The just concluded All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) has been described as a unifying factor for African countries by some movers and shakers of the entertainment industry who expressed satisfaction at the successful hosting of the event. The third edition of AFRIMA which commenced on Nov. 4 came to an end on Nov. 6, with the grand finale at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island.
The award ceremony was used to create a night of glamour, glitz and grandeur for Africa, through a world-class live production that was broadcast live to over 80 countries. It was preceded by the Africa Music Summit on Nov. 4, to foster creative and cultural exchange, fast track the industry’s development, facilitate knowledge transfer and build bridges for the economic growth of the music industry.
The show also featured the AFRIMA Music Village on Nov. 4, a high-octane platform for interaction among Africans and African artistes, through music where the beauty of live.
Cameroonian music legend Manu Dibango (C) receives AFRIMA award from Nigeria’s minister of Information Lai Mohammed (R) during the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) ceremony in Lagos, on November 6, 2016. 82-year-old Cameroonian vibraphone and saxophonist Manu Dibango, was recognised for making tremendous contributions to African music, especially for developing a music style fusing jazz, funk and traditional Cameroonian music. The All Africa Music Awards is designed to recognise and reward artiste who have given African music the most creative competitive edge in the global market within the year under review. / AFP PHOTO The show also featured the AFRIMA Music Village on Nov. 4, a high-octane platform for interaction among Africans and African artistes, through music where the beauty of live performance was experienced. The event was specially organised to honour great African musicians like King Sunny Ade, Manu Dibango and the late Papa Wemba, for their immense contributions to the growth of African music. Tony Okoroji, Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), said that the event was a fantastic and bold venture which would make a difference in the world. “The entertainment industry has developed so well that everybody now wants their children to become a musician or at least have something to do with the entertainment world. “Such awards will further help to bring Africans together in one unity and this will make us a formidable people to reckon with at the international community,” he said. Okoroji added that such events would help promote tourism by bringing people from all over the world into Nigeria, thereby increasing the inflow of foreign currencies into the country. “The musical contents we are producing and exporting to other parts of the world have been very productive, because of its ingenuity in the messages we pass across. The COSON boss urged the government to pay attention to the creativity industry, because of the potential it has to become a major money spinner for the country. In the same vein, a renowned Nollywood thespian, Saint Obi, said that the fact that Africans were honouring Africans, without outside help, was quite awesome. “MTV Base comes to do stuff for Africa but this is more like our own thing, grown from among us Africans, which makes me very proud as an African. “It is a good development proving that we can actually deliver something to the international community, without the international community coming to do it for us,” he said. Obi said that the more practitioners got rewarded for their creativity, the more people would aspire to be better and this would inadvertently lead to the production of better quality music. Meanwhile, Jimmy Mulovhedzi, the musical director, Soweto Musical Choir, South Africa, urged the organisers of the event to try to organise workshops around the continent, before the award ceremony. “There should be workshops all around the continent. Musical workshops done by AFRIMA before the awards because there is so much undiscovered talent that need to be brushed up. “Such workshops will enable us go to rural communities to get those upcoming musicians to participate in the event,” he said. Mulovhedzi said that the AFRIMA show was a wonderful event, because there was nothing else better than seeing Africans unite and celebrating their music. The award given to the best female artiste in West Africa went to “Aramide,’’ while that for the male artiste went to “Flavour’’. The best female artiste for Northern Africa went to Zina Daoudia, while that for the male artiste went to “DJ Van ft Tyrane’’. The best female artiste for Eastern Africa went to Cindy Sanny, while that for the male artiste went to “Diamond Platinum’’. The best female artiste for Southern Africa went to Sally Boss Madam, while that for the male artiste went to Black Coffee. Other awards included best female inspirational music which was conferred on“Naomi Achoum,’’ while that for the male category went to Icha Kavons. The best African contemporary artiste went to “Flavour,’’ while the most “Promising Artiste’’ in Africa was given to Amine Aub.
Posted by Juliet Ekwebelam (Vanguard)
