MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA), will again be held after a four years break. This is according to MTV Africa, the organisers of the event.
The awards show, which according to MTV Africa, will hold on Saturday, February 20, 2021, in Kampala, Uganda.
Amongst other activities, MTV stated that the awards ceremony which will be held in a re-imagined virtual format in partnership with Uganda, and will broadcast on MTV Base and MTV, will feature vibrant performances from leading African and international artistes.
More so, some of the biggest cross-genre and cross-border collaborations will be showcased to music enthusiasts.
“We are excited to bring this amazing showcase to audiences across the continent and globally with an innovatively re-imagined awards show and celebration,” Monde Twala who is the Senior Vice President and General Manager, VCNA stated.
The event will celebrate African talent across 20 award categories, including Best Male, Best Female, Best Song, and Best Collaboration. The contribution of artistes from Portuguese and French-speaking Africa will also be recognised in the Best Lusophone and Best Francophone categories. Additional new categories included are the MAMA Generation Change Award, Best Fan Base, Alone Together Best Lock-down Performance, and Personality of the Year.
The MAMA Generation Change Award will recognise the inspiring, young changemakers of the continent who are tackling some of the world’s most challenging social problems.
The Alone Together Best Lock-down Performance recognises outstanding performances that took place virtually by celebrating artists who took to streaming services to share their music and unite society during the unprecedented 2020 Lockdown.
The category selection will only be for materials released between from October 1, 2019, to October 1 2020. The nominees will be announced in December 2020 and music lovers will have their say by voting for their favourite stars online.
Nigeria has however dominated the award with the Artistes of the Year awards going to Nigerian music stars –D’Banj, 2face, and Davido in the first four straight editions.
The award was held consecutively from 2008 to 2010 before a three-year and then returned in 2014 for three successive years before 2016 when it last held.