By Fred Zindi
It’s that time of the year again when we talk about awards ceremonies for the arts sector.
Next Saturday we are expecting to witness the Zimbabwe Music Awards (Zima) to be hosted by Joseph Nyadzayo and his team. In the following week, the National Arts and Merits Awards (Nama), which have been slated for February 26, will also take place.
Going by the number of nominations received, Nutty O and Freeman are predicted to be the biggest award winners at Zima.
Carrington Simbarashe Chiwadzwa, popularly known by the stage name Nutty O, is one Zimbabwean artiste whose resolve to make it on the international stage was set from day one.
Through his refined voice and hard-hitting lyrics, Nutty O hopes to realise his dreams and ambitions to international fame through his music.
In 2019 Nutty O was featured by top Jamaican Reggae artiste Etana on the song No Money No love which was on the Reggae Forever album.
The album jumped to number 1 on the Reggae World Wide Billboard charts as well as Number 1 on the iTunes World Wide Reggae Top 200. The Reggae Forever Album was also nominated as the Best Reggae Album at the Grammy Awards in 2019.
However, the album did not make it. Nutty O, the Mbare-bred chanter, who calls himself Africa’s finest, has continued to nurture his Grammy dream with his debut album titled Mustard Seed which features the song Handipere Power, an instant hit. Nutty O is looking beyond Zima and hopes to bag a Grammy at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards which will be held in Los Angeles this year.
Among the female artistes at Zima, Janet Manyowa whose latest gospel tune titled NdiJehovah is also in line for a big win.
Among the nominations for this year’s Zima ceremony is Shasha.
I am not sure why Shasha, who is based in South Africa and has never been a practising musician in Zimbabwe, is included in the line-up of Zima nominees.
She has already bagged a BET Award, which is an international achievement. Apart from being a Zimbabwean from Mutare, I do not see how the amapiano queen qualifies to be in competition with other Zimbabwean artistes.
As a matter of fact most top Zimbabwean artistes are now focused on bagging international accolades such as BET and Grammy awards as they look beyond Nama and Zima.
One such artiste is Jah Prayzah, whose manager Keen Mushapaidze, has declared that the Jah Prayzah team is now looking to broaden their brand and will no longer, as a matter of policy, submit entries for local award organisations such as Zima and Nama.
Mushapaidze said: “We are no longer focusing on the Zimbabwe market alone because we have cast our nets wider.”
I wonder if by casting their nets wider means that Jah Prayzah has submitted his name for nomination at the 64th Grammy Awards 2022. Mushapaidze has kept a stiff upper lip on that one and we won’t know until it is publicly announced.
One music follower on hearing about Jah Prayzah not submitting entry to the Zima commented: “It’s going to be boring. Why don’t the organisers try to lure big names like Winky D and Jah Prayzah to enter? This way they will also have a larger paying audience to their awards show.”
One artiste I spoke to is Isaac Kalumbu, aka King Isaac, who recently released a single titled The Score, done in collaboration with Jamaican chanter, Chakademus (remember Chakademus and Pliers of Twist and Shout fame).
King Isaac aims at trying his luck by making an entry at this year’s 64th Annual Grammy Awards, which will be hosted by South African comedian and United States’ Daily Show host, Trevor Noah. The ceremony will be held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3, 2022.
This is not the first time King Isaac has had a go at the Grammys. Remember the US-based artiste King Isaac was possibly the first Zimbabwean artiste nominated for the prestigious Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album titled Isaacs Meets Isaac in 2010 when he collaborated with the late reggae icon Gregory Isaacs.
Despite being nominated, King Isaac did not make it to win the category; instead the award went to Buju Banton.
King Isaac is a reggae singer, songwriter and also a professor of Ethnomusicology at Michigan State University, U.S.A. His songs have lots of meaningful lyrics and are of high quality.
He is a deep and thoughtful songwriter, and this is reflected in the passionate and engaging lyrics in his songs. The Score, collaboration with Chakademus is his latest entry for a Grammy nomination. We hope that this time he will make it.
Brian Soko is another Grammy award winning Zimbabwean songwriter and record producer who is based in the United States of America (USA). He won three awards at the 2014 edition of the Broadcast Music Inc (BMI) R&B/Hip-Hop Awards for composing Beyonce’s song Drunk In Love in 2014 and a Grammy for his production efforts in the same project.
Last year, American-Zimbabwean R&B songbird, Tinashe Kachingwe, won an award at the 63rd annual Grammy awards ceremony.
Born to a Zimbabwean father and a Norwegian mother Michael and Aimie Kachingwe in Lexington, Kentucky and raised in Los Angeles, California, Tinashe began her career as one member of the five-piece girl band, The Stunners, before embarking on a solo career.
Apart from music, Tinashe is known for her acting. She has appeared in films like Cora Unashamed (2000) and The Polar Express alongside actor Tom Hanks.
She also acted in Akeelah and American sitcom Two and a Half Men, among many others.
Over the years, there have been several attempts at winning Grammy awards by African Artistes. That was also the late Oliver Mtukudzi’s ambition, but sadly, he died before he had bagged one. However, this year several African artistes have been nominated for the Grammy awards.
Apart from those mentioned above, eight other African artistes who are mainly Nigerians are among the nominees. These include Wizkid, Burna Boy, Tems, Angélique Kidjo, Rocky Dawuni, Black Coffee, Femi and Made Kuti.
Initially, the Grammy Awards were scheduled to be held on January 31, 2022, in Los Angeles, US.
According to Deseret News, the 2022 Grammys were supposed to be held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on January 31, but the omicron variant surge changed those plans. However, they have now been moved to April 3, 2022 due to these Covid-19 challenges.
A total of 86 categories are presented this year by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. The ceremony this year will recognise the best recordings, compositions, and artistes of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021.
Wizkid, Angelique Kidjo, Femi Kuti and Arooj Aftah have been nominated in the Best Global Music Performance category while Made Kuti and Rocky Dawuni together with Wizkid and Daniel Ho have been nominated for Best Global Music Albums. It will be exciting to see how many of these African artistes will win the Grammys.
Already, some of the African artistes are currently busy making plans to travel to Las Vegas. Besides the impediment caused by the Covid-19 setback, a lot of them are thrilled to just get a nomination as they look forward to mixing and mingling with the world’s top stars such as Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Jay Z, Jon Baptiste, Tony Bennett and Drake who have also been nominated for this year’s Grammys.
One African artiste I spoke to after his nomination was announced, had this to say: “I am just thrilled to have my name mentioned.
It will go down in the annals of history as that of someone who has put Africa on the map, whether or not I win the Grammy. And of course, my children and my whole clan are going to be very proud of me.”
There is definitely going to be exciting times ahead during these awards ceremonies.
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