Wizkid, Cassper and Sauti Sol top 2016 MAMAs nominations

The nominees were revealed last night by Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Africa and MTV Base in nine key music and lifestyle award categories at a star-studded reception in Johannesburg, South Africa. This is the first batch of nominees.

Wizkid, Cassper Nyovest, AKA and Sauti Sol received multiple nominations, with the ‘Ojuelegba’ singer topping the list with three nominations in the Best Male, Best Collaboration and Personality of the Year categories.

Next in line with two nominations each are Southern rapper rivals AKA and Cassper, and Kenyan band Sauti Sol. The Best Hip Hop category has two South African artists Emtee and Riky Rick, who are up against Nigeria’s Olamide and Ycee, and Kiff No Beat from Ivory Coast.

The Best Group category has Ghana’s R2bees battling Sauti Sol, South Africa’s Mi Casa, Navy Kenzo from Tanzania and Togolese duo, Toofan.

The second round of nominations will be revealed on 2 October in Lagos, Nigeria during the Road to MAMA – Lagos event. It comprises an announcement of seven additional award categories namely, Artist of the Year, Best Female, Listener’s Choice, Best Breakthrough, Best Francophone, Song of the Year in partnership with Google, and Video of the Year. 

Voting begins on Wednesday 21 September at 23.00 CAT at on the MTV Base website.

It is worth noting that fans can vote for Best Group and Best International Act from 21 September by simply searching for “MTV MAMA” on Google. Each Google account is allowed 5 votes per category and per day.  Google voting for Best Breakthrough and Song of the Year will open on 2 October.  Voting in all categories closes at 23.59 CAT on 19 October 2016.

In a statement, Alex Okosi, Senior Vice President and Managing Director at VIMN Africa said, “The MAMA celebrates Africa’s incredible young musicians and trailblazers by breaking down barriers, driving engagement, and highlighting the continent’s rich and abundant talent.”

He added: “It’s an honour to be able to salute their achievements at MAMA 2016, and we offer our congratulations to all of the nominees as we look forward to the most exciting and diverse MAMA yet.”

In a related development, organisers of the annual Music of Black Origin Awards (popularly known as the MOBO Awards) have also released a list of nominees for the 2016 edition. The forthcoming event, scheduled for 4 November, is the 21st anniversary of the MOBOs. The ceremony will be held in Glasgow.

Full list of nominees below.

Best Male

• AKA (South Africa)
• Black Coffee (South Africa)
• Diamond (Tanzania)
• Patoranking (Nigeria)
• Wizkid (Nigeria)

Best Live

• Cassper Nyovest (South Africa)
• Eddy Kenzo (Uganda)
• Flavour (Nigeria)
• Mafikizolo (South Africa)
• Stonebwoy (Ghana)

Best Group

• Mi Casa (South Africa)
• Navy Kenzo (Tanzania)
• R2bees (Ghana)
• Sauti Sol (Kenya)
• Toofan (Togo)

Best Collaboration in partnership with Absolut

• AKA feat. Burna Boy, Khuli Chana & Yanga – 'Baddest' (South Africa/Nigeria)
• DJ Maphorisa feat. Wizkid & DJ Bucks - 'Soweto Baby' ((South Africa/Nigeria)
• Nasty C feat. Davido, Cassper - 'Juice Back Remix' (Nigeria/South Africa)
• Patoranking feat. Sarkodie – 'No Kissing' (Nigeria/Ghana)
• Sauti Sol feat. Alikiba - 'Unconditionally Bae' (Kenya/Tanzania)

Best Hip Hop in association with MTN

• Emtee (South Africa)
• Kiff No Beat (Ivory Coast)
• Olamide (Nigeria)
• Riky Rick (South Africa) 
• Ycee (Nigeria)

Best Pop/Alternative

• Desmond & The Tutus (South Africa)
• LCNVL (South Africa)
• Shekinah (South Africa) / Kyle Deutsch (South Africa)
• Timo ODV (South Africa)
• Tresor (DRC)

Best Lusophone

• C4 Pedro (Angola)
• NGA (Angola)
• Lizha James (Mozambique)
• Nelson Freitas (Netherlands/Cape Verde)
• Preto Show (Angola)

Personality of the Year in association with DStv

• Caster Semenya (South Africa)
• Linda Ikeji (Nigeria)
• Pearl Thusi (South Africa)
• Pierre Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon)
• Wizkid (Nigeria)

Best International

• Adele (UK)
• Beyoncé (USA)
• Drake (Canada)
• Future (USA)
• Rihanna (Barbados)

Tickets for the MAMAs are on sale for ZAR 250 (standing only) at Ticketpro retail outlets or dealers at www.mtvbase.com