Weekend of Urban Music People
The long awaited Urban Music People (UMP) which has this year rebranded from Urban Music Party is here.
The UMP, spearheaded by Nde’feyo Entertainment and Nzika Arts, this year starts with the awards tomorrow night at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe and then a festival at Blantyre Sports Club on Sunday.
South African artist Emtee, who last Sunday was voted Best Male Artist – Southern Africa in the All Africa Music Awards (Afrima) where he beat the likes of Malawi’s own Tay Grin, will headline the awards and the festival.
The organisers have since said that Emtee and his crew will jet in the country tomorrow afternoon.
The South African artist, who has a new album titled ‘Manando’ is expected to join a list of local artists that have been engaged to perform at the two events.
The organisers have engaged Lulu, Piksy, Bucci, Theo Thomson, Hazel Mak and Malinga to perform during the UMP Awards while Sonye, Gwamba, Martse, Saint, Street Fame, Tuno, Charisma, Rita, Hilco, Episods, Pinky Ice, JJC and Suffix will perform at the UMP Festival.
“Preparations are good in both cities on the production side. We are pleased with the public anticipation of the event and we are thankful for the support from our partners,” UMP publicist Thoko Kadewere said.
Kadewere said the two events required a lot of coordination in all aspects, adding that this is the first time for the awards to be held in Lilongwe.
This is the seventh edition of the UMP which will see people paying K10,000 for standard tickets and K15,000 for VIP in Lilongwe whereas in Blantyre the entry fee is K4,000 standard tickets and K12,000 VIP.
Kadewere said the awards gala tomorrow will be followed by an after-party at Cockpit
Lounge, which will feature performances from Fredokiss, Blasto, DJ Nathan Tunes and Skappa DJ.
The UMP publicist also said Emtee will have a chance to meet and mingle with people during the after-party as well as award winners and nominees.
Artists will be looking forward to carrying the day during the awards in several categories, which include Best Collabo, Best New Act, Best Producer, Best Female Artist, Album of the Year, Best Live Act and newly introduced Best Sadc Act.
Some of the artists who are leading the nomination pack are; Stich Fray, Fredokiss, Malceba, Tay Grin, Gwamba and Sangie.
In Song of the Year, the race is very tight as it has ‘Apsye Mtima’ by Macelba, ‘Delilah’ by Saint, ‘Tola’ by Tay Grin featuring Tanzania’s Vanessa Mdee, ‘Mayi Wangwiro’ by Sangie and ‘Zoti Ndimakukonda’ by Stich Fray.
The category of Artist of the Year has Fredokiss, Tay Grin, Macelba, Saint and Stich Fray.
The nominees were released during the UMP Fashion Night held last month in Blantyre.
The UMP has been held twice at Grin Bamboo in Blantyre, once at Chancellor College in Zomba, Blantyre Cultural Centre, then French Cultural Centre once and BAT Ground in Blantyre twice.
According to the organisers, the UMP Festival is a celebration of Malawi’s urban music, lifestyle and culture while the UMP Awards is a ceremony that recognises Malawi’s exceptional urban music talent.
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