MTV Africa Music Awards Nominees Party Experience

An invitation landed in my inbox the other day for the MAMA nominees party and Wednesday night the party went down at a swanky spot in Sandton, Johannesburg. The glitterati and hanger-ons  cracked the invite and filled the venue to capacity. 

The event started over an hour late, much to my annoyance since I was freezing... yeah winter has reared its ugly head in Jozi. The fact that the venue was an open plan space with just marquees did not help much. 

Anyway, I was welcomed warmly by the PR team and for the most part, I was ok throughout the wait. 

The show eventually started after 21h00 with Sizwe Dlomo and Nomuzi as our hosts. Dlomo was his usual suave self which left much of the comedic lines and interaction with the guest to Nomuzi. 

Fashion 7/10

Most of the guests made an effort. You watch MTV Base and you think an event hosted by the channel will be filled with these colourful yo-yo-wassup-ma-man type. This was a pleasant surprise. The ladies and guys put on their best and looked great. 

Unfortunately, as entertaining as Nomuzi was, I could not get over the catastrophe that was her outfit. My lawd ... this is where someone more harsh would say FIRE YOUR STYLIST, GURL!! but I am a nice guy and support hustlers in this business so I will offer an advice instead; 

Dear Nomuzi, you are a gorgeous girl and yes you are still new at this, however, DO NOT ever only try on an outfit at the venue. I refuse to believe that you fitted that skirt prior to the evening and still went ahead with it unless you had no choice. 

Nomuzi's skirt was so tight and ill-fitting that I worried that the slit would tear up everytime she tried to dance. Had the outfit been tailored correctly, it would have made a statement. As it was on the night, it made the WRONG statement. 

Best Dressed Guy: Theo - Ok, clearly Theo is someone who cares about what he puts on and it shows. No celebrity guy does colour blocking like this gentleman. He is not a chiseled guy but the tailoring of his suits is perfect for his body type. He looked immaculate, clean and well put-together. 

Wink Worthy Guy: Donald - Thank Gawd, he is toning down on the costume-y jackets that he wears on the red carpet a lot. This time around he chose to keep it simple with black but still exuded that crooner charm he wears so well on his face. I think Donald finally gets that guys, unlike girls, do not need their clothes to make a statement for them. Perfectly tailored suit, well grooming and confidence will sell the look every time. 

Best Dressed Female: Babalwa Mneno - Gurl whatever you are on these days, stick to it because you look stunning. You looked like a star should when they attend a red carpet event. Not too dressy because this was a party not an award show but still classy and sophisticated. Lime green and white, perfect complimentary hues.

Wink Worthy Female: Farah Fortune - That coat, the hidden short underneath (don't ask how I spotted them) and those shoes... HAWT!!

Ambiance/Atmosphere

The Sands works perfectly as a summer event venue. For a cold evening, it was not the best place to be if you were not appropriately dressed for the weather.

The booze at the 2 bars flowed from what I could deduce from the excitement of the groupies I spotted at the event. I am cutting down on overindulging in alcohol so I had only three trips to the bar for the night. 

The performances were great. Mafikizolo did Mafikizolo... I mean... they sang, Theo danced, people questioned his straight-ness... nothing new there. 

What was supposed to be the main act of the night, turned out to be rowdy mess. UHURU we likely nodded to be the highlight of the evening with their performance of the hugely popular "Tchukutja" song. 

The "main" act featured a performance by the original singer of the Tjukutja song and they were supposed to be followed by Uhuru with their version. 

Problem? The Angolan stars just do not know when to stop when they have attention. While their dancers certainly gave an exciting performance, at first, after what seemed like forever gyrating on stage, I got a bit tired of it. 

The fact that the dancers returned on stage to interrupt Uhuru's performance as well, just spoiled what had the potential to be a very interesting merger of Angolan-SouthAfrican music fusion experience. 

I was saddened by the lead singer of Uhuru. The group has the biggest song in the country, are they not making any money? The guy was wearing an old Levi's jean which had clearly been scotched by the sun a few too many times... and those worn-out WHITE converse All-Star sneakers with BLACK socks left a sour note on my fashion and style radar.

He did not look like a number one selling musician, at all. If you were driving in and he was standing outside the gate, one would have easily mistaken him for a car guard. I know, not everyone cares about clothes but the distinction between Yuri Da Cuhna with his dancers and Uhuru was glaringly apparent. They looked like performers, Uhuru looked like ba zama nje.  

Overall

I had an awesome time. I was not particularly out to party because I had had a long day but I enjoyed being there. The waiters were very attentive, the company was awesome, the guests made an effort to look good, the rain threatened to spoil the even but stayed at bay and the evening was just superb. 

Thank you to MTV Base and Absolut Vodka for hosting us. A very special THANK YOU to DNA Brand Architects for the invite. 

Pictures Credit: Ozzitronics