And the winners are…

If you were not at the Namibian Annual Music Awards (NAMAs) 2019 at The Dome in Swakopmund, then you missed out on a music celebration like no other. Hosted by MTC and NBC, the production team put on a next-level show at The Dome with a beautiful stage design and a Namibian music fan's ultimate desire for a line-up. It is very seldom one gets to see so many talented musicians grace the same stage in one go and in doing so, the NAMAs cemented itself as the mecca of Namibian music celebration as far as awards ceremonies go.

Among the epic performances were Lady May Africa, Gazza, Top Cheri, Tate Buti, Adora Kisting, Allen Jonathan, Lize Ehlers, Exit, Skrypt, Y Cliff, DJ Siya, Holly Rey, Sally Boss Madam, and many more.

Even though most of the performances were impressive, sets by Lize Ehlers, Tate Buti, Sally Boss Madam, Y Cliff and Skrypt stood out. Sunny Boy closed the show at around midnight to a lively audience who waited for his set to finish before leaving The Dome.

Lize Ehlers and Exit were the night's biggest winners with Lize Ehlers walking away with the coveted Best Artist of The Year, Best House and Best Female Artist of The Year categories. Exit took home Best Male Artist of The Year and Best Kwaito.

In an interview with tjil, Lize Ehlers mentioned that she is grateful for the support she has received from her fans over the years. She added that her victory is overwhelming and that she is still trying to process it all. “I have been working on my music for over 10 years and my success at this year's NAMAs just demonstrates that hard work pays off.

“Of all the awards that I got last weekend, Best Artist of The Year award is the one I am proud of the most. For me it just shows that you can be a woman from the south and that your story and creativity matters,” said Lize Ehlers.

On what she is going to be doing during her year of reign, the songbird disclosed that she is going to be doing more collaboration with other artists.





Ehlers believes that when you associate with other creatives it shows that you have faith in their work and that inspires and motivates them to continue putting out great work. “I will be working harder than before now. I also feel it is the time to go international so I look forward to collaborating with other artists from other countries as well,” she said. Ehlers also shared that she is grateful for the positive response her latest album Lize Alive has received, despite just being on the market for a short period of time. “People seem to like track six - a song called Try Again. I am glad that is the fan favourite because it also resonates with my recent success,” she said.

Another interesting aspect of the NAMAs this year was the sincere acceptance speeches by the winners. During his acceptance speech of his biggest award of the night, Exit thanked his new management and all the important stakeholders that have stood by him. “I will be a better man; it is time to work hard,” said Exit.

Other big winners of the night included Gazza, Top Cheri and rapper KK. Gazza walked away with Best Song of The Year and Best Afropop with the hustling anthem Chelete. BlvcBoxx artist Top Cheri took home Best Newcomer and Best Album of the Year while KK won Best Single and Best Music Video with his motivational song Khaima featuring Tswazis, a song he said took him out of a very dark place.

Check out the official list of winners



Best Afrikaans - Vaughn Ahrens

Best Damara Punch - T-Bozz & Staika

Best Oviritje - MBM

Best Soukous/Kwasa - Allen Jonathan

Best Afro Pop - Gazza

Best House - Lize Ehlers

Best Gospel - Lindsey

Best Kwaito - Exit

Best R&B - Jaleel

Best Rap/Hip-Hop - Skrypt

Best Reggae - Gerry Dread

Best Traditional - Big Ben

Best Single - KK

Best Music Video - KK

Best Song of The Year - Gazza

Best Collaboration - Blenge Mo Fire & Jimmy Jay



Pan African Artist of the year - AKA

Best Producer - DJ Chronic

NAMA Special Award - Brenda Fassie

Best Newcomer - Top Cheri

Best Duo/Group - Tswazis

Best Album of the Year - Top Cheri

Best Female Artist of The Year - Lize Ehlers

Best Male Artist of The Year - Exit

Artist of The Year - Lize Ehlers

Lifetime Achiever's Award - Stoney Mubiana



MICHAEL KAYUNDE

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