METRO FM MUSIC AWARDS FINALISTS ANNOUNCEMENT - 2013

Johannesburg, 16 January 2013- The 2013 METRO FM Music Awards Finalists announcement, was held earlier today at a cocktail event at Summerplace,  in Johannesburg.

The nominees, the industry and the media were invited to witness which artists have made it as finalists in this year’s awards.  Given the fact that the awards did not take place last November as it is the norm, the Finalists announcement was highly anticipated.  Metro FM being a station that celebrates local music, the guests were entertained by South Africa’s sensation and talented DJ Black Coffee, followed by DJ Ganyani and last but not least, the hilarious, ever colourful and  energetic Dr Malinga.

The MC’s at the event were our very own smooth Wiliam Lehong, The Black Chinese Guy, of the Pyajama Party Show and the ever so classy Azania Mosaka who presents Total Bliss weekdays on METRO FM.  Needless to say they did a sterling job.

The voting lines will open at 24:00 on the 17^th of January 2013 for the public to vote for their favourite artists to win the most coveted award, a Metro FM Award this year.  Remember to sms category name and favourite artist to 34764.  The voting lines will then close at 11:59 on the 17^th of February 2013.

The METRO FM Awards 2013 Finalists are as follows:

Best Top 5 African Pop Album: Moneoa: Coming from, Going To Berita: Conquering Spirit Maleh: Step Child Malik: Music in Love Unathi: With Love	Best Top 5 Hip Hop Album: Pro: Continua Shugasmakx: The Shugafactory (One Word) Teargas:Number Number Zakwe: Zakwe Khuli Chana: Lost in Time
Best Top 5 Compilation Album: QT: Quantised Vol.6 Kalawa Jazmee 2012: Pre Release Fistaz Mixwell: Mixwell Addictive DJ Claude: Stereo Candy Euphonik: Total Blackout	Best Top 5 Contemporary Jazz Album: Berita: Conquering Spirit Lulu Dikana: This is the life Maleh: Step Child Mbuso Khoza: Zilindile Ndoh Dlamini: Sekusile
Best Top 5 Produced Album: Toya Delazy: Due Drop Donald: Train of Love Lulu Dikana: This is the Life Zonke: Ina Ethe Kabomo: Memory Remain	Best Top 5 Kwaito Album: Lvovo Derrango: The Headmaster Tokollo: Heist Brickz: Ruffcast Professor: Orientation Kabelo Mabalane: Immortal Vol.2
Best Top 5 Dance Album: Dj Pepsi: Royal House Dj Tira: Ezase Afro Vol.2 Donald:Train of Love Glen Lewis: Sgubu Samampela Revolution: Evolution	Best Top 5 Male Album: Donald: Train of Love Kabomo: Memory Remains Khuli Chana: Lost in Time Professor: The Orientation Zakwe: Zakwe
Best Top 5 Female Album: Zonke: Ina Ethe Toya Delazy: Due Drop Unathi: With Love Moneoa: Coming From, Going To Lulu Dikana: This is the Life	Best Top 5 Newcomer: Moneoa: Coming From, Going To Toya Delazy: Due Drop Zakwe: Zakwe The Muffinz: Have your heard Khaya: For You
Best Top 5 Group Album: Crazy White Boy: Zoma Jaziel Brothers: The Journey Defined Revolution: Evolution The Muffinz: Have you heard? Amon & Thato: Recipe No.1	Best Top 5 R&B Album: Kabomo: Memory Remains Brian Temba: TIMT (This Is My Time) Lloyd Cele: No Limits Jamela: All the way Bryce Anderson: Ready for the world
Best Top 6 for the Song of the Year: DJ Zinhle: My name is (Zinhle) Fistaz Mixwell: Hade Mabebeza Oskido: Tsa Mandebele Zonke: Feelings Lvovo Derrango: Palesa DJ Tira: 4000	Best Top 5 Styled Artist/Group: CamaGwini: Rebirth Donald: Train of Love Nandi: Nandi Toya Delazy: Due Drop Unathi: With Love
Best Top 5 Hit Single: HHP: Bosso AKA: Jealousy DJ Vetkuk vs Mahoota: Stokvel Donald: Deserve Fistaz Mixwell: Hade Mabebeza	Best Urban Gospel Album: Hlengiwe Mhlaba: Abba Abba Jabu Hlongwanwe: Crosspower 2 Loyiso Bala: Love Complete Reedemed: God is Able Solly Mahlangu: Mwamba Mwamba
Best Top 5 Music Video: AKA: Jealousy Micasa: La Vida Unathi: Kwanolali Donald: Deserve Jullian Gomes: Love Song 28	Best Top 5 Collaboration of the Year Riot: Thetha Nami Kabomo: Plenty babies Khuli Chana: Tswa Daar Miza: Feeling Tokollo: Sgub'Sam

