Trace Awards to honour African music stars | City Press

By wazup on September 7, 2023 Comments Closed / 72 views

Top African acts are set to bring the house down at this year’s inaugural Trace Awards. Photo: Supplied

African music and other Afro-inspired music genres will be under the spotlight next month as popular global music channel Trace launches its first awards in celebration of its 20th anniversary.

Since the channel’s launch, Trace has been the biggest cheerleader for African musicians, giving them a voice and allowing them to tape into collaborations with fellow creatives from across the continent.

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Music and dance have always been the common denominator for Africans regardless of which part of the continent they hail from.

A platform such as Trace has done a lot to educate Africans about one another’s creative cultures and different music making ways using their diverse and unique cultures that exist in every African country.

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Benjamin Dube, who is right up there with the Kirk Franklins of the world, is on the list of performers at the awards. Having spent the past four decades putting South Africa gospel on the map, the award-winning church minister is a multi-talented gospel powerhouse who plays multiple instruments in addition to singing and producing music.

His genre of music appeals to older audiences but his unique sound has younger gospel lovers praising and worshipping at the top of their voices as well. Then there is 31-year-old Cape Verdean sensation Soraia Ramos who will also grace the awards. Ramos has been defying the “RnB is dead” misconception since 2019.

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Before capturing global music fans with her infusion of RnB and Kizomba sounds, Ramos earned first place in Switzerland’s Voices of the Diaspora Competition back in 2010. Nigerian artist and global favorite Davido, who recently collaborated with Mzansi’s own Musa Keys, is probably one of the biggest headliners for the inaugural awards. The “Coolest kid in Africa” was listed in New African magazine as one of the most influential Africans four years ago.

This is hardly surprising as Davido has been using the platform granted to him by his music career to give a voice to African human rights.

The Trace Awards will broadcast live on October 21 on the Trace TV channels, radio, digital channels and on global streaming platforms, national terrestrial TV and satellite channels.