NAMAs Return Brings Joy To Nam Artists

The return of the Namibian Annual Music Awards (NA- MAs) has brought joy and excitement to many Namibian artists who say the music industry was dead without the awards.

Among the artists are musician Big Ben Kandukira, Sonia Shaal- ukeni known as DJ Yessonia, and award-winning musician King Tee Dee, who told unWrap.online this week that the return of the NAMAs will make artists feel appreciated and that the cash prizes
will have a significant
impact.

Yessonia ex- pressed her excitement, saying artists put a lot of effort into making their music and the NAMAs will help boost both their confidence and work ethic.

“I am excited about the NAMAs’ return, not just for me, but for the music industry. Music awards recognise musical achievements in the industry for that specific year. It makes artists want to be better. It also makes us feel valued.

“The industry actually died for a while in the absence of NAMAs. The past year for me has been noth- ing but rewarding and bliss. I am

just happy that the NAMAs are back,” she says.

Big Ben describes the return of the NAMAs as great news for the music industry.

“The awards will inject some much-needed excitement and attention into the awards end of the industry. While the awards did have some negative impact on the quality of Namibian music, the positive aspects far outweighed the negatives. The cash prizes awarded to the musicians had a significant impact on some individuals, and the invest- ment in industrial services and equipment kept many businesses afloat.

“I believe it is more rewarding to continue my artistic journey and let my work speak for itself, rather than altering my plans solely to try and win an award. I believe that the quality of work can be compromised when artists become too focused on the awards system’s schedule. If my work is deserving and the judging process is fair, I will appreciate being recognised for my achievements,” he says.

King Tee Dee says Namibia is the only country that does not have such awards and the NAMAs will be a great achievement for the music industry.

“The awards will motivate the art- ists to work hard because everyone needs achievement. My main hope is for the artist to make quality music. IamnotatmusiclikeIusedtobe, I’m not active like I used to be. If it happens that I release an album and I get an award, that will be fine,” he says.

The NAMAs is the biggest awards ceremony in Namibia. Established in 2011 by MTC Namibia and the Namibian Broadcasting Corpora- tion (NBC), it honours musicians in recognition of their outstanding achievements.

– unWrap.online