Congratulations to all the finalists of this year’s Metro FM Music Awards!

Ends

JubJub in horror smash

By Alex Eliseev, Lebogang Seale, Solly Maphumulo and Shaun Smillie

Ian Mthombeni was led to the four bodies lying in the tall grass. A silver space blanket was lifted and his knees buckled. The father stared into the dead face of his 16-year-old son and let out a wail.

Andile, a Grade 11 pupil at Altmont Technical High School, was one of four boys killed yesterday while walking home from school - mowed down by an out-of-control car.

The boys were killed when a Mini Cooper crashed off the road and rolled into the grass. According to witnesses and metro police officers at the scene, the Mini was racing against another Mini Cooper down Protea Boulevard, which runs between Protea Glen and Protea North.
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Joburg metro police confirmed that one of the drivers of the vehicles was musician JubJub Maarohanye, Mama Jackey's son. Both drivers were arrested.

It appears a charcoal-coloured Mini was speeding past a blue one when it encountered an oncoming vehicle. In a bid to get back into its lane, it crashed into the blue Mini and sent it hurtling off the road.

The blue car rolled about 10 metres before coming to a rest on its roof. The charcoal one also swerved off the road and stopped a metre from the tarmac, at 90 degrees to the road.

The accident happened around 4pm, and a further three boys were rushed to hospital as priority one - a term used by medics to determine the seriousness of patients. Neither driver was seriously injured.

Mthombeni doesn't know, or doesn't remember, who called him to tell him about the crash. "I'm not sure," he kept saying.

Mthombeni rushed to the scene and waited to be led to the bodies. A chaplain spoke to him and put a hand on his shoulder. It was at about 5.40pm that his nightmare was confirmed.

Standing among the bodies, Mthombeni lost his strength for a moment and was helped up by the chaplain. School shoes, hats and bags were scattered at his feet.

Grey school trousers and arms protruded from the space blanket.

Mthombeni was taken away and sat on the pavement across the street. He buried his face in his hands and wept.

His wife was at the hospital, having been falsely told that their son was there.

"He was my only child," he said, before being taken away in a police car. His wife arrived later and was also led away by officers.

The Star cannot reveal the names of the other boys until their families have been informed.

It's understood that some of the boys were from a Jeppestown school, and all appear to have been in grades 10 to 12.

Khabonina release her first single ‘Gama lakho’

Khabonina Qubeka well known as third doobsie, is exploring her musical talent with the release of her first single ‘Gama lakho’ (What’s your name?) - and she’s filming a new television series called The Mating Game.
The 28 year old said "My mum is a voice coach and I grew up with her singing and performing around me.” "I have always been a fan of music and there has always been music inside me. "I had been looking out for a group or someone else to perform with, when my mother said to me ‘Why don’t you do this on your own?’."
Khabonina said "My single is only coming out now but I have been working on the album for quite some time ...

