Moments of Magic at the NAMAs

The Namibian Annual Music Awards (NAMAs) are usually overshadowed by blunders and technical faults but the latest edition of the event was a musical experience filled with magical moments all round.

While those who watched from the comfort of their homes may have had a different experience, the event was a pleasure to watch from the industrial building at Walvis Bay last weekend.

The main night’s hosts delivered absolutely perfectly with Uejaa Kazondunge, Bonang Matheba and Matthew Kapofi nailing their scripts effortlessly. In the blue room, Katrina Andreas and Lucy K were a fabulous distraction.

Once again, Gazza stole the show by becoming the biggest winner of the night, bagging four awards and bringing the house down with his performances of ‘Swagger’, ‘Abangani Bako’ and ‘Get It On.’

Through these performances, Gazza showed that the controversy surrounding the qualification of his album ‘Pumumu’ was clearly not a factor in how hard he continues to work.

He later told a presenter that people may talk but “what God has put together, no man can bring down”. His heartwarming acceptance speeches were also noteworthy, showing how grounded and passionate the artist is.

Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Elemotho and Samuel Bathola had a wonderful acoustic duet that gave a solid balance to the event that was dominated by popular music.

A special performance came in the form of a collaboration between Lady May, Priscilla Dessert Queen, Doris, Female Donkey and Monique English. The women performed the song as a way to show solidarity and unity amongst female musicians and as a call for women empowerment.

Female Artist of the Year Monique English said that the performance was suggested by the organisers of the event and the women did not hesitate.

While she may still be making a name for herself beyond the gospel scene, first time award-winner Maranatha, who bagged Best Gospel and Best Live Performance of The Year, showed just why she won in those categories.

The singer gave a powerful performance, owning the stage in every respect. Even next to South African gospel powerhouse Rebecca Malope, Maranatha held her own as the two brought shivers down spines with their intense, soulful collaboration. This was definitely a great moment for the gospel genre in Namibia.

While Gazza was the only artists to bag four awards, some artists were lucky enough to walk away with two awards each. Sally Boss Madam, who had been absent from the awards in recent years, took home Radio Song of the Year and Best Single. Newcomer Bradley Anthony won Best Afrikaans and Best Kizomba, while Young T, Oteya and Doris also bagged two awards each.

Few blue carpet moments were as memorable and hilariously distracting as comedian Mark Kariahuua’s arrival as Donald Trump. Donning a blonde wig and some seriously dodgy foundation that melted in the sweltering heat, the comedian made calls to “make the NAMAs great again”.

This call may or may not have served as a good omen, with the award show ultimately going smoothly, surpassing all expectations.

While music was supposed to be the main focus, a certain dress which has undoubtedly become iconic by now had tongues wagging during and after the NAMAs. Ruberto Scholtz’s green gown from his ‘Venom’ collection showed once again that people enjoy the fashion just as much, if not more, than the music at awards shows.

On Saturday during the main NAMAs awards show, SA TV star Bonang Matheba made a grand entrance on the blue carpet wearing Scholtz’s creation, a moment that will go down in Namibian fashion history.

Moments later, a friend and muse of the designer, Sharon Tjimbundu, was also spotted on the blue carpet in a red version of the very same dress.

Social media soon went abuzz with commentary on the ‘fashion faux pas’ with people questioning the professionality of dressing two people at the same event in the same dress.

Others created side-by-side images of everyone who has worn the dress since its debut, asking “who wore it best?”

By Monday, the dress saga had still not died down, with more details emerging. One of the people pictured in a copper version of the dress had actually worn it to the 2016 NAMAs, whereas the red dress seen at this year’s NAMAs was not made by Scholtz and he said as much on his Instagram Live feed.

Some commentators suggested that it may have been constructed by Abisai Ileka, who has for long collaborated with Scholtz, and that there could be no theft of ideas because the two worked together on the ‘Venom’ collection.

On Tuesday, the main man himself offered a final clarification. The ‘Venom’ collection, which he showcased in 2015, was initially a collaboration with Iileka who “explored different design executions but in the red version of the fabric”.

So, long story short, Tjimbundu requested the red dress two weeks before the NAMAs while Matheba requested the green a day before the NAMAs. “The day before the awards, I received a call from Bonang Matheba’s team to inform me that she wanted to wear a Namibian designer and more specifically, she wanted my green ‘Venom’ dress, irrespective of the fact that others had worn it before her.”

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