The Zambia Music Awards (ZMAs) are an annual Zambian national music awards that stands as a hallmark event within Zambia's music industry that recognizes and celebrates outstanding achievements in the Zambian music industry. The ZMA's mission, which seeks to recognize and honor great work in Zambia's musical field, focuses on the development of ideas that promote progression and originality. Consequently, the objective of ZMAs is to create a reliable and prestigious awards platform for all Zambian musicians as well as producers because they are part and parcel of this industry.
History
Origin The National Arts Council of Zambia and the stakeholders in the Zambian music industry created the awards in the year 2013. They were meant to foster talent, excellence, and creativity in the music industry of Zambia. These awards are run by the National Arts Council of Zambia with sponsorship from various judges and stakeholders across the industry. The National Arts Council of Zambia organizes the awards, which boasts a team of industry professionals, judges, and sponsors. As performers, presenters, and winners, the awards ceremony has had many prominent Zambian musicians, producers, and music industry experts take part in the ceremony.
Nomination and criteria The nominees of the awards are drawn from the fan interactions that are reflected on the radio airplay in countrywide and the votes are tracked by the committee of the awards with partnership to various radio stations. The awards are then determined by the polls of the public and the fans via established channels that include websites, SMS, and social media. The awards are then verified by the auditing firms for transparency.
Objectives The ZMAs goals involve giving awards for excellent work, supporting Zambian music nationally and internationally, inspiring creative minds, giving space for networking as well as collaborations and finally contributing to growth as well as development in Zambia’s music sector.
Artist of the year The Artist of the Year category is one of the highest and most prestigious of the awards given at the event given to the artist(s). The artist winning most of the awards is Yo Maps.
Current award categories Music Song of the Year Best Hip-Hop Act Artist of the Year (Female) Artist of the Year (Male) Music Video of the Year Best Gospel Artist Best New Artist (Female) Best New Artist (Male) Best Dancehall Act Album of the Year Producer of the Year Best Duo/Group Lifetime Achievement
Media Best Radio DJ/Personality Best Entertainment writer Best TV personality Media Legend
Fashion Most Fashionable Celebrity Model of the Year Living Legend Fashion Icon Designer of the Year
Host Cities Year Country Host city Venue Host(s)2017ZambiaLusaka 2018Zambia2019ZambiaLusaka
Recipients List of selected recipients and years: Category Nominee / work (and year)Result ReferenceBest Hip Hop AlbumSlap Dee (2015)Best Female NewcomerWezi (2015)Best Traditional ArtistPetersen Zagaze (2015)Best ProducerWilz (2014) T Low (2017)Best Dancehall ArtistRoberto (2014) Roberto (2017)Best Hip Hop ArtistMacky 2 (2014) Macky 2 (2017)Best NewcomerIzrael (2013) F Jay (2016)Best Male ArtistB Flow (2013) B Flow (2016)Best Female ArtistMampi (2013) Mampi (2016)
List of ceremonies and its winners 2013
Mampi - Best Female Artist
B Flow - Best Male Artist
Izrael - Best Newcomer
2014
Macky 2 - Best Hip Hop Artist
Roberto - Best Dancehall Artist
Wilz - Best Producer
2015 The 2015 Zambian Music Awards were held at Government Complex in Zambia's capital (Lusaka) on Saturday, 11 April. The night’s big winner was Chef 187 with four awards: Best Mainstream Male Artist; Best Collaboration (‘Kumalila Ngoma’ with Afunika); Best Hip-Hop Album; as well as Best Mainstream Album titled Heart of a Lion. The hosts were Gesh Groove and Kutemba. Abel Chungu Musuka won three prizes as he received the Best Gospel Male Artist, Best RnB Album, and Best Gospel Album awards for Love Unleashed. Expressing his joy after the event, Chef 187 wrote on his Facebook page, “It was awesome yesterday; I appreciate those who support my music activities. I really worked hard towards putting up the ‘Heart of a Lion’ music project, and I am excited to see everything going as planned. However, this success has only been possible because there are those didn’t only believe in my dream but also gave their full support.”
