THE annual POGUES Zim hip hop Awards will be going exclusive for the first time, taking an ‘only invite’ affair.
Awards director Adrian 'Beefy' Harrison told Standard Style that the decision to switch to an invite-only affair was made to elevate the prestige of the awards and to give the hip hop community a more intimate and personalised experience.
"We are trying to restructure how we have been doing the event as we are looking for a template that works well with our brand," said Beefy.
"The hip-hop awards is now rebranded into a once-off exclusive event as we are trying to live up to our billing. It is not a public concert; we want to try and make it such that our artists feel celebrated," he said.
He said that those who want to attend the actual event have to buy the $20 tickets, which are limited to only 100 people.
"We actually noticed that there is no point for us to book a venue that can contain a thousand people and it's half-filled. So we want to maximise the full potential of what the brand can actually do," said Beefy.
While some fans were initially disappointed by the change, organisers emphasised that the event would be live-streamed.
"By making it exclusive, we are not saying the event is closed to everyone else because we will be live-streaming the event for the whole world to see," Beefy said.
The awards will be taking place on the 13th of December 2024 at Royal Gate Gardens in Chisipite from 7pm under the theme Beyond The Beat.