Rafsanjan Abbey Tatya
12 October 2008
The MTV Africa Music Awards (Mamas) organisers have finally come up with a list of what's considered the best of African music this year.
The nominees for the inaugural Mamas were unveiled at a VIP function at Planet One in Lagos, Nigeria. Presiding over the ceremony was Mr Alex Okosi, who is the Senior Vice President and Managing Director for MTV Networks Africa, alongside Mr Norman Moyo, who is the Chief Marketing Officer for Zain Nigeria. Nominated artistes D'Banj, Wahu, DJ Cleo and Naeto C were among the guests.
Bebe Cool is the only Ugandan on the nominees' list under the East African Bashment Crew (EABC) which also features the Kenyan duo of Nazizi and Wyre. EABC are nominees in the category of Best Group, where they're pitted against heavyweights like Freshly Ground from South Africa, Nigeria's P-Square, Jozi (South Africa) and The Parlotones (South Africa).
P-Square leads the pack with five nods for Best Group, Best Live Performer, Best R&B, Best Video and Artiste of the Year. Following closely are triple nominees D'Banj (Nigeria) and HHP (South Africa), who will also go head-to-head in the Best Male and Artiste of the Year categories.
Nameless' wife Wahu (Kenya) and Nigeria's Asa share the honours as the most nominated female artistes with two nods each. Wahu was nominated in the categories of Best New Act and Best Female whilst Asa is a contender in the Best Female and Artiste of the Year categories.
Kenya's Jua Cali has a nod for Best Male where he competes against the likes of 2Face from Nigeria, D'Banj (Nigeria), DJ Cleo (South Africa) and HHP (South Africa).
Some artistes will have to shrug off competition from the world's music rulers. For instance, Tanzania's Professor Jay is up against Lil Wayne (US) and The Game (US) in the category of Best Hip-Hop. It's also the same case with P-Square, who face Akon, Alicia Keys and Rihanna in the category of Best R&B.
Prominent in the Best Alternative category are British rockers Coldplay, competing against, Buraka Som Sistema (Portugal) and a trio of South African contenders Goldfish, The Parlotones and Seether.
There are 13 separate award categories, however, nominations for the Listener's Choice Award will be chosen by radio audiences across Africa and revealed separately on October 27. The nominations for the Mama Legend Award, which is chosen at the discretion of MTV, won't also be published.
The winners of the MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain will be announced at The Velodrome in Abuja, Nigeria come November 22. The ceremony, to be hosted by Mobo award-winning DJ and TV presenter Trevor Nelson, will be broadcast on MTV base (DStv Channel 322, GTV) and partner networks and terrestrial channels including WBS TV, NTV (Kenya) and TBC (Tanzania) from November 29.
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