YAMAs set for April

Sharon Mathala
ROYALTY: King Bee and Queen B on stage at the YAMAS 2019

Nominees to be unveiled next week

The wait is finally over. Despite the rumour mill suggesting they might not happen, the date for one of Botswana entertainment’s most celebrated nights, the Yarona FM Music Awards (YAMAs) has finally been set.

The radio station announced this year’s date for the night of glitz and glam will be April 25.

Additionally, the nominees for the awards, which are now in their sixth year running, will be released next Wednesday.

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Catching up with Voice Entertainment, the station’smanager, Kelly Ramputswa was quick to squash any talk of the YAMAs being cancelled.

“We have just moved it by a couple of months. I don’t know why people would suggest there will be no awards. There is an explanation for the delay; we, as Yarona FM, celebrate 20 years since we first went on air. So we wanted to have a YAMAs experience that reflects just that, our 20 years in the industry,” she explained in a brief interview.

The station manager, who refused to share the budget for the event, further declared, “We wanted to go bigger and better so we had to wait and plan this out perfectly.”

Pundits have pointed to 2019 as a relatively quiet year for local music, lacking in any major hits.

It remains to be seen whoYarona FM select as the top achievers.

Ramputswa further confirmed this year’s editionwill maintain the same categories.

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She also revealed that this time around they have decided to stick with a local MC for the night.

Last year, the main attraction- who was to famously have troubles with her outfit – was South African TV starBonangMatheba, who hosted the awards alongside Yarona FM presenter,King Bee (LeungoPitse).

Some of the big names expected to feature in the nominees list include: Ban T, Veezo View, MMP Family, ATI, Ski Mask, Ozi F Teddy, DJ Kuchi, Amantle Brown and Shabba Stele to name but a few.

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