This year’s edition was held in Senegal.
By Hope Ibiale
The All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) recently held its 8th edition on the 12th-15th of January 2023. The show, themed “For Hope, For celebration,” brought together a bunch of amazing African acts like Nigeria’s Tiwa Savage, Black Sherif, P-Square, Mali’s Rokia Kone, Youssou N’dou, Magixx, Awilo Lomgomba, and many others to give thrilling performances and showcase black excellence.
For its eighth edition, AFRIMA achieved new milestones, some of which include Senegal being the first French-speaking African country to host the awards; over 9,000 entries were submitted for this year’s show, making this year’s submissions the highest to date.
Among the winners are Nigerian acts, Davido, Burna Boy, Wizkid, Asake, and Tems. Davido won in five categories: Best Male Act in African Inspirational Music, Best Act, Duo or Group in African Electro, Best African Collaboration, and Best Act in Diaspora Male. While Tems won the Best Soundtrack Category, Asake won Best Breakout Star in Africa. Wizkid walked away with the Best West African Male award, and Burna Boy’s Love Damini won Best Album of the Year, while his hit single “Last Last” clinched Best Artist of the Year.
In a press statement released by the executive director of AFRIMA, Mike Dada, he noted that, “This is such an exciting moment in African music, and we are proud of the way these artists have been able to cross over to several markets both on the home front and even globally.”
Other African acts that won awards include Adekunle Gold, Didi B, Focalistic, and many others.