Groove Awards: The affair that was

The gospel music awards finally happened. GEORGE D. MWENDWA tells how it went down.

The much anticipated 13th annual Groove Awards went down last Sunday at the Kasarani Safaricom Stadium. It was crowned with charm and gaiety, as winners were awarded while top personalities – like parliamentarians Charles Njagua (Jaguar) and Esther Passaris – and stakeholders in attendance hailed them on. Artistes, deejays, producers and other interested parties turned up in droves to grace this occasion.

The event was hosted by renowned gospel artiste Daddy Owen, Moji Shortbabaa and DJ Soxxy, who blended quite well to enthuse the crowd. The ceremony recognised the best recordings, compositions, and artistes from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018.

This year’s awards garnered much interest, especially due to a move to involve the public in submissions, earning over 143,000 submissions ahead of the nomination night.

Jabidii, the most nominated artiste, proved that he was on par when he scooped five awards of a possible eight, making him the biggest winner of the night. They included Breakthrough Artiste of The Year, Reggae/Ragga Song of The Year – “Shoot Satan”, Dance Style song of The Year – “Odi Dance”, Collabo of The Year – “Odi Dance”, and Skiza Most Downloaded Song of The Year – “Odi Dance”. “Odi Dance”, appearing to carry the day, featured his allies Hype Ochi and Timeless Noel (who walked away with the Hype man/MC of the Year).

The Artiste of The Year award, for the first time, involved a merger of the male and female artiste categories to make it more competitive and everyone waited with baited breath. When Guardian Angel’s name was read out, ululations rented the air as his fans dashed to the podium. He, later on, in brisk steps, appeared from the crowd in tears of both delight and disbelief.

“Last year, a time like this, I was so bitter with God since I hadn’t won any awards yet. I felt underrated for so long until I understood God’s timing is inevitable,” he remarked, naming Jaguar as one of his encouragers and urging gospel artistes to embrace gospel content while writing music.

WINNERS

Daniel Mumo, however, was among the few fans who didn’t take lightly his failure to recognise his producer Vicky Pon Dis, a central component of his new found hope.

Willy Paul was also one of the most highlighted artistes of the night, after a long spell of not being nominated in the Groove Awards for, arguably, not leading a Christian life. This time he was nominated and actually won Video of the Year with “Jigijigi”. Amid celebrations, he took to the podium and instead decided to hand the award to a competitor in the same category.

“I feel that I don’t deserve this award as much as Weezdom does. He has equally worked hard and merits this more than I do,” he remarked.

A faction dismissed this as one of his usual publicity stunts.

Sammy Dee the video director for “Jigijigi” and David Saidi producer of “Odi Dance”, were notably left unrecognised and without awards.

“Producers have been sidelined in this award ceremony, yet they play such a pivotal role in the final work of a creative. They should realise that the creative process can’t be what it is without producers,” lamented Robin Akutekha, a video director.

Dancers, similarly, felt shelved. Several dance crews spoke bitterly, pointing out that most performances or music videos would not be as enticing without their contribution, yet they went unmentioned in an entire award ceremony.

“The storm began on the nomination night, where our category wasn’t up for nominations as the rest. This made us feel an overlooked lot and we, therefore, decided not to submit our dance videos,” a top dancer disclosed.

SWEET OLD DAYS

The night couldn’t end without a bounce back into the sweet old days. A moment of retro hits of the 1990s and noughties sprang up, as various artistes and dancers hit the stage with the crowd tagging along.

Jemimah Thiong’o, Esther Wahome and Munishi, among others, were recalled for the days their melodies blessed our living rooms. The late Angela Chibalonza was celebrated in flair as the gathering chanted her songs heartily in reverence of a mellowed voice that still shines 10 years after her sudden demise.

The culture of come backs was also extant here as Gloria Muliro and Rueben Kigame scooped The Praise/Worship Song of The Year, Masterpiece bagged the Teens Choice Song of The Year with “Chini ya Mwamba”, while Eko Dydda’s “Cheki Vile” scooped Hip Hop Song of The Year.

What stood out in the awards ceremony? Audrey Mwelu, a music fan, was gratified by the lighting and the stage – adorned in well placed props including a complete market place with boda bodas, hawkers, kiosks and touts. Mercy Masika and Pitson held on to the aphorism that hard work pays, picking on Guardian Angel and Jabidii’s victory.

“I would also like to applaud Rueben Kigame for the Song Writer of The Year award. It’s clear that what you write speaks for itself,” Pitson summed.

In a light moment, Kambua was appreciated because her image is implanted on almost all matatus, DJ Sadic and Weezdom recognised for being inseparable, and DJ Mo for posting photos on Instagram with captions that don’t match them. DJ Mo later scooped the Media Personality of The Year award.

The sponsors, who included Safaricom, Kenya Airways and AAR, also gave mouthwatering deals to the winners with the latter offering a medical cover of up to 6 million for the top three award.