Newcomers dominate NAMAs

The biggest and most glamorous occasion on the Namibian entertainment calendar, the Namibia Annual Music Awards (NAMAs) came to an end this weekend with songster Chikune and legend Big Ben walking away with the top awards - the male and female artists of the year. The NAMAs is Namibia’s biggest musical event which recognises, celebrates, values and rewards Namibian artists for their hard work and contribution to arts and culture. The NAMAs were a two-day event with the industrial awards that took place on Friday at the National Theatre of Namibia and the main awards on Saturday that took place at Ramatex. The NAMAs have evolved over the years and now, it is also a fashion event, a tourism ceremony and a celebration of Namibian culture, art and creativity. The NAMAs were aired on NBC live on both days and also for the first time this year, they were broadcast outside our borders. Viewers elsewhere were able to live-stream the show.
Big Ben and Chikune each walked away with a brand new car and N$100 000. The majority of this year’s awards were scooped up by newcomers in the industry as compared to previous years where established names stole the show.
The Friday event was an evening filled with delight and entertainment as the likes of aspiring saxophonist Suzy Eises stole the hearts of the audience and Christopher the Grand also wowed the crowd with his classical dance moves. The lady with the golden voice Tequila made a grand comeback after being out of the limelight for such a long time and ended her emotion-filled offering saying “I missed you guys”. On Friday, the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to the Original Jazz Masters, the Best Afrikaans and Best Kizomba to Christopher the Grand, Best Gospel to N.I.A, Best Song with a Message to KP Illest, Best Reggae to Ras Sheehama, Best Shambo to Laviyalava, Best Producer to Araffath, Best Single to VMSIX, Song of the Year to Gazza, Most Socially Responsible Artist of the Year to Lize Ehlers, Most Disciplined Artist of the Year to D-Naff, Best Live Performance of the Year to Lize Ehlers, Best Musical Event of the Year to Makurunganga, Best DJ of the Year to Belinda Miss Bee Apollus and Entertainment Journalist of the Year to Rinelda Mouton.
The main event on Saturday night attracted a much bigger crowd as tickets for the show were open to the public and the Ramatex hall was packed to the rafters. The highlight of the show, however, was the on-stage reunions of two of the biggest musical groups to ever exist in Namibia. Matongo Family had the audience on their feet while Gal Level performed some of their biggest hits reminding everyone about the greatness that was Gal Level. Crazy Lady May who was in an accident a few months ago gave a show stopper with her unique dance moves that had everyone moving along with her. Gazza’s performance was enchanting as he put on a show in a Japanese Sensei uniform and he also pulled along socialite Maria Nepembe on the stage. The following awards were awarded on Saturday: Best Album of the Year, Best Newcomer of the year, Best Afro Pop and Best RnB all to Ann Singer, Best Male Artist of the Year and Best Traditional to Big Ben, Best Female Artist of the Year to Chikune, Best Duo to Tswazis, Best Collaboration to Paradox, Best Damara Punch to Female Donkey, Best House, Song of the Year and Best Kwaito to The Dogg, Best Music Video to KK & Desmond, Best Oviritje to Tripple T, Best Rap/Hip Hop to N.I.A, Best Soukous/Kwasa to Ama Daz Floor, NAMA Special Recognition Award to Ndilimani and Pan African Artist of the Year to Roberto from Zambia.
June Shimuoshili