GH loses out on MAMAs

The hopes of many Ghanaians were dashed last Saturday, July 18, when artistes from the country failed to bag an award at the 2015 MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs) which came off at the Durban International Convention Centre in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Ghana, with the bragging rights as the current winner of the BET International Act, Africa award, expectations were really high that the artistes nominated in the various categories in this year’s MAMAs—, Sarkodie, Stonebwoy, Samini and UK based Ghanaian artiste, Fuse ODG, who were representing Ghana will once again lift the flag of the nation high but that was not to be. Not even one 2015 MAMAs award found its way to Ghana.

Sarkodie lost out on the Best Male Artiste of the Year to Davido while Nigerian dancehall artiste, Patoranking, beat Ghana’s Stonebwoy and the likes of Anna Joyce (Angola), South Africa’s Cassper Nyovest to pick the Best New Act.

Samini also failed to win the Evolution award which was won by Nigeria’s D’Banj.

At the end of the event which had the crème de la crème of African music industry in attendance, Nigerian artistes swept away most of the awards. They picked eight out of the 17 awards.

In fact, apart from the Best Male, Best New Act and the Evolution which they proudly walked home with, they were also big winners in these categories- Best Female (Yemi Alade), Best Group ( P-Square), Best Collaboration ( Burna Boy/AKA), Song of the Year (Mavins, Dorobucci), and Artiste of the Decade went to P-Square.

Established in 2008, the MAMAs has served as a platform to celebrate the most popular contemporary music in Africa and to throw spotlight on African artistes.

Apart from celebrating the works of African artistes, this year’s event was also used to celebrate the life of the late South African president, Nelson Mandela whose birthday coincidentally fell on Saturday, July 18.

This year’s event was sponsored by KwaZulu-Natal Province in association with Absolut Vodka and in partnership with the city of Durban.