There is a group of Ugandan music consumers that definitely understand Afrie. But she’s not your mainstream artiste – she sings with a piano, writes her music and she only sings live.
In the past, the songstress has blessed those faithful to her sound with songs such as ‘Askari’, ‘Mulala’ and ‘Let her know’. Almost a month back, the nominees for one of Africa’s music awards, Afrimas were released and surprisingly yes surprisingly, Afrie, real names Ann Nassanga was one of the nominees.
She’s nominated for two accolades of Songwriter of the Year where she faces off with artistes such as Nasty C, Olivia Ambani and Asikey George. She is also nominated for Best Female Inspirational Artiste where she faces off with Nigerian powerhouse Teni, South Africa’s Kelly Khumalo and Judy Stevens from Kenya.
On Sunday, Afrie hosted a nomination party which also doubled as a campaign of sorts for people to vote for her. The event that took place at the Design Hub in the industrial area brought together friends, collaborators and well-wishers.
The evening started with a premiere of a short film directed by Afrie before getting into live performances.
Being an Afrima party, they gave audiences different cards with letters that make the word Afrima, for each performance, they would ask a person which card they had and which song had been written behind it.
An engaging show that was used as an activation for voting but also a chance to showcase some new music also saw Afrie celebrate her mother’s birthday.
Other nominated Ugandans include B2C, UK based Ugandan rapper Double S and last year’s winner Irene Namatovu.