Maso Awards are Malawian music award show that was established in early 2019 to celebrate entertainers and other minorities in music, film, philanthropy and fashion. Maso awards are a brainchild of MASO Enterprise which is a company founded by Augustine Mukisi, Beaton Ndawa, Fedson Mwadala and Mphatso Tembo and handles event management and branding,graphics and social media management, web design...[1][2] The event takes place in Malawian major cities and it is featured by performances from artists. They are one of the major Malawi's local music industry awards. The awards recognizes Malawian music from all genres, including gospel. The awards also promote culture and encourages people to showcase their talents. The awards categories are split into male and female.[3][4]

Maso Awards
Current: Maso Awards 2023
Awarded forOutstanding achievements in the entertainment industry
CountryMalawi
Presented byMalawi music industry coalition
Hosted byvariety
First awardedJanuary 10, 2019; 5 years ago (2019-01-10)
Last awarded2023
Most awardsFaith Mussa
Websitemaso-awards.live

History

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The Maso Awards started in the early 2019 by the Maso Enterprises aiming at promoting of local music talents within the country. The CEO of the awards is Augustine Mukisi.[4][5][6] The winners receive a gold-plated statuette.

 
The 2023 annual ceremony took place at BICC (pictured) in Lilongwe[2]

Artist of the Year

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The Artist of the Year award is the highest and most prestigious of the awards given at the event given to the artist(s) following votes by the general public as having the highest audience appeal, online streaming, popularity and radio play. To be chosen as the artist of the year, the artist must have a released hit single/album during the year under review to be eligible.[6]

List of ceremonies

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2019

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The 2019 inaugural ceremony took place in Blantyre.[2]

2021

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The 2021 physical events took place in Lilongwe on 17 December 2022 after two years of holding the events online.[7] The Maso Awards had over 13 categories. The Male Best upcoming of the year awards were given Driemo while the female was Niekay. The Best album award went to Phyzix for his album titled "Flaws". The Lifetime achievement were given to Lucius Banda, among other winners and categories.[8]

2022

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The 2022 Awards were expanded and had 16 more categories with at least 10 non-musical.[9][10] The awards took place in Blantyre at Amaryllis Hotel on 26 November.[11][12][8]

2023

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The 2023 ceremony took place at Bingu International Conference in Lilongwe where more than 135 artists were nominated in 35 categories for the awards.[4] Out of the total of 35 categories, 32 were permanent where as three were temporary with their addition to reflect the theme of the awards. Among the winners were Sir Paul Banda who took home the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Maso Humanitarian Award for the social media influencer were given to Pemphero Mphande.[13][14][2] Among notable artists that won were Zeze Kingstone among others.[15][16]

Current award categories

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Music

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  • Best New Female Artist
  • Best New Male Artist
  • Song of the Year
  • Best Hip Hop Act
  • Video of the Year
  • Best Gospel Artist
  • Producer of the Year
  • Best Dancehall Act
  • Album of the Year
  • Female of the Year
  • Male of the Year
  • Best Duo/Group
  • Lifetime Achievement

Media

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  • Best Radio DJ/Personality
  • Best Entertainment writer
  • Best TV personality
  • Media Legend

Fashion

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  • Most Fashionable Celebrity
  • Designer of the Year
  • Model of the Year
  • Living Legend
  • Fashion Icon

Host Cities

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Year Country Host city Venue Host(s)
2019 Malawi Blantyre Golf Club Joy Nathu
2021 Malawi Comesa Hall, Blantyre Golf Club Chifundo Maganga
2022 Malawi Lilongwe BICC
2023 Malawi Lilongwe BICC

Recipients

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List of selected recipients and years:[12][11]

Category Nominee / work (and year) Result Reference
Song of the Year Anana by Piksy (2022) Won [12][11]
Best Collabo of the Year Legends by Phyzix and Various Artists (2022) Won [12][11]
Dj of the Year Joy Nathu (2022) Won [12][11]
Fashion Designer of the Year Roy View (2022) Won [12][11]
Music Video of the Year Mojo by Driemo (2022) Won [12][11]
Best Comedian Che Mandota (2022) Won [12][11]
Producer of the Year Tactic (2022) Won [12][11]
Life Time Achievement Award Giddess Chalamanda (2022) Won [12][11]
Poet of the year Raphael Sitima (2022) Won [12][11]
Best Male Artist Driemo (2022) Won [12][11]
Best Female Artist Tuno (musician) (2022) Won [12][11]
Best feature film The Last Fishing Boat (2022) Won [12][11]
Best Gospel Act Suffix (2022) Won [12][11]
Best Actress Flora Suya (2022) Won [12][11]
Media Personality of the Year Priscilla Kayira (2022) Won [12][11]
Best group/duo of the Year Ace Jizzy and Beejay (2022) Won [12][11]
Album of the Year Red Flag by Eli Njuchi (2022) Won [12][11]
Best sound engineer of the Year John Nthakomwa (2022) Won [12][11]
Best male upcoming artist Zonke (2022) Won [12][11]
Best female upcoming artist Kellie Divine (2022) Won [12][11]
Best Live Act Tay Grin (2022) Won [12][11]
Gospel Song of the Year Mwandikondera by Suffix (2022) Won [12][11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ https://www.capitalradiomalawi.com/2022/10/12/maso-awards-announces-nominees-for-2022/
  2. ^ a b c d Online, Nation (2023-10-31). "Maso Awards to honour Paul Banda, Pemphero Mphande | Nation Online". Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  3. ^ Mughogho, Lyonike (2022-11-30). "Tay Grin claims he won Maso Award without campaign Malawi 24 | Latest News from Malawi". Malawi 24. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  4. ^ a b c Kalumbi, Mike (2023-10-27). "Over 135 artists get Maso Awards nominations Malawi 24 | Latest News from Malawi". Malawi 24. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  5. ^ Mughogho, Lyonike (2022-11-27). "Giants lose big in Maso Awards: 2012 movie is 2022 Film of the Year Malawi 24 | Latest News from Malawi". Malawi 24. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  6. ^ a b Banda, Sam (2023-09-06). "Maso Awards fifth edition goes to Lilongwe". The Times Group. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  7. ^ "2021 MASO AWARDS LIST OF WINNERS". malawisounds.com. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  8. ^ a b "2021 MASO AWARDS LIST OF WINNERS". malawisounds.com. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  9. ^ Mughogho, Lyonike (2022-10-18). "Nigerian artist blasts Malawi's Maso Awards Malawi 24 | Latest News from Malawi". Malawi 24. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  10. ^ Itai, Brian (2022-10-12). "Maso Awards expand scope | Nation Online". Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x 247Malawi (2022-11-27). "Driemo, Suffix Win Big at the Maso Awards -Full Winners List". 247MALAWI NEWS. Retrieved 2024-04-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Voice, Malawi (2022-10-12). "MASO Awards unveils nominees for 2022 awards". Malawi Voice. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  13. ^ https://www.maravipost.com/maso-awards-set-for-november-25/
  14. ^ "Ntha Foundation Sponsors the 2023 Maso Awards | MUSIC4MALAWI PROJECT". Ntha Foundation. 2023-11-23. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  15. ^ Mhone, Macmillan. "Maso Awards press conference". Malawi 24. Retrieved 2024-04-12.
  16. ^ https://malawi24.com/2023/11/26/zeze-kingston-wins-male-artist-of-the-year-at-maso-awards/