Entertainment:Salax Awards still choking Rwandan music

Who is Jozy? Who is Christopher? And, why is Young Grace on this list? I am reading a comment by the boss of the Salax Awards, Mike Karangwa that the 2012 nominees for annual awards were chosen according to the year’s performances. Surprisingly, some of the names have hardly been mentioned, or their songs played on radio before. For instance, how many songs have we heard from the so-called “TNP” group this year? Or “Christopher” or Jozy, both who are nominated in the “New Artist of the Year” category? The most unexpected of the list though might be “Young Grace”, who is vying for the “Best Female” award against names like Miss Jojo and Knowless. Just a year ago, Young Grace won the “Best Teen Artist” award, also amid controversies, as she had only one hardly known song, “Hip-Hop Game”. A year later, now, she graduated to the realm of matures without even releasing a single song. How does Mr Karangwa, or the journalists who reportedly voted in the nominees, or whoever was involved in compiling this list before the voting, justify this? Hip-hop girl, Paccy, has also been listed in the “Best Female” category, though she spent most of the year out of the studio. She however managed to release one of two singles that did not make it hits, including a duet with rap-star Riderman. Lick Lick, with over 90 percent of his recordings pirated from American releases, is also vying for the “Producer of the Year’ award, which he also holds at present. On the issue of quality still, one realizes that some of the videos which have bad quality have also made it to the nominations. What is the future then for a struggling industry, with only one awarding event that even the artists and journalists don’t trust? And what is the impact to the fans, if entertainers who can’t even bring out their vocals and are generally weak continue to win big? I would rather not give an award for where there is no competition, or just be genuine, instead of giving awards for the sake of just giving awards because the Salax has raised some questions ever since its launch, in 2008. Ends