East Africa’s biggest and most prestigious gospel awards ceremony is back for the 2019 edition.

The submissions for nominations which were unveiled on Friday 12th April will see top Gospel artists battle it out for some of the most coveted categories in this year’s Award.

Last year, over 100,000 submissions were made and this year promises to be bigger.

The Groove process and award categories allow for greater ownership and participation of music fans across the country where fans and artists alike, get to submit their favourite songs and nominate artists of choice for consideration as nominees. 

The final nominees list will be unveiled at a red carpet event later in May.  The Awards categories take into consideration industry research and insights, better reflecting the changing landscape of the local Gospel industry as well as take cognisance of global music trends. 

Groove Awards, now in its 14th Edition, has received accolades from across the world over the years as it has set precedence of excellence and transparency to ensure top-notch quality when it comes to an awards ceremony and this year promises to be an equally exciting season. 

The biggest Gospel Award Show in East Africa and the region is driven by its main purpose of shaping culture through Positive Content and Entertainment. Groove has impacted the lives hundreds of gospel artists and thousands of young people over the years.

Last year, Guardian Angel of the “Nadeka” fame bagged the Artist of the Year Award which was the most coveted award of the evening while Odi Dance by Timeless Noel, Jabidii & Hype Ochi won big by bagging 4 awards in the Song of the Year, Collabo of the Year, Dance Style of the Year and Skiza Ringback Tune categories.

The awards for Teen Choice Song of the Year went to Master Piece for his song Chini Ya Mwamba

The music submitted must be positive Gospel Music, of Good Sound and must have been released within eligibility period (April 1st 2018 to March 31st 2019) through recognized distribution channels.  Furthermore, the artist must live a Christian life. 

Fans will have the opportunity to directly nominate their favourite songs and artists by logging on to www.grooveawards.co.ke until 30th April. A full list of nominees will be made available in May during the Groove Nomination Night - a Red Carpet Event.

This year awards will be handed out in the areas of artistry, song writing, dance, production, and media. 

About Groove Awards

Since 2004, Groove Awards has celebrated excellence in gospel music in Kenya and across Africa.   

The awards, entering their 14thyear, are Kenya’s most prestigious and recognized gospel awards with a regional resonance and relevance. Groove seeks to promote gospel music as a message of hope and an avenue to address issues affecting young people across the African continent with a key focus on its main objective-Shaping culture through positive content and entertainment.

Groove Awards has seen over 2,500 artists/groups nominated and 900 Groove statuettes presented to gospel musicians in Kenya and East Africa region.

Bongo Music crooner Diamond Platnumz has just dropped his latest single.

The song is titled 'The One' and has been produced by Producer Lizer from WCB, the video has been directed by Director Kenny.

The video is said to have been shot from different regions of Tanzania.

Watch it below

Vyamshala main volleyball team from Dar es Salaam humiliated Memon 3-0 to be crowned the winners of the second edition of the Dentistry for you EA 2019 traditional volleyball tournament played at Memon Sports Club in Mombasa county.

The defending champs dominated the best of five sets format by beating the home team in the first set by 17-2 during the match played under floodlights.

During the grand final of the match the hosts tried to come to terms of the situation but lack of experience cost them dearly when they lost the second set by 9-3.

In the one-sided match which was attended to full capacity with supporters of each team trying to out do one another in cheering, the frustrated home team lost in the last set by 21- 7.

The winners pocketed Sh 200,000 with Sh 100,000 going to the runners-up with other fabulous prizes given out during a colorful closing and awarding ceremony of the traditional volleyball tournament extravaganza which was graced by Mombasa Senator Mohamed Faki and Mvita MP Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir among others.

The champs were first to score from  the first ball and took the lead in all three sets in the best of five despite playing an away match leaving the host team disappointed.

The queen of radio and social activist who has made a huge impact in the lives of urban youth thanks to her various programs under the Adelle Onyango Initiative will be attending the 2nd Pan-African Youth Forum in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. 

Adelle Onyango will be taking part in the forum whose theme is Africa Unite for Youth: Bridging the Gap & Reaching Afloat Youth that kicks off on April 24, 2019, till April 27.

