This Week In The Khuta – Local is lekker

I think I have fallen back in love with our local music industry, after being turned off by the silly drama and beef amongst the artists. The industry has grown so much since the time Gazza and The Dogg tried to kill each other.
I remember a time when Gazza and The Dogg were the only well-known artists in the country and when the industry was all about Kwaito, Damara Punch and traditional music. But now we have R&B, Hip Hop, Oviritje and many other previously unrecognised music genres. I also remember a time when Gal Level, Lady May, The Dogg and Gazza were the only artists with good quality music videos.
The industry has evolved so much, it is no longer only about GMP and Mshasho. These two music labels now have tough competition from new comers such as Exit and Mushe, Cyberspace, Dixon, Fresh Family, the 061 Crew, Adora, Vanity and Streetkidz, to name but a few. These artists are giving the bigwigs in the industry a run for their money, not only with the quality of their music but the quality of their music videos too.
The local music industry has evolved so much that some of our material is being compared to the likes of Jay-Z, Kanye West and other well-known international artists. People like me who had lost faith in the music industry, are anxious to find out who made it to this year’s final nomination list for the Namibian Annual Music Awards (NAMAs).
Ever since MTC and NBC hosted the first NAMAs, the music industry has been bursting with new life. Some artists who were inclined to stir up drama, seem to have forgotten about causing trouble and are  now concentrating on making good quality music instead. The NAMAs are exactly what this music industry needed, we should embrace, respect and promote them.
The Namibian music industry has officially made its mark. MTC and NBC did their part, now it is time for us as Namibians to support our artists buy buying their albums, and attending local shows to help keep this industry alive and help it grow to the level of the international music industry.
MTC recently announced that it received a total of 781 entries for the 2012 NAMAs with 324 entries being disqualified. Next week the mobile giant will make public the names of the finalists of the second NAMAs, I cannot wait to see who has made it on to that list.  I hope that everyone will accept the final list of nominations and that no one will make a mountain out of a molehill. I also hope that MTC has learnt from previous mistakes and will ensure that this time around, everything will run as smoothly as possible.
The prizes are interesting and I am sure each and every artist is hoping and praying that he/she gets nominated in the categories they entered. We as Namibians should embrace local music, we should promote it and help keep the music industry alive. I would like to wish all the artists good luck for next week.
I am a proud local music supporter.