A rundown of the 2017 Zim Hip Hop Awards and who I think will win.
'Tis the season to be... not exactly jolly but where all manner of provocation and undermining seems to take centre stage. The nominees are now here and unlike last year they will NO VOTING, except for the People's Choice Award. Apparently last year's votes weren't even considered (which may answr why some lost).
Below is the special edition of ZiFM's The Fixx where Beefy broke down what's what concerning the awards. Beefy also made it clear that if an artist's work wasn't submitted it was not considered for nomination.
Now that that's out of the way below are the nominees and my comments and predictions on them.
Best Male
Stunner
Mudiwa
MC Chita
Tehn
Myke Pimp
POY
This was a strange-looking Best Male list as some name you would think would be here aren't, not even Best Mero. It's a race between Tehn and Stunner but for some reason I see Stunner winning this.
Best Female
Trae Yung
Kikky Badass
Kara (Jecha Koso)
Miss Mckayz
Whitney Cash
Natasha Muz
I've always felt shortchanged by femcees as I feel they don't perform as well as they should. Whether it's because of gender discrimination I do not know. Tiara Baluti is missing from the list because she publicly said that she would not submit anything this year for the awards. It's a race between Trae Yung and Kikky Badass. This is always another strange-looking list every year. Some of the names would be more fitting in the Best Newcomer or Best Underground category as the Best Female category looks too ambitious but then again there aren't that many females in Zim Hip-Hop.
Best Collaboration
Tehn - No Stress (Feat. Thaiwanda Thai)
POY - Get Out The Way (Feat. Splits Loui)
Mr Kata – Zunguza (All-Star Remix) (Feat. Cal Vin, ASAPH, Guluva Se7en, MC Chita, KBrizzy, Raydizz & Yung Ree)
Myke Pimp - Get Mine (Feat. Jnr. Brown & TRK)
Tulk Munny – Paranoia (Feat. Sinbad90, Take Fizzo, J.A.Z & Female Bhuru)
Mclyne Beats - Uptown Tsotsi (Feat. MC Chita, Tulk Munny & Myke Pimp)
Not to be confused with Best Song Best Collaboration is about which artists created magic when they worked together. Personally I think Nhema should've been here (even though the "purists" will ask for my head). I predict that Myke Pimp will win this one, either with Get Mine or Uptown Tsotsi.
Best Hip-Hop Group
Kaygee 40 and Shugeta
Dollar Sign Music
Mula Nation
BGS
Few Kings
The Mafia
🤣 guess who are in the same category? You'd have to read this article to get it.
The thing about awards is that big names tend to overshadow other smaller names who may have put in work. Judging from the list I'd say BGS put in a lot of work but Few Kings being put in there seems to overshadow the rest. Though they came towards the end of the submission period I predict Few Kings winning this award.
Best Producer
Quazor
Take Fizzo
DJ Krimz Beatz
P2daoh
Mclyne Beats
Verseless
Now this a tough list. Would've loved to see Victor Enlisted here too. Take Fizzo worked his ass off this year, so did Mclyne Beats and Verseless too. If seniority rules the day Fizzo will bag this but the competition is stiff.
Best Newcomer
M.U.S.E
Floppy X
P Mula
Tulk Munny
Marcus Mafia
R. Peels
Tulk Munny and R. Peels seem to fighting it out on this category. It has been proven that these two would make a solid project together.
Best Local Brand Supporting Local Hip-Hop
Hip Hop 263
TBF
Zvanhuwa Fashion Collection
The Volt
I saw TBF being involved in the Tehn Outta Ten Tour. The Volt however, seems to still be put in the shadows of its predecessor The Book Cafe, but it would be amiss not to mention the role it has played in supporting Zim Hip Hop.
Is there a bigger platform than being on the national broadcaster. Since we have only one major channel in Zimbabwe (if we're being kind to Channel 2)? For that reason I'll give this to Hip Hop 263, not just because I'm a part of it.
Best Album
POY – Short Cuts to Heaven
Stunner – Stray Bullet
Tulk Munny - Chepa Jecha
Noble Stylez – Better Than Your Album
R. Peels - Zviri Eva Beautiful
Few Kings – The Feeling Ain't Fear
Judging from history Stunner is going away with the Best Album gong. It's strange to find albums like Take Back The Land, Trading Hours and Rugare not on this list (some of those albums were submitted). Half of these album were released during the final month of eligibility. I put my money on Noble and R. Peels.
Best Promoter
Thorne
Naboth Rizla
Preezo
Zimboy
Boss Chenge (TBF)
If I had submitted I would eligible for this list (go argue with your ancestors if you think otherwise). Not sure if Thorne does anything beyond being a DJ but I would put my money on Naboth Rizla. Why? You may ask, well he's behind Hip Hop 263 (nominated in the Best Local Brand category), his has hosted Hip Hop events and he has an app promoting Zim Hip-Hop (which showcases other shows like Keep It Real Fridays). The rest on here just host events, period.
