple nominees D’Banj (Nigeria) and HHP (South Africa), who go head-to-head in the Best Male and Artist of the Year categories. Wahu (Kenya) and Asa (Nigeria) share the honours as the most nominated female artists with two nominations each for Wahu (Best New Act, Best Female) and Asa (Best Female, Artist of the Year). Topping the country roll of honour with 18 individual nominations is South Africa, closely followed by Nigeria (16 nominations). Kenyan artists scored three nominations: Jua Cali for Best Male and Wahu for Best New Act & Best Female. Ghanaian artists were recognised in two categories: Best Live Performance (Samini) and Best New Act (Kwaw Kese), while Mozambique, Gabon, Tanzania and Uganda all scored one nominee with recognition for Professor Jay (Tanzania), East Africa Bashment Crew (Uganda), Movaizhaleine (Gabon) and Dama do Bling (Mozambique). US, and European artists are represented in three categories with nods to Akon, Rihanna and Alicia Keys for Best R&B, while rappers The Game and Lil Wayne both feature in Best Hip Hop. Prominent in the Best Alternative category are British rockers Coldplay, competing...
Get ready for the MAMA’s – MTV Africa!
Our dedicated scribe of the moment, Reuben ‘The Matrix’ Malema, attended the MTV press announcement of the ‘MAMA awards’, MTV’s pan-African music awards brought to you by MTV and their sponsor ZAIN (a telecommunications company…). He reckons healthy competition is the way forward to uplift and keep on diversifying and enriching our music scene, we have to admit, we agree! See our photostory at our RepresentFlickr set here. Read all about the event below – the official media release follows. Sharpile RTMM! It’s official, MTV Networks Africa is here! And if all the over-the-top hoo-hah of Tuesday night has any truth to it, then the end for the MTN SAMA Awards is definitely not nigh but rather in a very real way so resoundingly here. The setting of MTV’s “take-over-Africa” spectacle was the Japanese themed Tokyo Sky of Fourways, Johannesburg. Ja, the ambiguity was very clear: the guillotine’s blade has gut-gushingly fallen on the video-jockey controlled entertainment industry in this part of Africa! I have to admit though, with all the fine sushi, on the house liquor en masse (Double Remmie Martin and Lemonade…one more please sir!), the glitz and splendour that was blatantly flaunted, the Network has a lot of credibility and plenty to offer Africa’s musicians in sharp contrast to the MTN SAMA Awards that favours the same few artists all the time and only focuses on SA. Let us not forget the controversy-riddled quagmire of the recent MTN SAMAs which did not help the situation either, in fact if anything – this year’s SAMAs managed to quicken the event’s long awaited coup de grace. Competition is often a healthy thing and in this case it’s long overdue. The Media targeted event (Nou Ek Spog!) had the makings of a typical TRL show on MTV Base. The MC was as chirpy as all the free flowing video mouthpieces on the network’s channels. The program direction was lively with a twist of spring. The audience (le paparazzi!) was very receptive, although at one stage a tad disappointed (we’ll come back to this one…). Mr. Alex Okosi, a Nigerian born, American raised, British groomed and now South African Corporate Executive is the driving force behind MTV Africa’s no-holds-barred takeover bid. His passion and inspiring vibrancy is believable enough to prop-up one’s expectations of the fresh wave of reprieve that has at last beached on our shores. An array of Dj’s and musicians were bopping away, including Cleo, KB, boys from Skwatta Kamp and Brickz. One particular artist caught my attention, the 12 year old In-cha who is an ingenious (lest I be tempted to declare her a maestro) violinist....
Represent Review: RnB Women’s Day Concert
At heart, we all know he’s a serious ladies man. Represent’s one and only Reuben “The Matrix” Malema finds a new sidekick and surrounds himself with the wonders of women as he at the Women’s day RnB bash at the Bassline in Johannesburg… See our Flickr photoset here. Sharpile as always Reuben : 21H00 on Friday: 08 August 2008 at Bassline – Newtown, Johannesburg. A fairly cool night for a typical late winter, early spring day in the city of gold. Mr. Nkateko Siweya (My cameraman and the newest member of Matrix Incorporated) joins me on a colourful journey of discovery to celebrate and honor man’s better half: Abafazi. Funny though, that on this journey so full of affection, comfort and lots of happy emotions, Ms. Janica Nhlapo had to purposefully go AWOL on me. Oops, I forgot: she’s enjoying all that is beautiful about being a woman: the early and tender days of her new born baby boy. And yes, Congratulations to her and all the other strong and mild willed women out there who are jealously guarding the fort and by some miraculous wonder when life pits them against all odds, still manage to constantly hoist the torch of humanity ever so high. To this end, yours truly unreservedly salutes you. The venue of the Newtown (Jozi) Celebrates: Women in Arts – R&B concert was warm and very homely. The guest lounge had been decorated with red silk dressing, a scatter of chocolate nibbles and matching white candles. Fresh, crisply clear juice in flute glasses was served together with a helping of bite-size chicken skewers, roast leg of lamb portions, fish cakes, beef burgers, an assortment of mouth-watering sausages and tantalizing sauce-dipped meatballs on “Sterk-Blatjang”. At 21H30 the build-up process was well underway with DJ Franso rearing in a collection of very good house and smooth tunes. A brigade of well adorned ladies started streaming in by the bus loads! The fact was clearly evident that this one was selfishly for the ladies. Ms. Lulu took to the stage to get the live performances off to a very beautiful start; her romantic ballads coupled with her sweet melody were a reminiscent of Mama Letta Mbuli`s “I need you baby”. When the mellow ballads had warmed up the hall; the energetic Busie set the dance floor alight with her paced up performance of popular and very circular jingles; with the naughty (see pictures) Chomie infusing all sorts of excitement upon the outnumbered male part of the audience, while they all sang along to her famous track: Jaiva Sexy! Edgars Consolidated Stores was kind enough to the ladies to...
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