Welcome to 2009

An official welcome to 2009 , hope you enjoying the year , and again bringin you more house updates .DJ TIRA - EZA SE AFRO The man behind afrotainment is at it again , impressive album in deed . The alum is just amazing and topping charts too , hayi i now agree its fact that DURBAN ROCKS full stop. his hit tracks has been makin waves in radio & has won the 5fm My House show down with Euphonic like 5 weeks in a row now . the album is out in stores , go buy not copy it DJ EUPHONIC - FOR THE LOVE OF HOUSE V2 (The politics of house)The man who rocked every dance floor in 2008 is back again with yet a trully amazing compilation , watch out for the album out in stores from the 2nd of March 2009 DJ CLOCK - 2nd Tick ayeye the clock is ticking for the second release of a banger album from the man himself. from hit tracks like "Mahamba yedwa" & Take it easy . his gonna deliver yet another one around mid march 2009 . Uzo hamba no bani in 2009 .ANDILE - I'm still not a dj hayi ke , The man who says he is not a dj still sticks to his statement - he is not a dj , don't be fooled by the album title though , the soundz that this guy cooks are unbelievable . Watch out for his second deliverance coming out soon DJ MUJAVA - SGUBHU SA PETORI 3 The man who was the talk of every music website n music bulletins in 2008 is back with the third installation of sgubhu sa petori , the album includes the hit track "TOWNSHIP FUNK" that was massive in the U.K , also included is a U.K cut mixed by the best in U.K DJ CHRISTOS - DJ'S CLUB CLASSIC SA legend that new no introduction has just put together an awesome compilation that takes you on a journey beyond , trully deep house soundz that makes even a the toughest relax. Out in Music stores nation wide.ROGER GOODE - SATURDAY SURGERY VOL 4 Roger is back with his saturday surgery that every one loves , a good album to listen to , if u've listend to his previous surgeries then u knw wat i'm goin on about , other wise u havn't as yet suffered any sickness coz u wud knw his saturday surgery by now DEEP HOUSE CHRONICLES VOL 2 - LULO CAFE The chronicles of deep house continues , deep sounds compiled into one album by the new talent of soul candi .Lulo cafe himself . on a continuation from where DJ Malankane left off on the 1st chronicles. n.

Brought to you by yours trully DJ TEE-Y

Money Maker take over

As 2009 kicks in, the urban house music scene continues to shine. What is so unique about this spotlight is that the genre is not only doing well locally, the consumers from other African countries, as well as overseas, have also begun to praise South African music.In the fast lane is the fresh hit jam, ‘Money Maker' from the independent label, Ziyawamo Productions, produced by DJ Bobo and DJ Menace featuring Smallz.After Ziyawamo House Selections Volume 1 got released late last year, it fast became one of the most popular local house projects. Soon after that, Ziwayamo started getting support for their project from supporters abroad. It's been only a few month since the project was released but the amount of feedback that the label has been getting is phenomenal. Only in December, Ziyawamo House Selections Volume 1 forefront, DJ Bobo, DJ Menace and Smallz toured Swaziland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana.Ziyawamo CEO, Mzura Kuse said ‘Money Maker' is one of the biggest tunes in Sub-Saharan Africa and it is now slowly becoming popular throughout the African continent. "When we did the song, we meant it for anyone who is working hard to earn a living and all we are saying is, after all the hard work, you need to celebrate your money."Asked how the hit song has been received abroad given that the lyrics are in vernacular, he said the lyrics are written and sung in Zulu, which most of the neighbouring countries understand. "When we toured all the neighbouring countries in festive, people easily relate to the lyrics and would sing along."After having extensively toured South Africa and other neighbouring countries, Ziyawamo Productions now goes after the European market. According to Kuse, the video for the hit song, ‘Money Maker' got picked up on youtube by a Europe promoter. The interested promoter then got in touch with the local independent label about the song. "They asked us to translate the lyrics for them so as to fully understand what the song is all about." Ziyawamo head said after that, the promoter then contacted them again informing the label that they had been testing ‘Money Maker' at various venues and it seemed to be working.It was early this year when Kuse received an invitation from the promoter for performances in Europe this April. For Kuse, getting bookings from foreign countries shows that local house is a revolutionary stage and the world is starting to fully accommodate local music. "We have gone beyond the boarders and it is very exciting that we are now competing on a global scale and the world is interested in our music," he concludes." Ngune party ,ngam nganami , kusazomnandi , se khala bantwana bathi baphethu u money maker "

