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Urban Music People (UMP) – a Festival held to celebrate Malawi’s urban music, lifestyle and culture will this year recognise media practitioners for their role in promoting music in the country.
The event that will take place at Game Stores Underground Parking in Blantyre on Sunday will also see UMP holding a fashion show involving some of the country’s reputable fashion designers.
This is the second year that UMP has recognised media practitioners as part of its annual awards which celebrate excellence and achievements in the music industry.
Last year media award winners were Howard Mlozi (Print Media), Joy Nathu (Radio) Nathan Tunes (Club) and Fatsani Kalonda (Television).
In an interview, UMP Publicist, Thoko Kadewere, said UMP believes that the media should be part of the annual awards.
“UMP is here to cultivate a culture of excellence in the local urban music and fashion industry. We recognise the role the media plays in facilitating this. Therefore, these awards are to show that their excellent work is appreciated,” she said.
The winning journalists have been voted by a group of urban artists who performed in the 2016 UMP Festival and those who are going to perform this year on November 18 at Bingu International Conference Centre in Lilongwe and Blantyre Sports Club on November 19.
The media awards have five categories which are Best Print Journalist, Best Online Journalist, Best TV Journalist, Best Radio DJ/presenter and Best Club DJ.
Several Djs have been lined up to spice the after-party with several Ndefeyo Entertainment in-house artists who are also expected to perform during the night.
Apart from the Journalists, UMP will also recognize the talent of the country’s Urban Musicians.
There are 17-shortlisted categories for nominations, which are: Best Live Act; Best Duo/Group; Best Band, Best Collaboration, Best SADC Act, Best Rap/Hip-Hop Act, Best Reggae/Dance-hall Act, Best R&B/Afro-Pop Act, Best Gospel Act, Best Female Act, Best New Artist, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Video Director of the Year, Producer of the Year, and Artist of the Year.
The voting process for nominees closes on Thursday October 12 after 12 days of voting from October 1.
Public votes will be weighted together with votes from a panel of judges- a selection of several experts in the Malawian Urban music industry and five nominees per category will be selected for a final round of voting.