The Pan-African Youth Forum will engage young people at both political and socio-economic levels, to propose tangible solutions to youth-centric issues. 

During the forum, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, will inaugurate a Youth Congress and introduce his 1 Million by 2021 Initiative, which aims to directly reach millions of young Africans on four key areas of Education, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Engagement through creating opportunities in these areas. 

The forum is organized in five segments namely Capacity Building sessions, Pan African Youth Congress, Thematic Co-Creation Summit, and a Commitment Roundtable by Youth development stakeholders. 

A marketplace on best practices in Africa in the key priority youth areas will run concurrent to all the sessions. Young people will be at the center of the forum and will co-create solutions and strategies to operationalize the initiative. 

Speaking about being invited to the Pan African forum, Adelle said: "It means that as a young African I can be part of making solutions to create environments that allow African youth to reach their full potential." 

She added, "The Adelle Onyango Initiative already has programs running that create opportunities for the youth. I’d like to be able to meet other young Africans with similar programs and work on partnerships that allow us to scale and reach more youth."

Adelle points out that some of the key important areas that need to be addressed include, "Education. Are we truly equipping young people with information that is relevant to the changing market? When it comes to entrepreneurship, we need to review policies that lock our African youth from being able to build businesses that actually will solve some of Africa’s problems."

She continued, "Also, representation in key leadership roles, there are not enough young people represented in governance roles."

The much hyped Malindi Easter Festival which was supposed to be headlined by Tanzania music star Mbosso last evening at the Ocean Beach Resort Malindi flopped.

The show recorded a low turn out to make it worse two of the main acts Mbosso and Susumila failed to perform.

In an interview with Ommy Dallah Mbosso's manager Sandra revealed that the organisers failed to pay the agreed fee thus there was no reason for her artist to perform .

"The show flopped.The organisers failed to go by what we had agreed on in terms of payment" said Sandra. 

A source told Ommy Dallah that the organisers were supposed to pay Mbosso a remaining amount of sh 250,000 before he takes to the stage.

"I'm not sure about the whole amount they had agreed on but I know Mbosso's management was asking for the remaining amount of sh 250,000 so he can perform but the organisers failed to pay and he did not perform " said the source.

Adding " Susumila also did not perform since they were supposed to pay him his remaining amount of sh 75,000 but they did not. They had agreed to pay Susumila a total amount of sh 150,000, they had already paid him the down payment".

Mbosso took to social media to apologise to his Malindi fans for the disappointment criticising the organisers calling on event organisers to make sure that they always stick to the terms of agreement and pay artists.

"Tafadharini sana waandaji wa shows jitahidini kukamilisha malipo ya msanii kana munavyokubaliana na uongozi wake maana munatuingiza kwenye changamoto kubwa sana na mashabiki zetu(Event organisers, please make sure you pay artists as to the agreement, avoid putting us into problems with our fans)" posted 

Popular Music band Them Mushroom is mourning the death of its former member Japheth Tsuma Harrison better known as "Babu Heinz".

"Heinz" had a stint with Them Mushrooms band back in the 90s and later on was the drummer of our sister band Mandingo.

He died on Tuesday and the news was broke by the bad which took to social media to mourn Heinz. The cause of death is however still not yet public.

"Them Mushrooms is sad to announce the passing on of cousin brother Japheth Tsuma Harrison better known as "Babu Heinz" . He took his final breath late last night. From God you came and to HIM you have returned. 
Fare thee well bro." reads a statement from Them Mushroom.

Family and friends in Mombasa are meeting every day for burial and funeral arrangements at their family home in Utange.

Cabinet has asked millers not to take advantage of the ongoing drought situation to hike the price of maize flour, warning that stern actions will be taken against those who will be tempted to hoard maize and other essential food items.

At a meeting chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House Nairobi today, the Cabinet also assured that the Government will take all necessary measures to ensure that prices of basic food commodities remain stable.

As a step to further mitigate the drought situation, Cabinet urged pastoralist communities to start destocking while their animals are still in good condition and gave an assurance that the Government will help in restocking when the weather situation improves.