Best Diaspora
MAB
Rich Forbes
Brucella
Wamambo
Hillzy
gtBeats
Hold up! Isn't Brucella a singer? Never heard of Wamambo. Hillzy definitely made a mark with his singing/rapping as well as securing the Adidas endorsement deal. So I'll say Hillzy.
Best Club DJ
Raydizz
Tk beatz
Dj Krimz Beatz
Dj Drew
Dj Kead Wikead
Raydizz could easily take this one. Having frequently performed in and outside the country and as well as starting his own Facebook live show he has the credentials to take this.
Best Gospel Act
T1nda
Caespido
Mudiwa
Kaygee40 & Shugeta
J soldier
Lil Megaz
Courtney Antipas is surprisingly missing on this list. I would have put my money on him. You may not like him but Mudiwa seems the likely winner here.
Best Dance Crew
Super Geeks
Mega Tronz Empire
Explosion
I don't know SH*T about dance groups so I'll not say anything more.
Best Underground
Four beat Fam
Hfiles
FYP
Dakid Verse
Indigo Saint
Since appearing on the controversial MTV Base list Indigo Saint has been dropping music consistently. Whether that will guarantee him a win remains to be seen. Dakid Verse also put in some work with an EP and a visual.
Best Media – ONLINE
Ritchers Blog
Fokus
Keep It Real Fridays
Lounge 263
The Zimtainment
Like I said before, I did not submit, that's why I'm not here, understood? Good! Interesting to see the 2015 winners here (Lounge 263). This nomination list is honestly the FIRST time I'm hearing of Ritcher's Blog, tried googling it and only a Facebook page came up (which is weird considering that the other nominees ALL have websites). The website link on their Facebook page points to a non-existent website... WAIT! The website link is missing an "s" as theritcher.com instead of theritchers.com (I hope they fix that).
Keep It Real Fridays has been consistent in their coverage or Zim Hip-Hop events and albums released in their maiden year.
Zimtainment also has a healthy amount of articles and has amassed quite the following over the past year. I put my money on them.
Best Media – T.V
Onvi TV
Hip Hop 263
Hip Hop 263, that is ALL!
Best Media – JOURNALIST
Masimba Biyasi (dakid verse) - Zim Rap Cities
Tanaka Musanhi - Zim Rap Cities
Bongani Ndlovhu - The Chronicle
Kennedy Navaya - The Standard
Tariro Zinyemba - H-Metro
I guess here it all boils down to who writes for the biggest publication.
Best Alternative
Huby Blakes
8L
Simba Tagz
Coco Master
My first question was where is ExQ? Since he's not here I'll have to say Simba Tagz yay yeah!
Song of the Year
Guluva 7 – Ngena Ka1
Tehn – No Stress (Feat. Thaiwanda Thai)
Mclyne Beats - Uptown Tsotsi (Feat. MC Chita, Tulk Munny & Myke Pimp)
Briss Mbada – King Solomon.
M.U.S.E -100 bars
Tulk Munny – Dakutsika Jive
Nhema! Lol sorry I had to.
Video Of The Year
T1nda - Majarakara
Takura- Kamu Shekero Kacho
POY - Higher
Tehn – No Stress
Mudiwa – Slaying
Marcques - Manga Muripi?
Let me watch Majakara and get back to this post.
Best Hip Hop Hustle
Naboth Rizla
Clyde Banks
DJ Towers
Mudiwa
Takura
Mr Kata
DJ Towers has been get a lot of stamps on his passport (if that's not hustle I don't know what is). Naboth Rizla has also been putting in work. There have been questions about why AWA is missing on the list since she's been doing the most and even getting a collaboration with the renowned DJ Tira.
Best Hip-Hop Verse (Sweet 16 Award)
Guluva Se7en – Ngena Ka1 (Verse 1)
Sharky – No No No (Verse 3)
Briss Mbada – Gaya (Verse 3)
Jnr Brown – Boys Dzetonaz (Verse 4)
MC Chita – Uptown Tsotsi (Verse 1)
Gze – Chamunorwa (Verse 1)
Best Radio DJ
Pd the Ghost and Lady K (ZiFM Stereo)
DJ Mox (Star FM)
Prometheus (Power FM)
Emitty Smooth (Power FM)
Lampy Zkit and Kritic Igwee (Diamond FM)
Thorne la Roq (Skyz Metro FM)
People's Choice Award
Ti Gonzi
Jnr Brown
DJ Towers
Floppy X
Stunner
Mudiwa
Takura
POY
Kikky Badass
M.U.S.E
If we're talking numbers Stunner takes this, EASY! Ti Gonzi, Jnr Brown and Takura are also potential winners, me thinks.
