Johannesburg - After a successful inaugural event last year, the Basadi in Music Awards makes a return in August, promising nothing short of a memorable experience.
Founded by entertainment maven Hloni Modise-Matau, the Basadi in Music Awards exclusively celebrates South African women in music.
In conversation with The Star, Modise shared the essence of the awards.
"These awards are aimed at celebrating female excellence in the music industry. I have been in the industry since I was 19, and working in the industry since that age, I got to work in all different parts of the music industry. I saw a trend that the music space is still very much male-dominated. Progress is being made, but we still need to do a lot more work," Modise said.
"It all started as an idea that I put on paper, and it looked big, impossible, and unrealistic. When I spoke to people, they said it was a great idea.
“It’s unreal that yesterday we launched an idea whose time is overdue. I’m humbled by the support from our generous sponsors and the industry that has embraced this initiative.
“Big things happen when women pull together. This is for all young girls with big dreams who are afraid. I wish they could look at yesterday's launch and realise that it’s possible. We are Basadi," said Modise.
She was excited to share that they have taken things up a notch up this year by bringing a different theme.
"This one is going to be different; it is making me nervous. I just want to hear what people are going to say. It's going to be a different theme this year. The idea is that we want to evolve and bring different things every year. It allows us to showcase different artists," she said.
This year, Msanzi’s popular chicken restaurant, Nando’s, fans the flames coming on board as a new sponsor by introducing a new category, the Emerging Artist of the Year.
The brand, known as much for its wit as its chicken embarks on a search for the next big thing in music.
The five Emerging Artist nominees will be selected by Nando’s music partner, Bridges for Music. The nominations will then be open to the public for voting. The winner’s prizes include a music bursary at the Bridges Academy valued at R100 000, and an industry mentorship —tools to help the winner embark on the next step in their music career.
Speaking about the partnerships, Modise said: "We are incredibly excited about this partnership and even more thrilled about the second annual Basadi in Music Awards.
“We are back, better than before, and urge the public to follow our social media pages for updates about nominations, the main event and all other awards news."
The Star