As part of the preparations for the grand finale of this year’s edition of the All Africa Music Awards, (AFRIMA) slated to hold in November, AFRIMA has released the final nominees’ list.
Artistes leading nominations in the final list released on August 25, 2019, which is also the continental category for the 6th edition include; Nasty C, South Africa’s prolific rapper and producer; Davido, African music definitive artiste; Burna Boy, Nigeria’s contemporary music talent, and Tamer Hosny, Northern Africa’s brilliant showman.
Nasty C led with nine nominations in the Best Male Artiste in Southern Africa, Artiste of the Year in Africa, Song of the Year in Africa, Producer of the Year in Africa, Best African Rapper/lyricist, Best African Collaboration, Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African Hip-hop, Songwriter of the Year in Africa and Best Artiste, and Duo or Group in African R’N’B & Soul categories.
Following closely is Davido with six nominations which include; Best Male Artiste in Western Africa, Artiste of the Year in Africa, Song of the Year in Africa, African Fans’ Favourite, Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African R’N’B & Soul, and Best African Collaboration for ‘Blow My Mind with Chris Brown’.
Burna Boy will be competing in five different categories which are Best Male Artiste in Western Africa, Artiste of the Year in Africa, Song of the Year in Africa, Album of the Year in Africa and Best African Collaboration with ‘Killin Dem’ featuring Zlatan’.
Egyptian artiste, Tamer Hosny had four nominations in the Best Male Artiste in Northern Africa, Artiste of the Year in Africa, Song of
the Year in Africa, and Songwriter of the Year in Africa categories.
Other artistes with multiple nominations include; Diamond Platnumz who had four nominations (Best Male Artiste in Eastern Africa, Artiste of the Year in Africa, Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African Pop and Best African Dance or Choreography category), and South Africa’s seasoned producer and DJ, Prince Kaybee with five spots (Artiste of the Year in Africa, Song of the Year in Africa, Producer of the Year in Africa, Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African Electro, and Best African Collaboration with ‘Banomoya’ featuring Busiswa & TNS.
The late DJ Arafat, known for his infectious music rhythms and energetic dance, was posthumously nominated in the Best Male Artiste in Central Africa and Best African Dance or Choreography categories.
The list comprising the 26 continental award categories is coming
days after the 6th AFRIMA regional categories comprising the Best Female and Best Male artistes within each of the five African regions were unveiled by the International Jury of AFRIMA during the World Media Conference held in Lagos on August 14, 2019, and broadcast live around the world on Africa Independent Television (AIT), Raypower Radio and Kennis FM.
The continental categories are made up of the different genres of African music from hip-hop, jazz, R’N’B, pop and reggae, ragga and dancehall to other coveted categories such as ‘Song of the Year’, ‘Album of the Year’, ‘Producer of the Year’ and ‘Best African Collaboration’ among others.
Over 200 songs have been nominated from a variety of artistes in the continental and regional categories cutting across a host of African talents living on the continent and in the diaspora.
Meanwhile, public voting for the nominees to stand a chance to win the 23.9 Carat Gold-plated AFRIMA trophy commences on September 1 on the AFRIMA voting platform www.afrima.org. Fans and followers of African music can access the online voting pages through the links on AFRIMA social media platforms or directly on the landing page on www.afrima.org. Voting closes at midnight CAT on November 22.
Speaking on the final nominees’ list, Delani Makhalima, a member of the International Jury of AFRIMA representing Southern Africa, said: “As with each year, the musicians never cease to amaze us with their incredible talent. As jurors, we are impressed with the quality of work being produced. We are confident that the nominees’ list presented this year is a true reflection of world-class African talent and each year it gets harder and harder to judge and grade the standard, as all regions on the African continent continue to surprise us by what we see and hear.
“It is encouraging to also see how the music lovers and fans are growing in record numbers to support the music. We are enthusiastic to see this wave of appreciation transcend across the border and overseas.
We would like to encourage more musicians, songwriters, and producers to keep submitting and spreading the word of AFRIMA so that we can celebrate together the progress and pinnacles of where African music is reaching”.
The 2019 AFRIMA Call for Entry for works produced within the entry submission window of August 1, 2018 – August 2, 2019, which opened worldwide on May 15 exceeded the 2018 submissions by 148 entries. Of the 8,157 entries submitted this year, Western Africa led the pack with 38 percent of the total entries followed by Southern Africa with 24 percent. Eastern Africa, Central Africa, and Northern Africa have 20 percent, 14 percent, and 4 percent respectively. The 13-man International Jury sat in Lagos from August 7-14, 2019, for screening, assessing, grading and selecting nominees into the 36 different regional and continental award categories.
The main awards event scheduled for November 20-23, 2019 will span four days packed with activities including; Welcome Soiree, Africa Music Business Summit, AFRIMA Music Village, a guided tour of the host city, exclusive nominees party and the main awards ceremony.
The main awards events will be broadcast live on over 84 stations across Africa and the Diaspora including live streaming on the AFRIMA website, the AFRIMA App, the AFRIMA social media handles and other online partner platforms.
