Mafikizolo wins big at Metro FM Awards

Mafikizolo won the Best Group, Best African pop Album and Best Produced album awards for Reunited at the Metro FM Music Awards in Durban on Saturday evening. The theme for the 13th annual music awards was ‘Celebrating 20 Years of Beat’, and featured performances by Thebe, who sang Groovers Prayer, and Zola with Unathi Msengana, who performed Sana Lwami. The stripped-down stage at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Conference Centre featured some screens and minimal lighting, and there was no live band this year. Oskido Mdlongwa received a Lifetime Achievement award and shared the Best Collaboration and Song of the Year award with Professor and DJ Bucks for Uhuru’s hit song Y-Tjukuja. Robbie Malinga won a Lifetime Achievement award. Some in the audience felt that hosts' Phat Joe and Pear Thusi jokes fell flat and focused mainly on Boity and her photograph in the Marie Claire Naked issue. Phat Joe and fellow rapper AKA then performed a song alongside DreamTeam and Xhosa rapper iFani. The audience were brought to their feet when Zola with Unathi Msengana, Trompies, Thebe and Mandoza sang a medley of Kwaito hits from the early nineties. The winners included Danny K, who received the award for Best R&B Album, while Khuli Chana won the award for Best Hit Single for Mnatebawen. Song of the Year went to Uhuru for Y-Tjukuja, while Robbie Malinga and Oskido received Lifetime Achievement awards. Best Kwaito album went to Character for Self Control, while Uhuru and Oskido also won Best Collaboration for Y-Tjukua. JOHANNESBURG M&G