The nominees for the 2023 Trace Awards have been released ahead of the award ceremony, which will take place on October 21, 2023, in Kigali, Rwanda, with Ugandan artists Azawi, Levixon, and Ghetto Kids among those nominated.
This is going to be the inaugural Trace Awards, with platinum-selling artists competing in 22 award categories from more than 30 countries in Africa, South America, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, and Europe. Whereas most nominations came from West Africa, with Nigeria leading the list, Uganda is represented in three categories.
Ugandan songbird Azawi is nominated in the best newcomer category, and she will battle it out with Kry M from Cameroon, Roseline Layo from Ivory Coast, and Nissi from Nigeria.
In the Best Gospel category, Levixon is nominated alongside Benjamin Dube from South Africa, Janet Otieno from Kenya, KS Bloom from Ivory Coast, and Moses Bliss from Nigeria.
The Ugandan ghetto kids are nominated in the Best Dancer category, with Robot Boi from South Africa, Tayc from France, Yemi Alade from Nigeria, and Zuchu from Tanzania as competitors.
Afrobeats, dancehall, hip hop, mbalax, amapiano, zouk, kizomba, genge, coupé décalé, bongo flava, soukous, gospel, rap, rai, kompa, R&B, and rumba music genres will be honoured.
The live event and global television extravaganza will honour the originality, talent, and influence of African and Afro-inspired music and culture. It will be live streamed to 500 million people in 190 countries.
The purpose of the Trace Awards, according to the organisers, is to create an award for Africans by Africans that celebrates Africa’s greatness and variety across genres.
