Being that their rival channel, MTV Base Africa had only just had a stellar awards ceremony, it was left to Channel O’s fifth annual awards show last week to impress at least as much. First, my friend Candice and I perched in the Amarula lounge for pre-ceremony drinks so we could catch all the pre-red carpet action.
A tall bronzed up beauty with wavy hair cascading down her shoulders tugs at the sides of her slit mini dress. This African Amazon woman – who I later recognised as Mozambique’s Lizha James – was working it so much that I spilled my drink trying to draw attention to Lizha’s short dress. Candice gave me the I-can’t-take-you-anywhere look.
We spotted afriPOP! favourite Nneka wandering about with a guitar strapped to her back, while elsewhere ladies went gaga for Nigeria’s Hip-hop-tinged-R&B star 2Face Idibia. Gal Level, an afro-pop duo from Namibia, were styling as usual and their one time collaborator Buffalo Souljah, a reggae artist from Zimbabwe, was debonair.
Inside the auditorium the consistently executed theme was video games. Hosts KB Ngakane, Nonhle Thema and Lungile “Lungsta” Radu made reference to childhood game jargon within their links, and gigantic screens throughout the arena displaying graphics from Tetris or Mortal Kombat-lite games formed the backdrop for the music performances.
South Africa’s motswakolista Hip-hop Pantsula opened the show with a live band (and Kay-Gee of Morafe singing back up) giving it his all as usual despite what an industry executive noted to our table: “He’s not going to win an award tonight – he never does.” And strus’bop, nominated HHP was a bridesmaid again tonight. He returned to the stage later for the closing performance – a Hip-hop invasion in the form of Channel O’s Emcee Africa 2009 winner Cibil Nyte performing with Kenya’s Nazizi, South Africa’s Proverb and Nigeria’s Naeto C (who took home the video of the year award for Kini Big Deal), Botswana’s Zeus and SA singer Tamarsha.
In between, Nigerian R&B singer Darey Art Alade, Gal Level and Buffalo Souljah pretty much cleaned up with two awards each. Nneka gave a grand performance of her hit Heatbeat which was bizarrely overlooked by the rent-a-crowd and attendees. Instead, they lapped up a lukewarm TKZee performance of their new song, Ayoba.
2Face and Sound Sultan tore the house down, a were a fresh alternative to the usual Channel O favourites P-Square, who surprisingly didn’t attend the soiree.
The highlight of the night, however, was the Special Recognition Award that was given to the late Brenda Fassie. Her son and one third of South African rap group Jozi, Bongani Fassie, accepted on her behalf. But not before he mounted the stage alongside vocal powerhouse Winnie Khumalo. Bongani and “Little Brenda”, as Winnie was once affectionately known, rendered Fassie’s hits Weekend Special and Vulindlela to a standing ovation. A Channel O big wig looked on and smugly remarked, “You don’t know what we had to go through to make this happen.” But seeing Candice lost in that nostalgic and thunderous performance, that was totally beside the point.
The Channel O Awards will be broadcast on Sunday 8 November at 9pm and preceding that will be the Red Carpet Special at 8.30pm.
