Zim hip-hop awards revamped

By Tafadzwa Zimoyo

Despite criticism and controversy, organisers of the Zim Hip-Hop Awards have promised a bigger and better show this year, and said they are soldering on with the help of their partners.

This year’s ninth edition will be held on December 13, under the theme, “Culture over Everything” with nomination submission deadline announced as October 31.

In an interview with The Herald Arts, event organiser Aldrin “Beefy” Harrison said preparations for this year’s show have begun.

“This year’s event is definitely bigger than previous years. We have taken a lot of time to prepare for the ninth edition. We took all criticism, and invested time and resources in making it a memorable event.

“I have no doubt, a lot of other awards will take a few ideas from this year’s ceremony, as we are bringing in unique untapped concepts to the local entertainment scene. You can also expect surprise guests, and I am optimistic that it will be top notch,” he said.

He revealed that he chose the theme, “Culture over Everything” because culture is the most relevant thing in hip-hop. “For an artiste to understand the genre they need to know the culture behind it. Culture over everything means without culture there is no genre. There is going to be a red carpet affair, with hosts being announced in due course,” he said. Harrison said funding had been a challenge, but they were slowly making progress in securing adequate funds to host the event.

“We appeal to the corporate world for more support. We have engaged a new publicity and events team, currently under training as we speak,” he said.

He said he was happy with submissions and how artistes were responding to the call. The Herald