At last year’s Metro FM Music Awards, no one had heard of them, yet on Saturday night, they walked away the winners of the night bagging R600 000 between them.
Rap’s newcomers Emtee and Fifi Cooper were crowned the biggest musos in the country at the Metro FM Music Awards.
Emtee won for Best Hip Hop Album for his debut, Avery and Best Remix and Music Video for his hit single, Roll Up.
Fifi Cooper walked away with Best Newcomer, Best Female Artist and Best Produced Album for her album, 20Fifi.
Both artists are signed by same record independent label, Ambitious Entertainment, and they have only been in the industry for a few months.
It was no doubt a disappointing evening for last year’s chart topping and best selling artist Nathi Mankayi, who only won one award for Best Afro Pop.
His album, Buyelekhaya and hit single, Nomvula, were classified double platinum. Mankayi had been expected to haul all six of the awards he was nominated for, yet it was not to be.
There were shocked expressions in the audience when Fifi Cooper and Emtee kept getting all the awards.
The awards were held at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre and were hosted by TV personalities and Metro FM DJs Bonang Matheba and Mo Flava. It was the second time around for Matheba, who last hosted the awards in 2009 alongside Tbo Touch who hosted last year’s show.
Other big winners included rapper AKA whose hit song Baddest showed that hip hop is king in SA music. He walked away with two awards for the song. His frequent collaborator, Nigeria’s Burna Boy, also won the inaugural One Africa Award.
It was a big night for Durban artists as DJ Bongz and DBN Nyts walked away with the Best Kwaito and Best Duo or Group awards, respectively.
Dance music newcomer, Prince Kaybee from the Free State, walked away with two awards, as did R&B newcomer, Cici.
Every winner received R100 000, which was a first in the award’s history. This makes the Metro FM Music Awards the biggest in South Africa.
Performers last night included most of the nominated acts, including DJing duo, Sphe and Naves, who performed their infectious hit, KOTW Anthem. DBN Nyts opened the show with Shumaya and AKA brought the house down with Baddest.
Durban hosted the awards for the fourth consecutive year. The awards were previously held in the city in 2003 and 2004.
The city will now host them for a further three years, with the station having signed a new contract.
According to the Head of Durban Tourism, Phillip Sithole, the awards and the associated events that have been hosted in the city from Thursday until Sunday, will bring the city more than R35 million in revenue.
Sunday Tribune