Sources
The winners of Zambia’s 2015 Music Awards were:
Best Club DJ: Bizzy Wizzy
Best Female Radio DJ: Roxy (Radio Phoenix)
Best Male Radio DJ: Man Chilu (ZNBC)
Best Collaboration: 'Kumalila Ngoma' – Chef 187 & Afunika
Best Choral Album: Pa Lupili – Mt. Sinai
Best Kalindula Album: Ndevu – Liseli Sisters
Best Dance-Hall Album: Time Bomb – T Sean
Best Reggae Album: Freedom – Chris Aka
Best RnB Album: Love Unleashed – Abel Chungu Musuka
Best Hip-Hop Album: Heart of a Lion – Chef 187
Best Mainstream Album: Heart of a Lion – Chef 187
Best Gospel Album: Love Unleashed – Abel Chungu Musuka
Best Niyatu Album: Mr. Nyopole – Willz
Best Song Writer: P Jay (Brian Chengwa)
Best Jazz Album: Moments Of Truth – Afro Red
Best Live Recording Album: Muli Yesu – North Mid Mega Choir
Best Band: Amayenge Cultural Ensemble
Best Gospel Female Artist: Suwilanji
Best Gospel Male Artist: Abel Chungu Musuka
Best New Artist: Willz Mr. Nyopole
Best Traditional Music Album: Malizu – Tasila Mwale
Best Indigenous Group: Kasama Arts Troupe
Best Sound Engineer: Brian Michelo
Best Drummer: Eston Mwape
Best Studio Sound Producer: Jerry Fingaz
Lifetime Achievement Award: Evelyn Hone College
Best Mainstream Female Artist: Mampi
Best Mainstream Male Artist: Chef 187
Song Of the Year 2015: 'Mama Rebecca' – Macky2 2016 The Mosi Lager Zambian Music Awards, which is the most awaited event in the Zambian music industry, was held on April 30 in Livingstone and for the first time it was done jointly with the Mosi Day of Thunder music festival. A mixture of these two events aimed at reaching out to more people while at the same time recognizing and promoting Zambian music, arts as well as culture so as it can be appreciated internationally. In this way we sought to reach out to a bigger audience while recognizing and appreciating Zambian music, arts and culture on the international scene. The awards served as a platform for acknowledging great talents in various genres such as hip-hop or Kalindula, thereby creating an opportunity for these individuals to come forward with their talent before massive crowds gathered in different places throughout our country where they were recognised as the best performers, producers or artists from Zambia. At the launch event, Permanent Secretary Stephen Mwansa emphasized the importance of collaboration and partnership in the music industry, highlighting the awards' role in bringing together the public and private sectors. He noted that the Mosi Lager Zambian Music Awards and the Mosi Day of Thunder embodied the Zambian experience, celebrating heritage and shaping the future.
Zambian Breweries Marketing Director Thomas Kamphuis stressed the significance of music in society, citing its ability to penetrate various aspects of life, including rest, entertainment, education, and worship. He emphasized the importance of championing local talent and celebrated the power of music to bring people together. The awards were a joint effort between Zambian Breweries, the National Arts Council of Zambia, the Zambia Adjudicators Panel, and the Zambia Association of Musicians. The 2015's top winners, Chef 187 and Abel Chungu, took home seven trophies between them, setting the stage for another exciting celebration of Zambian music.Some winners were: Mampi - Best Female Artist
B Flow - Best Male Artist
F Jay - Best Newcomer
2017
Macky 2 - Best Hip Hop Artist
Roberto - Best Dancehall Artist
T Low - Best Producer
2018
Namwawa - Best Traditional Artist
Wezi - Best Female Artist
T Sean - Best Male Artist
Yo Maps - Best Newcomer
2019
Slap Dee - Best Hip Hop Album
Mampi - Best Female Artist
B Flow - Best Male Artist
F Jay - Best Producer
2020
Macky 2 - Best Hip Hop Artist
Roberto - Best Dancehall Artist
T Low - Best Male Newcomer
Namwawa - Best Female Newcomer
Wezi - Best Female Artist
T Sean - Best Male Artist
Yo Maps - Best Newcomer
Slap Dee - Best Hip Hop Album
2021
Mampi - Best Female Artist
B Flow - Best Male Artist
F Jay - Best Producer
Macky 2 - Best Hip Hop Artist
Roberto - Best Dancehall Artist
T Low - Best Male Newcomer
Namwawa - Best Female Newcomer
Wezi - Best Female Artist
T Sean - Best Male Artist
Yo Maps - Best Newcomer
Slap Dee - Best Hip Hop Album
2022
Chef 187 - Best Hip Hop Artist
Mampi - Best Female Artist
B Flow - Best Male Artist
F Jay - Best Producer
Macky 2 - Best Hip Hop Artist
Roberto - Best Dancehall Artist
OCAZEY- Best Male Newcomer
References