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MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMAs) 2008 - the nominees

UPDATED: Winners have been announced. Click this link for MAMAs winners

MTV Networks Africa has finally announced the nominees for the 1st first ever MAMAs (MTV Africa Music Awards) at a glittering ceremony in Lagos, Nigeria. The contenders were revealed by Alex Okosi, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, MTV Networks Africa and Norman Moyo, Chief Marketing Officer, Zain Nigeria.

The nominees (nominations) were selected by an independent voting ‘academy’ of 150 music professionals and opinion formers from 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the nominations for the MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain showcase the wealth of musical talent that Africa has to offer, and provide the ultimate vehicle for young Africans to salute the African and international artists that rock their worlds.

Click the links to check out the profiles of these musicians on Museke.com
Heading the nominee list with 5 ‘nods’ from the MAMA nominations academy are Nigerian R&B duo P-Square (Best Group, Best Live Performer, Best R&B, Best Video and Artist of the Year), closely followed by triple nominees D’Banj (Nigeria) and HHP (South Africa), who go head-to-head in the Best Male and Artist of the Year categories. Wahu (Kenya) and Asa (Nigeria) share the honours as the most nominated female artists with two nominations each for Wahu (Best New Act, Best Female) and Asa (Best Female, Artist of the Year).

The full list of nominees for the 2008 MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain are:

Best Female Artist
Wahu (Kenya)
Asa (Nigeria)
Dama Do Bling (Mozambique)
Sasha (Nigeria)
Zonke (South Africa)

Best Male Artist
Jua Cali (Kenya)
2Face (Nigeria)
D’Banj (Nigeria)
DJ Cleo (South Africa)
HHP (South Africa)

Best Live Performer
Samini (Ghana)
D’Banj (Nigeria)
P-Square (Nigeria)
Cassette (South Africa)
Jozi (South Africa)

Best Group
P-Square (Nigeria)
Freshly Ground (South Africa)
Jozi (South Africa)
The Parlotones (South Africa)
East African Bashment Crew (Uganda) - Bebe Cool and Necessary Noize

Best Alternative
Buraka Som Sistema (Portugal)
Goldfish (South Africa)
Seether (South Africa)
The Parlotones (South Africa)
Coldplay (UK)

Best Hip-Hop Artist
9ice (Nigeria)
HHP (South Africa)
Professor Jay (Tanzania)
Lil Wayne (USA)
The Game (USA)

Best R&B
P-Square (Nigeria)
Akon (Senegal / USA)
Loyiso (South Africa)
Alicia Keys (USA)
Rihanna (USA)

Best Artist of the year
Asa (Nigeria)
D’Banj (Nigeria)
P-Square (Nigeria)
HHP (South Africa)
Seether (South Africa)

Best New Act
Kwaw Kese (Ghana)
Wahu (Kenya)
9ice (Nigeria)
Naeto C (Nigeria)
Da L.E.S. (South Africa)

Best Video
Movaizhaleine (Gabon) – Nous
Ikechukwu (Nigeria) – Wind Am Well
P-Square (Nigeria) – Roll It
Freshlyground (South Africa) – Pot Belly
Pro Kid (South Africa) – Uthini Ngo Pro

Listener's choice award
- Jax Panik (South Africa) - ’Cigarettes and Cinnamon’
- D’Banj (Nigeria) - ’Why Me’
- Naakaya (Tanzania) - ’Mr. Politician’
- JB Mpiana (DRC) - ’Zadio Kongolo’
- P Unit Featuring DNA (Kenya) - ’Una’
- Toniks (Uganda) ’Beera Nange’
- Ofori Amponsah Featuring Samini (Ghana) - ’Odwo’

The winners of the MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain will be unveiled at The Velodrome, Abuja, on Saturday, 22 November 2008 and broadcast on MTV base (DStv Channel 322, GTV), partner networks and terrestrial channels RTGA (Democratic Republic of the Congo), TV3 (Ghana), NTV (Kenya), AIT (Nigeria), STV (Nigeria), TBC (Tanzania) and WBS (Uganda), from 29 November 2008.

How to vote for your favorite musician
To vote for your favourite artist or video, please go to mama.mtvbase.com. Music fans with WAP/GPRS enabled phones may also vote at m.mama.mtvbase.com (standard internet charges apply). Voting closes on Tuesday 18 November 2008.
For details of SMS voting go to mama.mtvbase.com.