The African Entertainment Awards (AEAUSA) celebrated the best of African talent in the US over the weekend, and two South African artists were among the winners.
Tyla, who is known for her hit song Water, won the Best Female Artist award, beating other nominees such as Tems and Makhadzi. Makhadzi also received an award for Best Collaboration, for her song MaGear with Mr Brown. The AEAUSA is a Non-Profit Organisation that was founded in 2015 by Dominic Tamin, a US citizen of Cameroonian origin, and a team of young Pan Africanists from different parts of Africa and the Caribbean.
The AEAUSA’s website states that its mission is “to support, celebrate and uplift African Entertainment and Achievements in the Global arena. We use the entertainment awards ceremony as a platform, to unite all Africans including those in the Caribbean to showcase an Africa that is united, self-sufficient, willing, and able to evoke social change that matters most in the communities of Africans all over the world.”
Master KG, the producer of the global smash Jerusalema, took home the Music Producer of the Year award, where he was nominated alongside DJ Maphorisa. Another South African winner was William Last KRM, who won the Digital Content Creator of the Year award. The AEAUSA happened a day after the Grammy nominations were announced, where three new categories were introduced. The new categories are Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Pop Dance Recording.
Two South African artists were nominated for the Best African Music Performance category: Tyla for Water and Musa Keys for his feature on Davido’s Unavailable. Unavailable also won the Best Collaboration award at the recent Trace Awards in Rwanda. South African comedian and host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah, also got a Grammy nomination for his special I Wish You Would.
Noah expressed his gratitude and love for stand-up comedy on X (Twitter), saying: “This journey called life never ceases to amaze and inspire me. I love stand-up comedy because I cherish nothing more than making people feel good or bringing a smile to someone’s face. To be nominated for a Grammy is a blessing and honour I never expect and truly cherish with all my heart. Thank you to every single one of you who’s been in the audience for these shows, without you there would literally be no show.” The Grammys will take place in February at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.