MTV Africa and MTV Base announced the return of the continental flagship award show in 2021.
The Iconic MTV Base celebration, MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA), which showcases the ultimate in African culture, music, and creativity, will be held in a re-imagined virtual format in partnership with Uganda, The Pearl of Africa on February 20th 2021.
The ultimate celebration of local African and international talent and achievement, MAMA 2021, in partnership with Uganda, The Pearl of Africa, recognizes and rewards musicians, trailblazers and those who are shining a light on the continent’s diverse talent and creativity by instilling positive impact on African music and youth culture over the previous year.
The awards ceremony will feature vibrant performances from leading African and international artists and will also showcase some of the biggest cross-genre and cross-border collaborations.
The event will celebrate African talent across 20 award categories, including Best Male, Best Female, Best Song, and Best Collaboration.
The contribution of artists from Portuguese and French-speaking Africa will also be recognized in the Best Lusophone and Best Francophone categories.
Additional new categories included are the MAMA Generation Change Award, Best Fan Base, Alone Together Best Lock-down Performance and Personality of the Year.
These new categories seek to demonstrate MTV Base’s commitment to supporting the youth of Africa.
The MAMA Generation Change Award will recognize the inspiring, young changemakers of the continent who are tackling some of the world’s most challenging social problems.
The Alone Together Best Lock-down Performance recognizes outstanding performances that took place virtually by celebrating artists who took to streaming services to share their music and unite society during the unprecedented 2020 Lockdown.
The category selection criteria is from October 1st 2019 to October 1st 2020. The nominees will be announced in December 2020 and music lovers will have their say by voting for their favourite stars online.
MAMA 2021 Award Categories
1. Best Female
2. Best Male
3. Best Group
4. Best Breakthrough Act
5. Best Collaboration
6. Best Hip Hop
7. Best Alternative
8. Best Ugandan Act
9. Best Lusophone Act
10. Best Francophone Act
11. Best International Act
12. Video of the Year
13. Song of The Year
14. Artist of the Year
15. Alone Together Lockdown Performance
16. Listeners Choice
17. Best Fan-Base Award
18. Personality of the Year
19. MAMA Legend Award
20. MAMA Generation Change Award
The MTV Africa Music Awards Kampala 2021 will broadcast on MTV Base (DStv Channel 322) and MTV (DStv Channel 130) on February 20th 2021. The show will also be aired on MTV channels across multiple continents as a one-hour MAMA-themed MTV World Stage feature.
