I was both amazed and stunned at how the Namibian social butterflies went all out yesterday when I attended the NAMA 2017 Nominee reveal at one of the poshest restaurants in Windhoek city. The guys were alright but the ladies blessed anyone that beheld them.
A question stumbled into my mind. “If they could pull a dressing stunner like this for the nominee reveal, what about on the day of the awards itself?” People were dressed fancy and a lot of pictures were taken. 
It was all fun until I was asked to stand behind the backdrop for a picture. That is when I realized that my dress style was falling short of the standard. The bar was set to high for me to catch, thus I quickly rejected the offer.
And oh, the food, the drinks to quench one’s thirst and to tickle the palate. The performances were worth a mention too. The main organizers, MTC and NBC as well the sponsors have outdone themselves to successfully pull off the event smoothly. Especially the fact that the event was broadcasted live on national television. One could only hope that the same or more will be invested come April 2017 for the awards day itself. As it has become a culture, anticipation is that this year’s NAMAs will be bigger and better than last year’s. And yeah, NAMAs has a continentally inspired category named the Pan African Artist of the Year which sees big and successful African artists like DJ Maphorisa, Cassper Nyovest, Yemi Alade, Heavy K and Runtown nominated.
The Namibian Annual Music Awards entail categories that are open for public votes. Which clearly denotes that the power is vested in the public.
NB: Public Vote Open for all categories: 16th March
Public Vote Close for all categories (except SOY): 14th April
Public Vote SOY Close: 29 April at 21:00
One can vote for their artists by SMS’ing the shortcode to 66262 (SMSs cost N$2)
The categories and nominees which are open for public votes are as below:
- Song of the Year
Chester – Sabi (SOY1)
Lady May, Dr Sid & Pex Africah – I Can’t Explain (SOY2)
Promise – Dogo Dogo (SOY3)
Sally Boss Madam – Natural (SOY4)
Young T – Fikulimwe (SOY5)
- Pan African Artist of the Year
DJ Maphorisa (AAY1)
Cassper Nyovest (AAY2)
Yemi Alade (AAY3)
Heavy K (AAY4)
Runtown (AAY5)
- Best Live Performance of the Year
Adora – MS Diamond Festival (BLP1)
Bradley Anthony – CD Launch (BLP2)
KP Illest – 2016 Namibian Music Awards (BLP3)
Priscilla Namibian Dessert Queen – CD Launch (BLP4)
Maranatha-BenjaminDube Show (BLP5)
- Best Musical Event of the Year
Doctatainment – Windhoek Spring Fiesta All White Edition (BME1)
KK – Kaleidoscope/Bermuda Music Album Release Party (BME2)
Oteya – Ondeya/Vigo National Tour (BME3)
Ras Sheehama – Birthday Bash (BME4)
Sally Boss Madam – Woman Crush Wednesday (BME5)
- Radio DJ of The Year
Che Ulenga (RDJ1)
DJ Maldini (RDJ2)
Jan De Waal (RDJ3)
Lukas Nambala (RDJ4)
Nashawn (RDJ5)
Entertainment Journalist of the Year NBC
Adolf Kaure (EJY1)
June Shimuoshili (EJY2)
Melba Chipepo (EJY3)
Rukee Kaakunga (EJY4)
Official Website: www.nama.com.na
