The first ever MTV Africa Music Awards are coming up later this month - on the 22nd - in Abuja, Naija.
One moment they didn't exist and the next there's been all sorts of news about them so I got my clutches on MTV VJ
Sizwe Dhlomo to scoop out more for us from an insider in-the-know:
Tashi: What’s been the inspiration for the Awards? Why the decision to make them happen right here, right now in 2008?
Sizwe: From the day we launched, it's always been in our plans to have MTV Africa Music Awards. We felt that this was the right time, we've been on the ground long enough and we feel it's what our viewers have been waiting for.
Tashi: How did it happen that Trevor Nelson was chosen to host them?
Sizwe: Well Trevor is a respected DJ in the UK as well as in Africa, we feel his knowledge of music is Encyclopaedic plus he hosts “The Lick”, an MTV show that’s been running for over ten years now, for us there was no better option.
Tashi: What’s your take on international artists being nominated in certain categories when the Awards are for Africa?
Sizwe: Why shouldn’t international artist be nominated? We play their music, our viewers enjoy it, they have as much of a right to feature in our awards as anyone. MTV’s a global brand and as much as we’re about taking African artists to the rest of the world, we’re also about bringing international artists to Africa.
Tashi: Which category are you most excited by?
Sizwe: The Best Hip Hop category should be hotly contested. Almost every region is represented there, from SA, to the US, to Tanzania and Nigeria.
Tashi: Which category’s going to deliver the biggest surprise?
Sizwe: I think all of them are. It’s really up to our academy who they decide to vote for, so right now, my guess is as good as yours.
Tashi: How much amaBlingBling can we expect from the ceremony?
Sizwe: It’ll be a spectacular show I can tell you that, both talent wise and production wise. We’ve got the same team of people working on this show that have worked on the Europe Music Awards in recent years. Just watch and see!
Tashi: Which international artists will be on the Red?
Sizwe: For now I can say without a shadow of doubt that Game and Kelly Rowland will be there. We’ll be releasing more names as time progresses.
Tashi: Da L.E.S. - I recently met him for the first time, wearing a mean ass knucklebuster. What it is about him that’s gotten him nominated for Best New Act?
Sizwe: Let me start off by saying that when LES started out, I was one of the people who doubted him. I wasn’t entirely convinced that the whole JOZI thing would take off but now, they have made a believer out of me. They’ve turned me 180 degrees.
You could not do anything in SA this year without hearing or seeing LES, either with the JOZI outfit or as a solo act. We supported him on our channel thoroughly and he did the same for us and as a result, his buzz has even reached Nigeria. This is why I think our viewers nominated him as a best newcomer because the boy is truly doing big things right now.
Tashi: Why no nomination for Namibia’s Lady May? She should have gotten one for Best Dressed at least.
Sizwe: *
laughs* Firstly there is no Best Dressed category and let’s be honest, we’ve never even played Lady May on our channel. The MAMAs are all about the opinion of our viewers so how can the viewers vote for you if they aren’t familiar with your work?
Tashi: Nigerian musicians often seem to outnumber musos from other country’s when it comes to Awards. Why is this? Are Nigerians more supportive of their music industry? Does Nollywood have anything to do with it?
Sizwe: Nigerians are more supportive of their music industry, it’s extremely competitive over there, if you sleep, you get slept on. The majority of the videos that we receive are from Nigeria plus they are one of our biggest markets.
Tashi: Will the SA nominees be at the Awards? (they have a tendency not to pitch, even when they win i.e. no Freshlyground nor HHP spotted at the recent Channel O Awards)
Sizwe: When MTV makes a call, artists tend to answer. Ha ha. Yeah most, if not all the nominees will be there. HHP has already confirmed.
Tashi: In your unbiased opinion aka no subjectivity because of SA - who should win the Best Alternative Category? (please don’t say Coldplay)
Sizwe: Why not Coldplay? That was actually going to be my choice. Ha ha.
Tashi: You've been quoted as saying you have an unfulfilled ambition of interviewing Eminem - has it been realised yet? If not, when’s it happening?
Sizwe: Em’s been away for a while so I haven’t really had a chance to sit down and talk to him over the years. He just dropped a book though and his long awaited album “Relapse” is getting released in December so I’ll be crossing that off in my to-do list in no time.
Why not Coldplay?
My arguments against:
1. They only have two songs that don't make you depressed.
2. Lead singer Chris Martin's married to Gwyneth Paltrow who believes she's royalty just because she happens to have had Brad Pitt. Puhlease.
3. They have children named Apple and Moses.
4. Need I say more?
Fast Facts!
The Awards will be on MTVbase (DStv Channel 322, GTV Channel 40) on Saturday 29 November at 19h30.
For viewers across Africa they'll also be on these channels: RTGA (Democratic Republic of the Congo), TV3 (Ghana), NTV (Kenya), AIT (Nigeria), STV (Nigeria), TBC (Tanzania) and WBS (Uganda).
All the nominees:
MTV Africa Music Awards Nominees!
MTV's launched a four-concert tour round Africa in the build-up to the Awards - more news about the venues and line-up here:
Concert Alert!
There's a cool category for directors and musicians called the My Video Award where you can enter original music videos. More info:
press record.