The African music event of the year came and went – and it was as amazing as we had hoped! The full gallery below; all images courtesy Michael Tubes
Akon was the headline act and he was great. His robots claimed the stage and he performed hit after hit, classic after classic. The shining moments had to be the collaborations though – Mr May D joined him onstage for ‘Chop My Money’ and …..WIZKID! He came through for a surprise performance of ‘Don’t Dull’. Wizzy Bobo is the man of the moment – very janjala, but awon eleyi, won bad gan!
Yemi Alade: what can I say about thsi fabulous girl? She came to perform like her life depended on it, and if there was anyone in the crowd who had never heard of her before last night, they sure know her now.
I’ll be honest – I knew Johnny ( who doesn’t??) and Tangerine, but that was about it. I thought she would milk those two songs and that would be it. Lai lai! She sang beautifully – I was pleasantly surprised at the set of pipes she’s got on her!And every song was powerful – even the ballads were fab.
DJ Edu did what DJ Edu does – pumped up the crowd from the beginning, and kept us rocking right through along with DJ Unbeetable.
My stars of the night; my renewed fervour and passion for (South) African music – Mafikizolo!!!! It’s like they should take me with them everywhere they go and continue to infuse me with the essence of being African. They brought electricity, fire…and poise to the entire production. I heard Emlanjeni (Meet Me At The River) for the first time, and I fell in love. Ndihamba Nawe got us all to our feet and made us rejoice.
They performed a moving tribute to Amandla, Mandela and made the audience raise feasts in the air to a timeless African leader – surely a symbol of what we all got together to celebrate? Their work is flawless, their style is exemplary, and their message is one of a more beautiful, more united, more powerful Africa. Excellence.
View the whole gallery below: