Daily Dispatch

Sjava is a sure BET for grand music award

- By JESSICA LEVITT

MUSICIAN Sjava walked away victorious at the prestigiou­s BET Awards on Sunday night where he got the nod for the Viewers’ Choice Best Internatio­nal Act category.

He was nominated alongside Distructio­n Boyz‚ Congo’s Ipupa and Nigerian superstars Davido and Tiwa Savage. As Mzansi applauds Sjava‚ who had earlier said during a red carpet interview that he would only lose to Davido‚ it was acceptance speech that has gone viral.

Dressed in his trademark traditiona­l wear‚ Sjava did the most with his moment. Davido may have been beaten by Sjava in the Viewer’s Choice Best Internatio­nal Act category, but he won the Best Internatio­nal Act category instead.

The BET Awards, establishe­d by Black Entertainm­ent Television to recognise the best in African American culture, maintains an internatio­nal category for black music from outside the United States.

Davido, 25, thanked his listeners in Nigeria and said that Africa as a continent “has been so blessed”.

“I’m telling you guys – come to Africa, eat the food, wear the clothes,” he told the audience full of African American A-list celebritie­s.

“Let’s collaborat­e, everybody. Let’s collaborat­e, man,” he said.

Davido, the US-educated son of a wealthy business mogul, is one of the leading forces in the Afrobeats movement that has swept the continent’s music scene.

 ?? Picture: GETTY IMAGES ?? THANKS TO BLESSED AFRICA: Terrence J presents an award to Sjava onstage at the BET Awards
Picture: GETTY IMAGES THANKS TO BLESSED AFRICA: Terrence J presents an award to Sjava onstage at the BET Awards

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa