NAN-ELS-5
Talents
By Babajide Awoyinfa
Lagos, Nov. 4, 2016 (NAN) Nigerian pop artiste, Ric Hassani on Friday commended the All Africa Music Award’s (AFRIMA) initiative, to unify, promote and reward upcoming and established music talents in the continent.
Hassani, who was nominated in three different categories at the event coming up on November 6 in Lagos, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that Africa was on the rise.
NAN reports that the pop artiste was nominated for the: “Most Promising Artiste’’ category, “Best African Artiste in “R `N’ B & Soul’’ and “Video of the Year’’ categories.
The award ceremony would be preceded by the Africa Music Summit, to foster creative and cultural exchange, fast track industry development, knowledge transfer and build bridges for the growth of the music industry.
The award ceremony itself would create a night of glamour, glitz and grandeur for Africa in its crowning glory, through a world-class live production event broadcast to over 80 countries.
The show would also feature the AFRIMA Music Village, to create a high-octane platform for interaction among Africans and African artistes, through music where the beauty of live performance would be experienced.
“African music is growing at a very fast pace, there are lots of artistes that are coming up from Nigeria, from East Africa, South Africa and other regions.
“We are getting recognition globally that is just a blessing.
“I think the artistes in Africa are very hungry and we want to work non-stop, we want to push our music as far as it can go.
“There is a lot of enthusiasm and ginger, not just from the artist alone, but also from the fans, to push our music and material around Africa, and the rest of the world.
“There was a time when it was the Caribbean sound, the Reggae sound that was the world sound, but now African music is now part of the evolution, “he said.
Hassani, whose hit single “Gentleman’’ recently attracted critical acclaim from fans, urged Nigerians and Africans to vote for his three nominated categories at the upcoming AFRIMA awards.
“ My new single titled `Gentleman` has three nominations for this year’s AFRIMA awards.
“The three categories are most promising artist, best African artist in RNB and soul`, and `Video of the year`.
“This means a lot to me especially been an independent artist that is not signed to any record label, working on my own.
“For me to be added to other notable artistes on a platform like the AFRIMA awards is a remarkable achievement.
“It is a blessing to me and just a confirmation that my work has been recognised,’’ he said. (NAN)
BAG/ERO/MZA
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(Edited by Emmanuel Okara/Maharazu Ahmed)