Sun City - The 24th annual South African Music Awards took place in Sun City, in the North West province on Saturday night and brought a variety of emotions - some good and others were not so good.
Among the most interesting events of the evening, was having President Cyril Ramaphosa present the Lifetime Achievement Awards with the Arts and Culture minister Nathi Mthethwa.
As soon as the show hosts announced that the president would be presenting the award, the Sun City Superbowl audience broke out in song, much to the president and minister's delight.
Ramaphosa presented the awards to this year's lifetime achievement award winners or their families, as well as the international achievement award that went to Shashika Mooruth. The other three recipients were Mzansi's treasures Spokes H, Steve Kekana and Mbongeni Ngema.
It was the first time in the last few years that a sitting State president presented an award at SA's largest music fraternity gathering.
The #SAMA24 audience welcoming president @CyrilRamaphosa and Arts and Culture minister @NathiMthethwaSA to present #LifetimeAchievementAwards pic.twitter.com/ymnQOdbKfj
— IOL Lifestyle (@IOL_Lifestyle) June 2, 2018
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One of the evening's hosts Somizi appealed to the president to push for harder sentences for those who abuse women and children.
Some of the evenings biggest winners included Shekhinah who swept the boards taking the Newcomer of the Year, Album of the Year and Female Artist of the Year awards for the sterling work on her debut album Rose Gold.
Distruction Boyz whipped the Superbowl into a frenzy when they were declared winners of the public-voted Record of the Year for their monster hit Omunye.
Veteran Afro Pop band, Mafikizolo proved their staying power when they took Duo/Group of the Year and Best Afro Pop Album. Add to their Best Engineered Album (by Howard Gomba and Themba Sekowe) win from Saturday night, Mafikizolo is tied at three awards with Shekhinah overall.
Joyous Celebration’s Joyous Celebration Volume 21 Heal Our Land won the Best Selling Digital Artist Award, adding to the two Best Selling DVD and Best Selling Album they won last night brings their haul to three in total.
The anthemic Akanamali by Sun-El Musician featuring Samthing Soweto was honoured with Sampra Highest Airplay of the Year and Samro Highest Airplay of the Year Composer’s Award, last night they won Best Collaboration Award taking their total to three.
At the end, Mr Thuma Mina as the president has become affectionately known mentioned that he was proud to have been part of the evening and that the spirit of getting out country up on its feet again, was shared among all people.
One of the other highlights of the evening included personality Skolopad fainting in the Superbowl.
Skolopad who was seated in the front portion of the Superbowl seemingly became unresponsive in her chair, and paramedics on site, wheeled her out of the venue.
It is believed the cause of her fainting spell was exhaustion.
If #SAMA24 is a anything to go by, from fashion forward looks, Riky Rick, to presidential presentations, it seems #SAMA25 may just be worth looking out for.