Pinehas Nakaziko
The year 2018 started-off very well for some local artists who found themselves in international limelight when they were nominated for the AMI Awards Afrika 2018, also known as African Music Industry Awards.
The shining stars include Kalux, who is nominated in the category of Best Male Southern Artist, with his song Kudurupa, from the album New Tuhafeni. According to Kalux, this came as a shock to him, and he is surprised to see that people outside the country are recognising good music in Namibia.
“I am so thankful that I am nominated in the category with the fellow and talented artists from other countries. This show that Namibian music is going somewhere,” says Kalux. He adds that this means the local music is on the right path, which is an amazing thing.
After so many years in the music industry making music for his people, Kwiku singer, Tate Buti was finally recogonised on the African market after he was nominated for the first time in the AMI Awards Africa. He was nominated in category of the Best Male Southern Artist with the song Olusheno, featuring Young T. The song was taken from his fourteenth album titled Opena, released end of last year.
Sally aka Boss Madam has been nominated in the Best Female Southern Artist category, with her song What You Say from her new album My Black. Sally is not new to winning international accolades. She walked away with the award of the Best Female in Southern Africa, in the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) in 2016. She was again nominated in the same category and awards last year.
After a quite sometime of being absent from the music scene, local songbird ML, known for her massive hit single Kushiinge, was also nominated in the category of Best New Comer, with her song O’radio, featuring Neslow. ML last year released her debut album “The Diplomat” which was well received by the nation.
The AMI Awards Afrika is a multi-cultural awards event with the sole purpose of honouring African artists and musicians, arts and cultures, entertainment, humanitarian acts, entertainment leaders, entertainment entrepreneurs and the creative spirit of ordinary people who have captured audiences for generations and challenged our understanding through their arts and works.
The mission is to build a bridge between African cultures and the rest of the world and to recognize outstanding African artists that they may not be privy to exposure on other continents. The event also aims to make entertaining commercially viable and to produce quality motion pictures that appeal to a broad audience. The awards are held in conjunction with the Schnaps Universe Inc. and the ESA Foundation. The much anticipated event is scheduled to take place in Uganda and is expected to be broadcasted live.