NAMA nomination: Freeman elated

By Shingirirayi Mugodi

Zim dancehall sensation Freeman is over the moon over his first ever National Arts Merit Awards nomination.

The HKD boss, who has been in the game for eight years, is vying for the Outstanding Song and Outstanding album categories.

The event will be held at HICC on February 29 where 37 gongs are up for grabs from 120 nominees who submitted over 1000 entries.

In an interview, Freeman could not hide his elation.

“Honestly, when I started singing I never got this kind of recognition before and I am over the moon because of the current nominations that I got,” he said.

He said the nomination for the NAMAs was worth remembering in his entire singing career.

“I am very happy that I worked hard enough to get this nomination.

“First it was the Zimbabwe Music Awards and now it is the NAMA.

“I have been getting many different awards like those ghetto awards but this time getting nominated for something as big as the NAMA shows that I have been working very hard,” he said.

Asked how he was going to ensure that he maintains his touch, he said:

“I cannot promise anything as you know that in the music industry you can wake up trending today and tomorrow things change.

“I have my own way of doing things but I cannot expose that.

“The music industry is very different but I will do all that I can to ensure that I continue getting recognised like this.

“I have been in the music industry for eight years now and getting nominated for the NAMA is great.”

Freeman said that 2019 was his year as an artiste despite the intense competition.

“2019 was one of my years as I worked hard and managed to score two NAMA nominations,” he said.

On what is in store for his fans this year, he added:

“I always make sure that every year I release an album.

“Now I am working on a second album that will come out in August, the same time that my Gango album came out.” H-Metro