Metro FM awards: two from Bay listed

THE Eastern Cape will have four representatives at this year's Metro FM Awards, among them two Nelson Mandela Bay artists. The names of Heavy K and iFani, who both hail from the Bay, were among those of the nominees for the 13th awards announced in Johannesburg last week.

iFani, of New Brighton, is nominated four times in the categories best music video, best hip-hop album, best male artist and best newcomer for his album I Believes in Me.

Heavy K is nominated in the categories best dance album and song of the year for his album Respect the Drumboss.

"I could not believe it when my manager Refilwe called me at night on Thursday to tell me the good news. When I saw her call, I thought it was bad news because she doesn't normally call me at night. She screamed, saying I had been nominated four times for the Metro awards," iFani said.

"I feel on top of the world because last year I was nominated five times in the SA Hip Hop Awards and won zero. It feels so good to be recognised on a much bigger platform and I am super excited."

New kid on the block Heavy K, of Veeplaas, said being nominated was an indication he was making his mark in the music industry. "I already feel like a winner. It was not so long ago that people were introduced to my music and already they are loving it," he said.

"I have never been nominated before. This nomination shows that there is something that I am doing right.

"These two nominations are a great motivation to me as a singer."

The province's two other nominees are singer- songwriter Zahara and Afro-pop musician Ntando.

The multi-award winning Zahara is nominated for best African pop album and song of the year for Phendula. She is in the same category as Ntando, who is nominated in the best African pop album category for Monday to Sunday.

The awards are being held at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Conference Centre in Durban on March 1 and will be broadcast live on SABC 1 at 8pm.

"We are excited by the calibre of finalists for the awards, which will also be celebrating and recognising musicians who have contributed to the growth of the industry. The theme of the awards will be celebrating 20 years of our democracy as a country through music," Metro FM station manager Martin Vilakazi said.