WATCH: Kabza De Small rocks crowd at Metro FM Awards pre-party

Ahead of the Metro FM Awards, one of the leading nominees, Kabza De Small, stole the show at the event’s pre-party.

The likes of Lamiez Holworthy and GalXBoy also performed.

Watch: Kabza De Small playing at Metro FM Awards pre-party

The pre-party took place at The Prestige Lifestyle Grand in Mpumalanga. The awards take place on Saturday evening at Mbombela Stadium

Kabza has been nominated for five categories at Saturday’s Metro FM Awards. The awards are themed Black To The Future, which is a celebration of the achievements and contributions of black artists in the music industry.

Kabza De Small received nominations for Best Produced Album, Best Collaboration, Song of the Year, Best Amapiano – all the for the song Imithandazo featuring Mthunzi. He was also nominated for Best Male Artist.

Grammy Award winning Tyla leads the pack with six nominations at this year’s Metro FM Awards. All her nominations are for the song Water.

Tyla is nominated in the coveted Song of the Year, Best Female Artist, Best R&B, Best Music Video, Best Viral Challenge and Artist of the Year.

Watch: Metro FM Awards pre-party

SABC Group Executive for Radio Nada Wotshela said viewers should expect to see the best of South Africa’s entertainment industry.

“Tonight our viewers and listeners can only expect the best of South African entertainment. We have a lot in store for them. The event is really growing; we have more sponsors, we sold more tickets. Our theme ‘Black To The Future’ has been embraced.”

ALSO READ: Tyla leading the way with six nominations at 2024’s Metro FM Awards

More prize money

The Metro FM Awards are supported by the Mpumalanga Provincial Government, in association with the Motsepe Foundation.

In the effort to add more value to the awards, the winners of each category will receive R50 000.

The Song of the Year winner will walk away with R150 000, courtesy of the Motsepe Foundation. Santam is sponsoring the Best New Artist category.

Metro FM business manager Kina Nhlengethwa described the awards as “a platform where artists, both established and emerging, showcase their passion and talent, igniting a symphony of inspiration and creativity.

“Beyond the glitz and glamour, these awards embody the relentless pursuit of excellence and the unwavering dedication to craft.”

ALSO READ: Kabza’s songs given a classic twist in collaboration with orchestra conductor

Kabza collaboration

Kabza De Small, synonymous with the amapiano genre, recently teamed up with music conductor Ofentse Pitse to create a “sonic experience”.

“[It’s] two worlds coming together. Hearing new renditions of their favourite songs from my catalogue, it already sounds amazing. It’ll be a sonic experience,” the award-winning DJ told The Citizen.

The collaboration between Kabza and Pitse came through Red Bull Symphonic, which is based on a novel collaboration between a modern-style artist and a classical music director, together with a full-scale symphonic orchestra.

“Amapiano is a complex genre, but in its purest form, it’s quite minimalistic in terms of the music. Some of the forms repeat themselves, you can even liken it to have a Sonata form, especially Kabza’s music,” Pitse said.

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