Excitement as MTV Africa Announces Return of MAMA in 2021

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The prestigious MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA), which showcases the ultimate in African culture, music, and creativity, will make a return next year.

The organisers of the awards, MTV Africa and MTV Base, confirmed this in a statement and this has already generated excitement in the showbiz industry on the continent.

The awards ceremony is slated for February 20, 2021, in Uganda and will be broadcast on MTV Base (DStv Channel 322) and MTV (DStv Channel 130).

MAMA, since its inception in 2008, has recognised the talent of musicians, achievers and personalities from across Africa, rewarding iconic artistes and game-changers such as 2Face Idibia, AKA, Anselmo Ralph, Big Nuz, Cassper Nyovest, Clarence Peters, Cabo Snoop, Davido, D’Banj and Diamond Platnumz.

Others honoured are Flavour, Gangs of Ballet, HHP, Fally Ipupa, Liquideep, Lira, Lupita Nyong’o, Mafikizolo Nameless, P-Square, Sarkodie, Tiwa Savage, Toofan, Trevor Noah,  Uhuru, Wahu, Wizkid, Yemi Alade,  Zebra & Giraffe and many more.

According to the organisers, the MAMA 2021, to be held in partnership with the government of Uganda, will recognise and reward musicians, trailblazers and those who are shining a light on the continent’s diverse talent and creativity by instilling positive impact on African music and youth culture over the previous year.

The awards ceremony will feature vibrant performances from leading African and international artists and will also showcase some of the biggest cross-genre and cross-border collaborations.

The event will celebrate African talent across 20 award categories, including Best Male, Best Female, Best Song, and Best Collaboration.

The contribution of artistes from Portuguese and French-speaking Africa will also be recognised in the Best Lusophone and Best Francophone categories.

Additional new categories included are the MAMA Generation Change Award, Best Fan Base, Alone Together Best Lock-down Performance and Personality of the Year. These new categories seek to demonstrate MTV Base’s commitment to supporting the youth of Africa.

The statement noted that the category selection criteria is from October 1, 2019, to October 1, 2020, while the nominees will be announced in December 2020, giving room for music lovers to have their say by voting for their favourite stars online.