Riky Rick sparks Metro Awards controversy

The coastal city of Durban was abuzz with celebrities, thanks to the 16th leg of the annual Metro FM Music Awards. Controversial record label and artist management stable Mabala Noise was the talk of the town.

That’s because its talent scooped most of the awards on Saturday night. Mabala artists, including Kelly Khumalo, Nasty C and style icon and rapper Riky Rick, dominated the categories for which they were nominated.

But it was Riky Rick’s speech during his acceptance for the Best Hit Single award that raised red flags regarding the credibility of the ceremony.

The rapper mentioned how the ceremony was questionable, and that viewers were aware it was rigged. But the rapper did not stop there, he took his rant to social media platform Twitter.

“If n**gaz can pay for these f**king awards, then my nigga, I don’t want them,” his first tweet read. This was followed with the comment: “Stop playing with the people… we not stupid …”

This sent the rumour mill grinding about how Mabala Noise had allegedly sponsored a whopping R10 million towards the Metro FM awards, resulting in the record label’s artists owning the spotlight on the night.

This resulted in EFF leader Julius Malema and his party’s spokesperson, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, joining the conversation. Ndlozi’s tweet read: “So in short, Riky Rick is saying he got the award because Mabala Noise’s money gave it to him? #MMA16.”

Later, Mabala golden boy Nasty C bagged the coveted Song of the Year award.