R2bees, Stonebwoy and Sakordie nominated

Fifty nominees including artists and achievers from 18 countries were revealed in 9 key music and lifestyle award categories byand (DStv channel 322) at a star-studded reception at , Johannesburg, South Africa. Ghana artistes Stonebwoy, R2bees and Sarkodie were listed in the first batch of nominations announced. and lead the pack in the first round of nominations for the forthcoming , with an impressive nine nominations between them.

General Manager, Multichoice Ghana, Cecil Sunkwa-Mills, congratulated all the nominees most especially the Ghanaian trio and encouraged all to vote massively for our nominees. Adding that “the time has come for Ghanaian music to take centre stage on the African scene at Africa’s premier music and arts festival.”

At the front of the field is Nigerian star with three nominations including nods in , andr. Next in line with two nominations each are (South Africa), (South Africa) and (Kenya). The hotly contestedcategory sees nominations for and of South Africa, who’ll be going head to head against Nigeria’s and , and (Ivory Coast). An epic battle of the bands is in store in the category where Ghana’s face off against Kenya’s , South Africa’s , from Tanzania and Togolese duo, .

In lifestyle category , goes up against soccer player (Gabon), middle distance runner and Olympic gold medallist , blogger (Nigeria) and musician (Nigeria) vie for

The second round of nominations, comprising 7 additional award categories, including , and will be revealed at the , Lagos, Nigeria during (2 October 2016). No nominations will be revealed for the award, and .

Commented , “The celebrates Africa’s incredible young musicians and trailblazers by breaking down barriers, driving engagement, and highlighting the continent’s rich and abundant talent. It’s an honour to be able to salute their achievements at , and we offer our congratulations to all of the nominees as we look forward to the most exciting and diverse yet.”

Voting for opens at 9pm on Wednesday 21 September at www.mtvbase.com and affiliated Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. Additionally, fans can vote for andBest International Act from 21 September by simply searching for “” on , with each account allowed 5 votes per category per day. voting for and will open on 2 October. Voting in all categories closes at 9.59pm on 19 October 2016.

Guests at the nominations party were entertained with sizzling performances by , , and whileandkept the dance-floor packed to capacity.The event was attended by a host of artists, celebrities and other glitterati, while VJ and were on point at the podium.

MAMA 2016 NOMINATIONS (PART 1)

Best Male

AKA (South Africa)

Black Coffee (South Africa)

Diamond (Tanzania)

Patoranking (Nigeria)

Wizkid (Nigeria)

Best Live

Cassper Nyovest (South Africa)

Eddy Kenzo (Uganda)

Flavour (Nigeria)

Mafikizolo (South Africa)