Ahram - Egyptian rapper and producer Marwan Moussa has been voted Best African Rapper and Best Artist in African Hip-Hop at the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) 2022 edition that concluded Sunday in Senegal’s capital Dakar.
Initially, Marwan Moussa was given Breakout Artist of the Year award, before the organizers "rectified" the situation by awarding it to Nigerian star Asake instead. This ambiguity caused an ongoing confusion to a number of local and Arab newspapers and TV channels. The Egyptian artist himself shared many stories on Instagram about his trio-trophies.
Moussa, 28, won his two awards for Batal Alam ("World Champion") which enjoyed great success since its release last summer, gaining over 13 million views on YouTube alone and becoming a favourite TikTok sound.
Due to his absence, Marwan Moussa’s two trophies were received by Moroccan singer Faouzia, who saluted both him and Egyptian and North African music artists and fans. Faouzia herself has also been voted for Best Female Artist in Northern Africa and Best African Act in Diaspora in the female category.
Marwan Moussa, who has released a number of albums, is most known for his album Sheraton. His album Florida, which he released last year, kept its place among the top listens on Spotify; a platform that named Moussa the third most listened-to artist in the Arab region in 2022, after Wegz and ElGrandeToto.
The rapper Wegz has been among the nominees for this 2022 edition, as well as other popular Egyptian artists like Ahmed Saad, Ali Loka, Cairokee’s Amir Eid, Disco Misr and Ruby.
Other winners include Nigerian singer Burna Boy , who won Artist of the Year and Album of the Year, and Ivorian rapper Didi B who won Song of The Year award for ‘Tala’.
AFRIMA’s four-day event hosted performances by African popular musicians such as Nigeria’s P-Square and Tiwa Savage, Mali’s Rokia Kone and Senegalese singers Youssou N’dour and Baaba Maal.
Backed by numerous sponsors and partners, AFRIMA aims to “connect African musicians to global markets while embracing the continent’s cultural diversity and heritage,” according to the organizers.
More than 9,000 entries were submitted for this year’s contest, the highest since its inception in 2014. The winners beat out more than 380 entries in 39 categories representing five regions in Africa as well as the diaspora.
AFRIMA hasn't yet updated the full winners list on its official website.