Best Dressed
Chosen on the night
Bulawayo rappers Cal_Vin and Asaph are slated to be the MCs for the ceremony.
Below is the special edition of ZiFM's The Fixx where Beefy broke down what's what concerning the awards. Beefy also made it clear that if an artist's work wasn't submitted it was not considered for nomination.
Now that that's out of the way below are the nominees and my comments and predictions on them.
Best Male
Stunner
Mudiwa
MC Chita
Tehn
Myke Pimp
POY
This was a strange-looking Best Male list as some name you would think would be here aren't, not even Best Mero. It's a race between Tehn and Stunner but for some reason I see Stunner winning this.
Best Female
Trae Yung
Kikky Badass
Kara (Jecha Koso)
Miss Mckayz
Whitney Cash
Natasha Muz
I've always felt shortchanged by femcees as I feel they don't perform as well as they should. Whether it's because of gender discrimination I do not know. Tiara Baluti is missing from the list because she publicly said that she would not submit anything this year for the awards. It's a race between Trae Yung and Kikky Badass. This is always another strange-looking list every year. Some of the names would be more fitting in the Best Newcomer or Best Underground category as the Best Female category looks too ambitious but then again there aren't that many females in Zim Hip-Hop.
Best Collaboration
Tehn - No Stress (Feat. Thaiwanda Thai)
POY - Get Out The Way (Feat. Splits Loui)
Mr Kata – Zunguza (All-Star Remix) (Feat. Cal Vin, ASAPH, Guluva Se7en, MC Chita, KBrizzy, Raydizz & Yung Ree)
Myke Pimp - Get Mine (Feat. Jnr. Brown & TRK)
Tulk Munny – Paranoia (Feat. Sinbad90, Take Fizzo, J.A.Z & Female Bhuru)
Mclyne Beats - Uptown Tsotsi (Feat. MC Chita, Tulk Munny & Myke Pimp)
Not to be confused with Best Song Best Collaboration is about which artists created magic when they worked together. Personally I think Nhema should've been here (even though the "purists" will ask for my head). I predict that Myke Pimp will win this one, either with Get Mine or Uptown Tsotsi.
Best Hip-Hop Group
Kaygee 40 and Shugeta
Dollar Sign Music
Mula Nation
BGS
Few Kings
The Mafia
🤣 guess who are in the same category? You'd have to read this article to get it.
The thing about awards is that big names tend to overshadow other smaller names who may have put in work. Judging from the list I'd say BGS put in a lot of work but Few Kings being put in there seems to overshadow the rest. Though they came towards the end of the submission period I predict Few Kings winning this award.
Best Producer
Quazor
Take Fizzo
DJ Krimz Beatz
P2daoh
Mclyne Beats
Verseless
Now this a tough list. Would've loved to see Victor Enlisted here too. Take Fizzo worked his ass off this year, so did Mclyne Beats and Verseless too. If seniority rules the day Fizzo will bag this but the competition is stiff.
Best Newcomer
M.U.S.E
Floppy X
P Mula
Tulk Munny
Marcus Mafia
R. Peels
Tulk Munny and R. Peels seem to fighting it out on this category. It has been proven that these two would make a solid project together.
Best Local Brand Supporting Local Hip-Hop
Hip Hop 263
TBF
Zvanhuwa Fashion Collection
The Volt
I saw TBF being involved in the Tehn Outta Ten Tour. The Volt however, seems to still be put in the shadows of its predecessor The Book Cafe, but it would be amiss not to mention the role it has played in supporting Zim Hip Hop.
Is there a bigger platform than being on the national broadcaster. Since we have only one major channel in Zimbabwe (if we're being kind to Channel 2)? For that reason I'll give this to Hip Hop 263, not just because I'm a part of it.
Best Album
POY – Short Cuts to Heaven
Stunner – Stray Bullet
Tulk Munny - Chepa Jecha
Noble Stylez – Better Than Your Album
R. Peels - Zviri Eva Beautiful
Few Kings – The Feeling Ain't Fear
Judging from history Stunner is going away with the Best Album gong. It's strange to find albums like Take Back The Land, Trading Hours and Rugare not on this list (some of those albums were submitted). Half of these album were released during the final month of eligibility. I put my money on Noble and R. Peels.
Best Promoter
Thorne
Naboth Rizla
Preezo
Zimboy
Boss Chenge (TBF)
If I had submitted I would eligible for this list (go argue with your ancestors if you think otherwise). Not sure if Thorne does anything beyond being a DJ but I would put my money on Naboth Rizla. Why? You may ask, well he's behind Hip Hop 263 (nominated in the Best Local Brand category), his has hosted Hip Hop events and he has an app promoting Zim Hip-Hop (which showcases other shows like Keep It Real Fridays). The rest on here just host events, period.
