Yo MAMA’s So Phat

We wish we had a Yo Mama joke for you but we’re not Wilmer Valderrama and besides, this is about something with more character than both of his eyebrows. This is about the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA) that are sponsored by telecommunications company, Zain. The music channel’s third annual ceremony will be held in Lagos, Nigeria on 11 December and it’s sure to be a good night for some of South African music’s IT boys.

Alongside kwaito artists Big Nuz, theblagg’s favourite house heads Liquideep and rap groups Teargas and Jozi are Mzansi’s nominees. So are The Parlotones, Black Coffee and JR. This was announced at a swanky do at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Rosebank where there were tall models with body paint on. So you know Dude couldn’t stop staring, right?

K.O from Teargas and body painted models

Anyway, once we’d finally managed to help the girl at the door find theblagg’s name on the guestlist we got a chance to chop it up with Alex Okosi, the Senior Vice President and Managing Director of MTV Networks Africa.


Unlike most people whose job titles are longer than an Erykah Badu love song, Alex Okosi is easy-going. “You and me like sneakers,” he tells theblagg, “even though I’m a corporate dude.” But, he assures us that that doesn’t mean the two worlds can’t collide harmoniously. The MAMAs are a case in point. The categories are diverse and while they include some of the highest paid entertainers on the continent, they also include some of the coolest musicians. The MAMAs strive to showcase all of Africa’s music’s facets. But what about outside our continent?

Alex Okosi


To some people, including the Best International Act category is not a highlight. The category gives American (and sometimes European) musicians a chance to walk away with a MAMA microphone. This year, Rihanna, Drake, Eminem and Rick Ross are nominated. Some folks find it odd that African awards would give a nod to artists that already have many award shows applauding them. But Okosi is short of telling people to talk to the hand about this matter.


He leans in, “the international act issue is… a non-issue.” Okosi explains that said category is but a small factor in the MAMAs because the biggest supporters of African music are Africans. He chimes in, “Nigerians play 80% of the country’s music on the radio and I wish South Africa could get to that point. That way it’s a much deeper connection than being patriotic.” In essence, the connection would be with the good music and not just sounds from their own soil.

South African Nominee JR

Fally Ipupa is the most nominated artist at these awards and Lizha James, P-Square, Wande Coal and Sasha are also up for top honours in categories ranging from Best Video to Song Of The Year. But, much to theblagg’s surprise, there’s no hip hop category. Okosi reminds us that there was such a category last year but MTV has decided to do away with it.


“The hip hop category is a subset of music and at the MAMAs we’re just about the best music. It’s like at last year’s MTV Europe Music Awards where Jay-Z won the Best Urban Act award and he said he awaits the day where good music is awarded, not just a genre.” So Okosi and his team gave this idea some thought and as he emphatically states, “the beauty of what I do is I get to encourage my MTV guys to actually do shit.”

Sizwe Dhlomo chats to Teargas

And what they’ve done is consciously move the MAMA ceremony to a new country each year. Okosi brandishes his wry smile before he says, “We’re ambitious. We thought we wouldn’t host the MAMAs in South Africa where things are easier to get done logistically. We’ve been out of the box from our first year and we won’t stop now. We’re trying to create a re-imagined Africa and dispute the idea that we’re all jumping off trees.”

While Okosi kept mum about who’s playing host at this years MAMA, they still promise to be a wild night out. DJ Arafat, Cabo Snoop and Naija music king 2Face Idibia will perform at the ceremony. But if you can’t be there to see them in the flesh then vote for your favourite artists on www.mama.mtvbase.com.