Singers Akothee and Ommy Dimpoz are the best female and male musicians in East Africa, according to the AFRIMMA 2019 awards. Unlike the past where the nominations were dominated by music bigwigs like Sauti Sol, Diamond Plutinumz, and Nigeria’s Wizkid, this year’s list consisted mostly of new acts.
The 2019 Annual African Muzik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA) brought together a good number of African artists together in Dallas, Texas last Saturday night. Kenya’s boss lady Akothee grabbed the spotlight at the event with an energetic performance, not shying away from showcasing her best moves and stage attention together with Bongo crooner, Ommy Dimpoz.
The 39-year old whose real name is Esther Akoth boasts of a successful career in music having featured big acts including Diamond Plutimumz in several songs with a huge gesture of crowd-pulling in her international shows.
The “Sweet Love” singer, in 2019, released several hits like “Abebo” and featured popular musicians, a perfect strategy that bought her the nomination to Afrimma. She went ahead to beat stars like Nandy, Venessa Mdee, Victoria Kimani and Fena Gitu who were in the same category.
Other Kenyans who shone at the event include Radio/TV presenter Willy M Tuva and US-based DJ Poison Ivy who was crowned best radio/TV personality of the year and DJ in Africa respectively. An elated Tuva took to Instagram with a very emotional post, after his win. He wrote, “WE WON! Pamoja Tumeshinda! I have been crowned the Best Radio/TV Personality Of The Year in the whole of Africa. First of all I thank God Almighty for answering our prayer. #MunguHafeli kwa kweli. Secondly, I thank @RadioCitizenFM for giving me the platform and my bosses for giving me creative freedom to build the #Mseto brand, the most influential entertainment brand in East Africa and now Africa.”
Slain music heavyweight DJ Arafat was also honored at the event with the ‘Best Francophone Award’. According to a prior report on The Sauce, he was admitted to hospital in the main city, Abidjan, with a fractured skull after his motorcycle collided with a car on Sunday (11.08.19) and passed a day later. He has been referred to as the “king” of coupé-décalé dance music and one of his biggest hit songs, ‘Dosabado’, has over five million views on YouTube.
Mombasa County Governor Ali Hassan Joho also got a special commendation, winning a ‘Community Leadership Award’ alongside Mrs. Gibson. Though he was not present to receive the distinguished award, singer and fellow Kenyan Akothee received the award on his behalf.
Check out the list of 2019 Afrimma winners in the most contested categories:
Best Male East Africa – Ommy Dimpoz – Tanzania
Best Female East Africa – Akothee – Kenya
Best Male Southern Africa – Master KG – South Africa
Best Male Central Africa – Fally Ipupa – Congo
Best African Group – Toofan – Togo
Best Newcomer – Zlatan –Nigeria
Artist of the Year – Burna Boy – Nigeria
Best Rap Act – Phyno – Nigeria
Song of the Year – ‘Killing Dem’ by Burna Boy/Zlatan
Best African DJ USA – Dj Poison Ivy – Kenya
AFRIMMA Video of the Year – ‘Dumebi’ by Rema
Best Francophone – Dj Arafat – Ivory Coast
Radio/TV Personality of the Year – Willy Tuva – Kenya
Legendary Award – 2Baba (2 Face Idibia)
