It’s The Dogg’s Time!

NAMIBIAN fans hit the woof on Saturday night when The Dogg kneecapped a pedigreed field to win the Most Gifted Kwaito category, for ‘This Is My Time’, at the Channel O Music Video Awards.

It was a Best in Show moment, as Mshasho power beat out the likes of South African stars Speedy and Professor, as well as Howza and Brickz.The response, such as it was, of the predominantly South African audience in Johannesburg was more of a whimper than a bark. Mostly.Press pause. The winner of the kwaito category has become something of a perennial bone of contention between Namibian and South African fans over the past few years.As lovers of the genre will know, kwaito sprang up in Johannesburg, more particularly Soweto, in the 1990s.As a result, many South African fans understandably feel it is an arena they should dominate.However, Namibian artists have built up a strong kwaito presence over the past years with both Gazza and The Dogg taking home the kwaito category at the Channel Os more than once. Pakamish, fakumona papa!Capitalise ThatShortly after accepting his award on Saturday, the Namibian star CAPitalised on the moment, tweeting a message from backstage to fans back home: @THEDOGGMSHASHO: WE WON:-) WE MADE IT, THE AWARD IS FOR NAMIBIA. NOBODY CAN STOP MSHASHO.. I LOVE YOU. Iyoooooo0 #ChannelOAwardsOtherwise, I was personally disappointed that Nigeria’s Flavour, that force of nature from Angola, Cabo Snoop, rising Naija talent Tiwa Savage (boy, does she have it all – looks for days and a voice for decades), and Kenya’s STL (with her catchy ‘Lookie, Lookie’) didn’t get a look in.They’re among the artists who’d top my list for a party or live show.The response to The Dogg aside, the audience at the Sandton Convention Centre generally appeared to have left their buzz at home. Maybe it didn’t match their bling.Or maybe, a very iffy maybe, my TV set was distorted.Still, it took irresistible, high-octane performances from Flavour (‘Nwa Baby’) and Cabo Snoop (‘Windeck’) to arouse the crowd at a packed Sandton Convention Centre.Mozambique’s Lizha James was also a towering presence, and at one point teamed up for a killer showdown with Cabo Snoop.Overall, one of the best Channel O Award shows yet.Winners’ Line-upIn addition to The Dogg, other winners were: Ghanaian dancehall artist Samini: Most Gifted Reggae/Dancehall; Most Gifted Dance Video Artist: Darey – Ba Ni Ki Di; Most Gifted African East Video Artist: Radio and Weseal, Keko – How We Do It (Remix); Most Gifted Hip Hop Video Artist: AKA – Victory Lap; Most Gifted African West Video Artist: Naeto C – 10 Over 10; Most Gifted Afro Pop: Theo – Ukhona; Most Gifted R&B Video Artist: Banky W ft MI – Feeling It; Most Gifted African Southern Video Artist: Liquideep – Settle For Less; Most Gifted Newcomer Video Artist: Ice Prince ft BrymO – Oleku; Most Gifted Male Video Artist: D’Banj ft. Snoop Dogg – Mr Endowed (Remix); Most Gifted Female Video: Lira – Phakade; Most Gifted Video Of The Year Artist: Zakes Bantwini – Wasting My Time; Special Recognition Award: D’Banj.- Disclaimer: No clichés or idiots … errrrr, I mean idioms … were harmed during the writing of this column.

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