Sarkodie & Miguel at the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards (photo via Sarkodie's twitter)
Over the weekend artists and performers from across the continent gathered at the Durban International Convention Centre for the 2014 MTV Africa Music Awards. After a three-year hiatus, the star-studded event sponsored by MTV Base and KwaZulu-Natal Province brought out some of the continent's biggest names in music as well as a few acts from across the Atlantic, including Miguel, Trey Songz, and French Montana. Aside from the performances and award winners, twitter was abuzz with mass frustration over host Marlon Wayans' questionable brand of comedy at the continent's expense. Yet despite Wayans' problematic commentary, the show went on. Nigeria and South Africa each came out on top with six and five award winners respectively and a slew of crowd-pleasing performances. South African trio Mafikizolo kicked off the show with an electrifying performance of their dancefloor anthem “Khona.” Later on Simphiwe Dana paid tribute to Nelson Mandela, performing in front of a time-lapsed video of a Mandela-inspired mural painted by South African artist Rasty. In the most unexpected performance of the night, Ladysmith Black Mambazo reworked some of the biggest dancefloor hits over the past couple years, including D'Banj's "Oliver Twist" and Uhuru's “Y-tjukutja.” Peep the full list of winners (and their videos) below.
Artist of the Year:Davido (Nigeria)
Best Male: Davido (Nigeria)
Best Female:Tiwa Savage (Nigeria)
Best Group:Mafikizolo (South Africa)
Best New Act:Stanley Enow(Cameroon)
Best Live Act:Flavour (Nigeria)
Best Collaboration: “Y-tjukutja” – Uhuru ft. Oskido, DJ Bucks, Professor and Yuri Da Cunha (South Africa/Angola)
Best Hip Hop:Sarkodie (Ghana)
Best Francophone: Toofan (Togo)
Best Lusophone: Anselmo Ralph (Angola)
Song of the Year: “Khona” – Mafikizolo ft. Uhuru (South Africa)
Best Video: Clarence Peters (Nigeria)
Best Pop:Goldfish (South Africa)
Best International:Pharrell
Best Alternative: Gangs of Ballet (South Africa)
Personality of the Year: Lupita Nyong’o (Kenya)
MTV Base Leadership Award:Ashish J. Thakkar (Tanzania)
Transform Today Award by Absolut: Clarence Peters (Nigeria)