Being a Namibian musician may have its perks but none is sweeter than getting recognition for hard work and creative effort.
This was proven at the Namibian Annual Music Award (NAMA) prize-giving ceremony, held on Thursday in Windhoek.
Speaking at the event, MTC corporate communication chief, Tim Ekandjo reminded the audience of the award ceremony’s humble beginnings.
“When we started with this project, the idea was to build the most entertaining brand in Africa and despite criticism from artists, producers and others, we have stood firm in our principles and today we have created a world class event,” he said.
Ekandjo also took the time to thank everyone who was instrumental in making this year’s awards show a success. This included the steering committee, production crew, presenters, MCs and all other stakeholders. He also took the time to congratulate all the winners and especially the Life Time Achievement Award winner, Axali Doeseb.
Namibian Broadcasting Corporation’s (NBC) Umbi Karuaihe-Upi also basked in the success of this year’s awards, providing assurance that the public boadcaster will continue to be a part of the awards in future.
“Art is the soul of a nation and you [musicians] are keeping that soul together, so we will always continue to support the music industry of this country,” she said.
This year, a total of N$1.1million was paid out to all category winners with prizes of up to N$50 000.
Award statues were also handed out to all winners, as well as a Huawei smartphone.
The winnings don’t end there, a compilation album consisting of all the winning artists’ songs will be released soon. It will be sold for N$150, and the proceeds will go to the artists.
One of the winners, hip-hop musician N.I.A was overjoyed to receive the Best Hip Hop award.
“I am completely humbled and excited as this award is the biggest platform for an artist in Namibia. This award is also special as it will open doors for me.”
He plans on helping fellow hip-hop artists in pushing their careers further by using his contacts oversees.
“I’ll be going back to Washington DC where I grew up and I will be taking two artists with me to seek opportunities over there and promote their music,” he said.
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