Nathi Mankayi Wins BIG At the 2016 SAMAs

Nathi Mankayi, whose album Buyelekhaya and single Nomvula sent the nation into a collective swoon last year, scooped five awards at #SAMA22 – for Best R&B/Soul/Reggae Album, Best Newcomer (supported by Apple Music), Best Male Artist, Best-selling Full-track Music Download and Best-selling Album of the Year.

Nipping at the young Eastern Cape-born hitmaker’s missed out on the highly contested Amstel Record of the Year award, the only public voting category of the night, which went to 'Roll Up' by Emtee, after South Africa’s avid music fans scrambled to vote using the #SAMA22 USSD platform ahead of the cut-off time during the awards ceremony.

“We extend our warmest congratulations to all the nominees and victors, but in truth, South African music was the real winner here tonight,” said an elated Refiloe Ramogase, CEO of the South African Music Awards.

“The quality of the recordings and live performances celebrated at #SAMA22 bears testimony to the fact that South African music is in a highly innovative, world-beating and dynamic place at the moment. It certainly appears that the sky’s the limit for our exceptional community of South African musicians.”

The awards, which were held for the first time in eThekwini, saw an array of spectacular live performances and electrifying mash-ups that kept the energy levels and anticipation at fever pitch throughout the evening. The ceremony was broadcast live on SABC1.

❤️🙏🏽❤️🙏🏽thank you to every one for the support for #sama22

A photo posted by Nathi Mankayi (@nathi_mankayi) on Jun 4, 2016 at 11:42pm PDT

The results for the 22nd Annual South African Music Awards, organised by RiSA, were independently audited by SizweNtsalubaGobodo.

Huge congratulations to Nathi. The former convict is a true inspiration to a lot of South Africans on how you can always change your life and use your talent for good.