Northern Music Awards ready to upset BOMU's apple cart
When Francistown artists complained last year of the ill-treatment they receive from Botswana Musicians Union (BOMU), commentators regarded them as crybabies. Undeterred, they came together and launched the first ever Northern Music Awards, which were held on the 19th December 2015 in Francistown.
The awards, which received coverage from Botswana Television, have left BOMU with a stinking egg on the face. This is because, for a long time, BOMU has been enjoying the monopoly of staging awards for local artists without any competitor.
The Northern awards covered all areas of creative arts as they recognised and awarded trophies to all deserving creative artists including theatre, comedians, producers, poets, journalists, promoters and disk jockeys. BOMU has never done this since it promotes music only.
The project coordinator Lyelor Nkosi could not hide his excitement in an interview with Vibe. The awards, he said, had exceeded their expectations. “When we initiated these awards, we decided to do something different knowing that BOMU was only concentrating on music at the expense of other creative arts. We decided to close the gap by encompassing all creative arts as a way of rewarding the artists for the good job they have been doing for this country. For a long time, artists from the north have been neglected,’’ he explained.
He added that it was very rare for a northern artist to get recognition at BOMU awards. Nkosi cited the example of MC Maswe who was nominated for two categories last year only for him to be “cheated” to walk away empty-handed. During the northern awards, the Zwamaronga hit-maker won the best lifetime achiever artist in the north as well as the most popular artist, beating the likes of Mahempe hands down.
Solomon Chase Mabutho of Bon Fella records bagged the best Francistown producer while DJ Bunz aka Peter Gaseitsiwe ran away with the best DJ award. Maswe told this publication after the awards that after he was “cheated” at BOMU, he had resolved never to enter any competition as most of them were biased against Francistown artists.
“I could not believe what I saw at the Northern Awards. The arrangement was out of this world. The number of Francistown civic leaders also motivated me, including Councillors and Members of Parliament (MPs) who graced the occasion. The last BOMU awards had dented my pride as I had been certain of winning at least one award but that was not to be.
I must confess that the Northern Awards made my day as my hard work was finally recognised. One good thing about these awards is the fact that all the judgments and nominations were done by Francistown based journalists from all media houses including the Botswana Daily News. These journalists are always following our progress and it was a good thing to involve them to avoid needless complaints,’’ he said.
WINNERS
Best Poetry- Tsikitsiki, best theatre- Ghetto Artists, Best DJ- Bunz, best producer-Solomon Chase Mabutho, best upcoming artist- BBlock, best music group Tjilenje the Ngwao, best Arts reporter- Kabelo Dipholo, best comedian- Top –Shut, best promoter- MC Poster, best overall artist- MC Maswe, life time achiever- Mc Maswe and best upcoming artist- BBlock.
