14 Nov 2024

 Botswana’s male artists particularly the disc jockeys are leading the nominations for the 13^th Botswana Music Union (BOMU) awards and only the males are in the prestigious awards nominations.

DJ KSB, Harrycane and DJ Ngwazi lead the nominations with eight, seven and five nominations respectively; followed by Chokoma, Juu Matere, DJ Skizoh BW with four nominations each and Han C with three.

Winners will be determined by fan voting which closes on November 22 at midnight while the ceremony is set for November 23 at Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC).

Notably, no female artists are running for the two prestigious awards of Song of the Year and Album of the Year.

DJ KSB, Harrycane, Chokoma,DJ Ngwazi , Kabelo Tiro and Ezra Neethings are running for both awards. The 12^th BOMU Song of the Year award was won by DJ Ngwazi and Album of the Year by Han C.

In another closely watched award category, the Best Newcomer has two females running; Rita Christopher for her single Luzimbo and Issa Sisdoh for Moya single.

Whilst they have made nominations for Best R&B with Amantle Brown, Best Jazz album with Kearoma Rantao, Best Pop album with Abigail Issa, Bouncy and Lera running for Best Afro Pop and obviously Best Female which is by default their category; the females creative are missing on yet another interesting categories of Best Single, Best Producer and Best Music Video.

However, they have made their presence in running for award categories where they have been featured or collaborating with their male peers.

 Wada is in the running on Best House where she is featured by DJ Skizoh BW as well as Best Collaboration with DJ Skizoh BW again, also Jingerstone featured by a male duo group Team Distant running for Best Group, Mpho Sebina featured by FME DJs running for Most Played Song on Radio.

The BOMU awards continue to grow, celebrating local musicians and industry achievements. This year’s edition include 34 categories, and it is celebrated under the theme:Music Beyond. The  awards saw an increase in entries with a total of 483 compared to 318 from last year.

"Three new categories of Best Tap and Clap EP/Record, Best Pop EP/Record, and Best Contemporary EP/ Record performed exceptionally well, setting a promising standard for future editions,” coordinator of the awards Seabelo Modibe had said in a press statement. ENDS