By Olu Victor
Ahead of the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA) which will be taking place this weekend, in Durban, South Africa, organizers gave Lagos fans a taste of what to expect at the glamorous show, when, at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos, a line-up of nominees serenaded music enthusiasts.
It was an exciting moment, with performances from artistes such as Davido, Chidinma, Olamide, Phyno, KCee, the Mavin crew featuring Tiwa Savage, Dr Sid, Afrodija and Korede who thrilled guests as they danced and partied into the night. There was also a surprise performance from Dbanj who performed alongside Burna Boy as well as pulsating performances from the South African duo, Mafikizolo.
Tagged ‘Road To MAMA’, the pre-event road show featured contemporary artistes and music that are making waves across the continent. The concert had previously held in Durban, South Africa and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
At the Nigerian leg, MTV Base “Mixology” DJs, DJ Humility and DJ Caise, and top turntablists DJ Spinall and DJ Obi were on hand to ensure that the show lived to its billings.
So far, those who have performed for MAMA 2014 include: Trey Songz, French Montana, Miguel, Flavour, Tiwa Savage, Phyno, Yuri Da Cunha, Mafikizolo, Professor, Oskido, Davido and Diamond.
Voting for the MTV Africa Music Awards is open at www.mtvbase.com from up until midnight on 4 June 2014. Voting for Song of the Year continues up until the live show on 7 June.
The MTV Africa Music Awards will premiere live across Africa on 7th June at 20:00 WAT/21:00 CAT on MTV Base (DStv Channel 322) and MTV (DStv Channel 130), and subsequently broadcast around the world to half a billion music fans worldwide on MTV and affiliate channels.
The Beat 99.9 FM, Rhythm 93.7FM, Cool 96.9FM and Raypower FM are the official radio media partners of the 2014 MAMA, which is being sponsored by KwaZulu-Natal and supported by Absolut and the city of Durban.
With the event just a few days away, some of the nominees spoke about their hopes for the awards. May-D who is being nominated alongside Mafikizolo in the category of Best Collabo was so sure he will win. Also, Burna Boy, who will be contesting against Phyno and other nominees for the New African Act diadem was of high hopes.
The Road To MAMA Lagos was hosted by MTV’s VJ, Ehiz, and attended by Alex Okosi, Senior Vice President of Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Africa, Phillip Sithole, CEO, Durban Tourism and Akintayo Akinseloyin, Brand Manager, Absolut Nigeria.