Rwandan artists including Bruce Melodie, Ariel Wayz and Chriss Eazy are among the contestants for the TRACE Awards which will be held in Kigali Rwanda in October this year.
Trace announced that in a fitting tribute to the host country for the inaugural Trace Awards, Rwandan artists come to the fore in Best Rwandan Artist, highlighting the talent of Rwandan musicians Bruce Melodie, Kenny Sol, Ariel Wayz, Bwiza and Chriss Eazy.
Also representing the East Africa, Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz notches up several nominations, including Best Male and Best Music Video, while Azawi, Lexivone and the Uganda Ghetto Kids represent Uganda.
A press release on Monday, August 21, 2023 revealed that 22 award categories are platinum-selling artists from more than thirty countries in Africa, South America, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean and Europe including Algeria, Angola, Brazil, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Comoros, DRC, France, French Guiana, Gabon, Ghana, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Martinique, Mayotte, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Reunion, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tunisia, the UK and Uganda.
At the top of these awards, West African artists are leading the nominations particularly Nigerian artists, with over 40 nominations in total, including multiple nominations for Burna Boy, Ayra Starr, Davido, WizKid, Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Fireboy DML and Rema.
The management of Trace announced that the contribution of female artists has not been forgotten in multiple categories including Best Female Artist, where Cape Verde’s Soraia Ramos is competing against Josey from the Ivory Coast, Senegal’s Viviane Chidid, Kenya’s Nadia Mukami and the double threat of Tiwa Savage and Arya Starr (Nigeria).
Francophone music and artists also take their fair share of the accolades with 10 nominations including Didi B from Ivory Coast, Libianca from Cameroon, Fally Ipupa from DRC among the others.
Trace Awards will be preceded by a two-day festival from October 19-20, 2023, which will take place at Camp Kigali, while the main award ceremony will take place on October 21, 2023 at BK Arena.
It will also feature performances from the biggest African and Afro-descent artistes in the world with about 7,500 music fans, musicians, opinion formers, style-setters and influencers from Africa and around the globe.
Trace Awards & Festival will coincide with the 20th anniversary of Trace Group’s operations in various countries around the world in partnership with Visit Rwanda and QA Venue Solutions Rwanda, the venue management company of BK Arena.
Targeted at lovers of African and Afro-inspired music and culture, the Trace Awards will broadcast live on 21 October 2023 on Trace TV, radio and digital channels and on global streaming platforms, national terrestrial TV and satellite channels. The viewership and social interaction is expected to exceed 500 million fans in 190 countries.