Best Diaspora
MAB
Rich Forbes
Brucella
Wamambo
Hillzy
gtBeats
Hold up! Isn't Brucella a singer? Never heard of Wamambo. Hillzy definitely made a mark with his singing/rapping as well as securing the Adidas endorsement deal. So I'll say Hillzy.
Best Club DJ
Raydizz
Tk beatz
Dj Krimz Beatz
Dj Drew
Dj Kead Wikead
Raydizz could easily take this one. Having frequently performed in and outside the country and as well as starting his own Facebook live show he has the credentials to take this.
Best Gospel Act
T1nda
Caespido
Mudiwa
Kaygee40 & Shugeta
J soldier
Lil Megaz
Courtney Antipas is surprisingly missing on this list. I would have put my money on him. You may not like him but Mudiwa seems the likely winner here.
Best Dance Crew
Super Geeks
Mega Tronz Empire
Explosion
I don't know SH*T about dance groups so I'll not say anything more.
Best Underground
Four beat Fam
Hfiles
FYP
Dakid Verse
Indigo Saint
Since appearing on the controversial MTV Base list Indigo Saint has been dropping music consistently. Whether that will guarantee him a win remains to be seen. Dakid Verse also put in some work with an EP and a visual.
Best Media – ONLINE
Ritchers Blog
Fokus
Keep It Real Fridays
Lounge 263
The Zimtainment
Like I said before, I did not submit, that's why I'm not here, understood? Good! Interesting to see the 2015 winners here (Lounge 263). This nomination list is honestly the FIRST time I'm hearing of Ritcher's Blog, tried googling it and only a Facebook page came up (which is weird considering that the other nominees ALL have websites). The website link on their Facebook page points to a non-existent website... WAIT! The website link is missing an "s" as theritcher.com instead of theritchers.com (I hope they fix that).
Keep It Real Fridays has been consistent in their coverage or Zim Hip-Hop events and albums released in their maiden year.
Zimtainment also has a healthy amount of articles and has amassed quite the following over the past year. I put my money on them.
Best Media – T.V
Onvi TV
Hip Hop 263
Hip Hop 263, that is ALL!
Best Media – JOURNALIST
Masimba Biyasi (dakid verse) - Zim Rap Cities
Tanaka Musanhi - Zim Rap Cities
Bongani Ndlovhu - The Chronicle
Kennedy Navaya - The Standard
Tariro Zinyemba - H-Metro
I guess here it all boils down to who writes for the biggest publication.
Best Alternative
Huby Blakes
8L
Simba Tagz
Coco Master
My first question was where is ExQ? Since he's not here I'll have to say Simba Tagz yay yeah!
Song of the Year
Guluva 7 – Ngena Ka1
Tehn – No Stress (Feat. Thaiwanda Thai)
Mclyne Beats - Uptown Tsotsi (Feat. MC Chita, Tulk Munny & Myke Pimp)
Briss Mbada – King Solomon.
M.U.S.E -100 bars
Tulk Munny – Dakutsika Jive
Nhema! Lol sorry I had to.
Video Of The Year
T1nda - Majarakara
Takura- Kamu Shekero Kacho
POY - Higher
Tehn – No Stress
Mudiwa – Slaying
Marcques - Manga Muripi?
Let me watch Majakara and get back to this post.
Best Hip Hop Hustle
Naboth Rizla
Clyde Banks
DJ Towers
Mudiwa
Takura
Mr Kata
DJ Towers has been get a lot of stamps on his passport (if that's not hustle I don't know what is). Naboth Rizla has also been putting in work. There have been questions about why AWA is missing on the list since she's been doing the most and even getting a collaboration with the renowned DJ Tira.
Best Hip-Hop Verse (Sweet 16 Award)
Guluva Se7en – Ngena Ka1 (Verse 1)
Sharky – No No No (Verse 3)
Briss Mbada – Gaya (Verse 3)
Jnr Brown – Boys Dzetonaz (Verse 4)
MC Chita – Uptown Tsotsi (Verse 1)
Gze – Chamunorwa (Verse 1)
Best Radio DJ
Pd the Ghost and Lady K (ZiFM Stereo)
DJ Mox (Star FM)
Prometheus (Power FM)
Emitty Smooth (Power FM)
Lampy Zkit and Kritic Igwee (Diamond FM)
Thorne la Roq (Skyz Metro FM)
People's Choice Award
Ti Gonzi
Jnr Brown
DJ Towers
Floppy X
Stunner
Mudiwa
Takura
POY
Kikky Badass
M.U.S.E
If we're talking numbers Stunner takes this, EASY! Ti Gonzi, Jnr Brown and Takura are also potential winners, me thinks.
Best Dressed
Chosen on the night
Bulawayo rappers Cal_Vin and Asaph are slated to be the MCs for the ceremony.
COMMENTS