Rhythmic Elements remains untouchable

When the duo from Pretoria surfaced, very few people had faith in what they were up to. But within a short period of time, Rhythmic Element were all over and irresistible.Those who love urban dance have been jiving to these boy's tunes for quite some time now. But how did the duo's musical journey erupt? The group is comprised of a DJ/producer and musician that go by the name of Master T and McKenzie.It was at the end of 2005 when McKenzie approached Master T for a demo recording. Master T then poured his heart out to McKenzie about his desire to put together a project for a group and asked the brother to join him on his mission. Being given such an opportunity, even though the future didn't promise anything, McKenzie jumped in.Come the beginning of 2006, the duo hit the studio and started putting down a Rhythmic Elements project - an album that only got released in 2008. "We take raw African indigenous sounds and fuse them with dance music - which ultimately gives us a platform to easily perform our music live."With one member coming from a DJing and music production background and the other from song writing and live instrumentation, it is interesting how the duo fuse their skills together. McKenzie said, "Master T is a DJ and producer, while I am a song writer and vocalist. So Master T channels me with what he needs to make something work and I bring my influence as a songwriter, being on point so that the song becomes successful."Getting into production, the guys say before they start touching the piano or writing lyrics, they first talk about the kind of a song they want to compose and the type of musical instruments they want to use.Coming to the duo's hit song, ‘2 By 2' from their first release, ‘The Offering', McKenzie said before they could write the song, they had to accept that what they were about to get down to was humorous. "When we started with the lyrics, every part of it had to be humorous, produce facts that people can easily relate to and overall had to make ‘2 By 2' a party song".Revealing how the song came about, McKenzie said Master T had for too long begged him to bring the song lyrics to the studio. He said that initially when he wrote the lyrics, he felt like they were not so in line with how they wanted to be perceived. But on the other hand, Master T believed that the song would work regardless. "When McKenzie sang the song to me, I immediately told him that we had to go on with it. I told him that besides being a DJ and producer, I am a business man and on the release, we needed something that would hook people to buy our album and discover what Rhythmic Elements has to offer" said Master T.Getting to the melody of the song, McKenzie said ‘2 By 2' is made out of intense research. According to him, the duo sat down and looked at songs that were hits in a period of five years. He then looked at the key elements, melodies and harmonies, as well as the overall vibe within the song that they reckoned would attract the right market. After pin pointing major elements that influenced the song, they then picked up those elements and used that as their guideline when coming up with ‘2 By 2'. "When you are working on a song, you need to realize that all the elements in a song need to be on par so that the song can rock the dance floor. And the biggest mistake we didn't want to make was to take all the beautiful elements we had and put them on bad instrumentals", said Master T

DJ TIRA - FOUNDER OF DURBAN SOUND

DJ TIRAMzansis Man of the MomentDJ Tira has worked very hard over the years into establishing himself as one of the countrys most successful independent label owners. When we meet at his Afrotainment studios in Durban, I find him busy working on his artist DJ Twittys new album. Tira describes himself as a go-getter, a guy who believes nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it.We start talking about his new album, Ezase Afro. Apart from the fact that he did it without his Durbans finest partner-in-crime Sox, the album is different in the sense that it is 100% local. People are reacting better to local music recently, he says to me as he tweaks the levels on his mixing desk. He acknowledges that he and Sox are not working together at the moment, but makes no further comment on the matter. He nods his head continuously as we listen to the new DJ Twitty song he is working on. Oskido helped me to set up the studio, he emphasizes, and he also encouraged me to do my set up in Durban. That actually seems to have paid off well because Tira is now man of the moment not only in Durban, but across the country. He is an award winner of the Best Club DJ title in the inaugural Mzansi Star Awards and is also one of the individuals who have been credited as having been the creators of the Durban sound which has shook the countrys dance floors by rapid storm.Durban house has, on its own become successful as a staple genre, and has made millionaires out of dozens of its artists. DJ Tiras own stable mates Big Nuz, Character and Cndo, to name a few, are already big nationwide and Afrotainment itself had a very successful year in 2008, having churned out hits such as Ubala by Big Nuz, Wont Let You Go by Tira, as well as Mzansis most in demand local house track of the moment Terminator by Cndo.Its amazing, he says to me. With the Durban sound we created something new and it changed the way S.A sounded. Im maintaining the standard man. DJ Twittys album is dropping this Easter then Big Nuz in winter and Cndo end of the year. Hit after hit, we dont stop!!!Of course they dont stop. Its a fact that Durban rocks after all, isnt it?