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Credibility is key
to the Hip Hop World Awards’ (HHWA) choice of winners. The Awards team
said this much during a courtesy visit to the NEXT newsroom on Monday,
May 3. Accompanied by the nominees in the Next Rated category of the
awards, their mission was to acknowledge the support of the media in
their operations.

The Next-rated

From the Hip Hop
World Awards team were founder and executive producer of the awards Ayo
Animashaun, Kingsley James, James Silas and Nike Fagbile.

Presenting the
team, Adekunle Ayeni of AYENI Entertainment said, “Our focus here is to
share the idea and the dream with you and see how we can move the dream
forward.” It was the first stop in a series of scheduled visits to
media houses across the country.

“What we’ve done is
to bring all the nominees for [the NEXT Rated] category. This is about
the most important category at the award. It is not the biggest
category but it is about the most important because (it features)
talents who are just on the verge of breaking out big. It is the only
category that has a prize: a brand new car.”

In the category are
dancehall star General Pype, Jesse Jagz (younger brother to MI and now
an artist in his own right), D’ Prince (younger brother to top producer
Don Jazzy of Mo’Hits), Skuki and female rapper Mo’Chedda.

Going global

The organizers also
sought the continued support of the media towards delivering a
world-class awards ceremony. James Silas of the awards publicity and
marketing team said, “Like every award out there the HHWA are not
properly funded. We have great ideas, we have things that we think will
blow everybody’s mind but we don’t have the support most of the time,
like we desire from the corporate world.

“The MTV awards,
the Oscars that you see and you applaud so highly have very serious
budgets behind them and if we have corporate people come together to
support us, we’ll be able to put (up) that kind of award in Nigeria,
irrespective of our infrastructural underdevelopment, and put Nigeria
on the map. You’ll agree with me that these gentlemen (and lady) have
put Nigeria on the map much more than most people on the other side of
the world and so they need all the encouragement that they can get from
the awards, from people like you and from the reporting that you do.”

Animashaun,
publisher of the Hip Hop World Magazine, said he was very excited about
the Next Rated category. “The way our industry is structured, a lot of
young talented artists, who want to achieve success in entertainment
don’t have the right opportunity. Talent is not enough in Nigeria. This
platform is very important for us to actually really identify some
promising artists in the year in review and encourage them and reward
them. When I look at the face of nominees sometimes, I just wish they
were all winners. But they are winners, that’s why some of us don’t say
“and the winner is…,” we say “the award goes to…” But once you are
nominated you are a winner already.”

A friendly category

For the nominees it
was a good publicity run and a form of encouragement for and
endorsement of their budding careers. Sole female member of Knighthouse
Crew, Mo’Chedda said, “It’s difficult when we as artists work so hard
(with little recognition) and listening to what [has been] said just
touched me that, ‘Okay, there’s someone listening.’ I’m going to keep
working because even if I don’t win this award, I’ve been acknowledged.”

Speaking mostly in
his Jamaican Patois ‘Champion’ singer General Pype encouraged all the
nominees to “keep the champion flag flying.”

Hot on the scene
with his debut album, ‘Jagz Of All Trades’, the hip-hop artist Jesse
Jagz, “When we went for the nomination and I saw the other names there,
I cried. I was depressed for a very long time because I think for me
this has been the toughest Next Rated category. It is an honour to be
on the list. It’s a lot of work for those of us who have been nominated
whether we win or not. Also I think it’s the only award where you get
to prove you are worthy of the award after you have won it.”

Mo’ Hits D’ Prince
considered it “a thing of joy for us to be nominated in the category
because we don’t think that there are people who actually watch and
listen to what we do.” Hinting at the absence of bad blood and the
nominees, D’ Prince said, “From General Pype to Jesse Jagz, they are
all my friends. I just feel that it’s a friendly category.”

For the brothers
Skuki, their selection was a seal of approval. “To whom much is given,
much is expected. This goes a long way for us and we see it as
encouragement.” The duo spoke of their disappointment at not being
invited to the 2008 edition because then they were relatively unknowns.
Their determination however drove them to improve on their act, hence
their nomination for this year’s awards. “It’s a dream come true,” they
said.

Street credibility

Whether their dream
of winning comes true remains to be seen as the winner of the Next
Rated category is determined solely by music fans. Animashaun said,
“It’s up to your fans out there to vote. Learn from other people’s
experiences. Don’t feel too cool that you are known. Some people just
make the mistake and take it for granted. Whoever wins, wins.”

To all those who
might want to doubt the credibility of the winner, Animashaun was quick
to point out that while some categories are determined by popularity,
others depend solely on the quality of the nominated material. “We
strive to be credible at what we do and at every opportunity I have
I’ll try to remind people that in 2006 when Don Jazzy won ‘Producer of
the Year’, he was new in Nigeria. OJB had overwhelming popularity and
rather than consider popularity, we checked the material in the year in
review. Don Jazzy won and even when he won the award, he was so
embarrassed that he dedicated the award to other artists in the
category,” Animashaun said.

“Years down the
line, you can point to Don Jazzy and see whether he’s a good producer
or a bad one, so for us, we don’t care about what is popular, we care
about what is credible.”

Omawumi, Asa and Wande Coal are just some of the previous winners of the category whose careers have since skyrocketed.

In the case of MI,
Animashaun said many of those who initially felt the lad was not worthy
of the ‘Next Rated’ award later called the organiser to praise MI’s
talent. “This category, we are not in charge (of), our fans (are), so
please let them vote for you.” according to the organisers, fans can
vote via SMS or online.

The artists in the
category already see it as a “friendly” one since most of them have
already featured in some form of collaboration or the other. It is
however up to the fans to vote their best man or woman in a credible
contest of the most popular upcoming artist.

The Hip-Hop World Awards hold on May 29 at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.