Kuami Eugene’s Most Promising Artiste on the African continent win opened the door to usher in the rest of the awards Ghana bagged on the night.

The rest of the artistes who made Ghana proud on Saturday are Stonebwoy; Best Artiste, Duo or Group in African Ragga, Reggae and Dancehall, Sarkodie’s Glory won him Best Male Artiste in African Inspirational Music while KiDi won the Best Artiste in African Contemporary category.

That is not all, Guilty Beatz’s Akwaaba compilation featuring Mr Eazi, Pappy Kojo and Patapaa took home two awards — Best African Collaboration and Song of the Year.

And Shatta Wale’s Gringo video directed by Nigeria’s Sesan won the Best Video Award while rapper, M.anifest won the Best African Hiphop Artiste with Me Ne Woaa which featured King Promise.

Nigeria’s Davido won the Ultimate African Artiste of the Year.

Late start

Although the main event was scheduled to start at 7.30 p.m. after a three-hour Red Carpet session, it was not until almost 9.00 p.m. when it took off which did not go down well for most patrons.

However, when it finally did, the first performance, a beautiful choreography championing African unity and growth, compensated for the nearly two hours late start.

There were other great performances from South Africa’s Yvonne Chaka Chaka who also received the African Legend Award, Nigeria’s Tu Baba, Fally Ipula, Mr Real, Ethiopia’s Betty G, King Promise, Wiyaala, Morocco’s Hamza El Fadly, Uganda’s Bebe and Togo’s Too Fan.

Ghana’s young disc jockey, DJ Switch, also thrilled patrons to good sounds from her turntables at the event, which was hosted by Ghanaian-born US comedian, Michael Blackson, South Africa’s TV personality, Pearl Thusi and Ghana’s media personality, Anita Erskine.

Teddy Osei

One of the emotional moments at the event was when a special recognition award was given to one of Ghana’s ace musicians, Teddy Osei, leader of the famous Osibisa group, an Afropop band created in 1969.

The well-attended AFRIMA 2018 was graced by the Second Lady of Ghana, Mrs Samira Bawumia, Mrs Catherine Afeku, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, government officials, AFRIMA nominees and delegates, African Union officials, members of the International Committee of AFRIMA, the media, among others.

AFRIMA is an annual award show established by the International Committee AFRIMA, in collaboration with the African Union(AU), to reward and celebrate musical works, talents and creativity around the African continent while promoting the African cultural heritage.

The event has been held in Lagos, Nigeria since it was established in 2014.

This year is the first time Ghana is hosting the event, which was organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.