Mamas: SA musos lead nominees’ list

THE MTV Africa Music Awards (Mamas) announced the nominees for the showcase and the list is somewhat underwhelming. This is not to say the wrong people have been chosen, but perhaps the year, in musical terms, was not as fulfilling as in previous years.

It is not anyone’s fault, music can sometimes be like farming; some years the harvest is aplenty and in others there’s drought.

Take, for instance, the Best Collaboration category which was won by AKA for his anthem All Eyes on Me which featured Burna Boy, JR and Da L.E.S. It was one of those undisputed, well-deserving wins.

This year, in that category, AKA returns with Baddest, featuring Burna Boy, Khuli Chana and Yanga. They’re up against DJ Maphorisa’s Soweto Baby, assisted by Wizkid and DJ Bucks. Patoranking and Sarkode are also there with No Kissing and Sauti Sol’s Unconditionally Bae. So, looking at this list, you don’t have to be a Clive Davis to know Baddest will take this one.

DJ Maphorisa did well with Soweto Baby, but we know he’s done better in the past. Patoranking would have had a better chance of taking this one had they included his and Chana’s No Lie. If you know Sauti Sol, you’ll know that it is going to take a lot to outdo Sura Yako. There are videos all over the Net of Barrack Obama dancing with these boys during his visit to Kenya. On their visit to South Africa this year, Sura Yako was the song they ended their concert with.

Arguments on omitted artists can also be levelled in the Best Hip Hop category. South Africa is represented by Emtee and Riky Rick and while both had a good year, so did Kwesta, Nasty C and Fifi Cooper.

What’s really cool about the nominations we have so far, is that South African artists are strong contenders in almost all of the categories. In fact, out of the nine categories, the only ones in which you will not find local talent are Best Lusophone and Best International, for obvious reasons.

In the Best Pop/Alternative, South Africa is the only country represented with Desmond and The Tutus, LCNVL, Shekinnah and Timo ODV. Trevor is listed under DRC, but come on, he lives here and practically made all his music here, so we can claim him.

The second batch of nominations will be presented on October 2 in Lagos.

The Mamas, TicketPro Dome, Joburg, October 22. R250 at TicketPro.