Written By: Nonkululeko Ndukuya (@LekoNdukuya on Twitter)
Photography By Nyiko Baloyi (@Nyiko_EMagFirst on Twitter)
With merely a few days before the awards, well known Rapper A.K.A
publicly announced his decision to withdraw from the 1st Annual
South African Hip Hop Awards due to ‘lack of information’. In his absence, A.K.A. scooped 4 awards, amongst those was Album of the
Year. This triumphant event was conceived and executed by The Ritual Group, which consists of Ritual Stores and OST.
Year. This triumphant event was conceived and executed by The Ritual Group, which consists of Ritual Stores and OST.
Workshops leading to the event were held on Saturdays, months before
the actual event to allow the exchange of information about the awards between
the organizers and whoever else was curious. These workshops where jam-packed
with information.
The atmosphere was vibrant and flamboyant, essential ingredients for a perfect Award Ceremony. Bumping into Rapper Proverb (whose video interview can be viewed on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIcbihUVaps&feature=g-crec) as we made our way through the parking lot, we were adamant that the night would be great, and it was. The dress-code spoke fashion. Ladies paraded in ‘Freakum Dresses’& high heels, gents in their sagged pants and bulky sneakers. Hip Hop was out to play that night.
The atmosphere was vibrant and flamboyant, essential ingredients for a perfect Award Ceremony. Bumping into Rapper Proverb (whose video interview can be viewed on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIcbihUVaps&feature=g-crec) as we made our way through the parking lot, we were adamant that the night would be great, and it was. The dress-code spoke fashion. Ladies paraded in ‘Freakum Dresses’& high heels, gents in their sagged pants and bulky sneakers. Hip Hop was out to play that night.
After a few
hours of entertainment by DJ Zakes, the ceremony kicked off much later than the
planned time which was a bit of an inconvenience. We had soon forgotten of the
time as an opening poem by Mac Manaka set the ambiance as the crowd roared with
excitement to punch statements. Hosts Pule ‘The Skothane’ and Jay Boboza had us
in fits of laughter the entire evening. ‘Swaggametrics’ and ‘Swagga-overload’ were
in full force, the does and don’ts in Hip Hop Video making. They were
absolutely a great pair. Hopefully they host the 2nd Annual South
African Awards too.
Ben Sharpa,
Neo Beats (Winner of Mixtape of the Year), Zuluboy, SCF, The Federation SA,
SiyaShezi and Reason (Winner of Son of the Year) all gave spectacular performances
and had the crowd in the palm of their hands.
For a first
of their kind, these awards were pretty impressive. South African Hip Hop is
definitely gearing in the right direction and it seems that growth is infinite.
Props to all that are doing their part to contribute to it.
EMagazine First Interviews
with a few artists on the night of the awards can be viewed on http://www.youtube.com/user/EMagazineFirst.
A full list
of the winners can be viewed on http://www.sahiphopawards.com
Nice Pictures I must say
ReplyDeleteThanks my man
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