Sandisiwe Mbhele

By Sandisiwe Mbhele

UX Content Writer


Samas: Makhadzi gets zero nominations and Kelly Khumalo unimpressed with her nod

The surprising snub of Makhadzi in the nominations for the Samas took many by surprise.


The South African Music Awards (Samas) has announced the nominees for the 27th annual award show celebrating the best in local music. The nominations are male-dominated and the reaction was foreseeable.

Announced late on Wednesday night, many unhappy artists took to social media to express their dismay at being snubbed.

Even a request that their nomination be rescinded.

Amapiano superstar Kabza de Small received the most nods with six, followed by Sun El Musician with five. The album of the year category was one of the most talked about because it has no female representation.

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Makhadzi has cemented herself as one of the biggest artists in the country. Her album Kokovha (Crawl)  topped many charts lists and streaming platforms. But there was no mention of her whatsoever in any category even though she submitted her album for consideration.

The surprising snub took many by surprise. Previous allegations that the award show is rigged reared its ugly head once again. It’s an allegation the Samas have denied before.

Kelly Khumalo also shared her thoughts and made an interesting request for the Samas. She was nominated for her album The Voice of Africa for best Afro pop album, but she doesn’t want it.

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Khumalo was not impressed with the category they filed her work in, adding: “How dare they insult my hard work like that!”

On the other hand, some people were happy that Sun El Musician’s and Kabza de Small’s contributions to music were appreciated.

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