The Cabinet noted that the drought situation in a number of Counties among them Turkana, Mandera, Garissa, Marsabit and Wajir has worsened from  the Alert Stage to the Alarm Stage and assured that the Government has the situation under control. 

To ensure that Government response to the drought situation in the country is well coordinated, a committee to be chaired by the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government. The committee has also been charged with the responsibility of putting into place mitigation measures for the remainder of the year through to December 2019.

The Cabinet meeting discussed and approved the Data Protection Policy and Law. The policy and law enhances the Government’s commitment to protect personal data in order to guard against misuse and eliminate the unwarranted invasion of privacy, which is a Constitutional right guaranteed under Article 31 of the Constitution of Kenya. 

The Data Policy Protection Policy and Law will ensure that the information provided by Kenyans and foreign registered residents in the country during the ongoing Huduma Namba drive is protected.

Also approved at today’s meeting were the Kenya Investment Policy (KIP), and the development of the Mombasa and Naivasha Special Economic Zones.

The Kenya Investment Policy aims at consolidating the fragmented investment related policy by creating a framework that establishes a strong coordinating mechanism in the country.

The policy is guided by seven core principles which emphasize the need for openness and transparency; inclusivity; sustainable development; economic diversification; domestic empowerment; global integration; and investor centredness. 

KIP also addresses private investment at the National and County levels to ensure a seamless promotion and facilitation process, policy and regulatory coherence.

Under the development of the Mombasa (Dongo Kundu) and Naivasha Special Economic Zones, the key development areas will be undertaken by the Government and the private sector in three phases. The first phase is the development of Port infrastructure and related public infrastructure by the Government of Kenya in partnership with the Japanese Government.

As part of the Nairobi decongestion initiative, the Cabinet approved the Development of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport–James Gichuru Expressway project (The Nairobi Expressway Project) as well as the Bus Rapid Transit Line 3 under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

The Development of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport – James Gichuru Expressway project will have several components key among them being the development of a multi-lane highway from JKIA to James Gichuru Road Junction, which will cover 18.6 kilometres. The other component will be the development of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) which will comprise BRT stations, park and ride facilities at high demand commuter transfer points.

On the other hand, the BRT line 3 is part of the Government’s Integrated Mass Rapid Transit plan that includes transport infrastructure development and traffic management. It is expected to transport 300,000 passengers per day and 12,000 passengers per direction during peak hours effectively decongesting  the city of Nairobi.

Cabinet further approved Kenya’s participation at the International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 (Expo Beijing 2019). The Expo presents an opportunity for high level engagement to accelerate discussions for more Kenya fresh produce to access the Chinese market. Already some agricultural products including avocados have been granted access to the Chinese market.

Here is another great Swahili love song from Mombasa.

Ally Mahaba has just released his latest single dubbed 'Sielewi'.

The song has been produced by renowned Mombasa music producer Shirko.

Watch the video below.

Sarova Woodlands Hotel & Spa bagged the “Best Energy Management award in the Service Sector category during this year’s Energy Management Awards ceremony that was held at Safari Park Hotel.

The night which was graced by several organizations that have proved their proficiency in energy efficiency and conservation in celebration of the 15^th edition of EMA saw Sarova Woodlands Hotel and Spa emerge victorious for its efforts in Energy Management.

Speaking at the event, Sarova Hotel’s Group Engineer Mr. Ved Prakash said, “The award for Sarova Woodlands is testimony of conscious steps taken by management, embracing opportunities to save natural resources, energy efficiency, water efficiency, materials and responsible sourcing, hygiene and sanitation practices, gender diversity and creating employment opportunities for differently abled associates.”

“Our approach is very much in keeping with pressing global concerns on energy and waste management and sustainability priority of our industry. I look forward to Sarova Hotels being the benchmark for action on sustainability and environment management and to every one of our colleagues becoming ambassadors for sustainable living in their homes and workplaces” he added.

Sarova Hotels has over the years committed to energy conservation and effective management which has earned the group recognition through various accolades for its dedication and efforts towards conserving energy as a sustainable business practice.

The awards are geared at encouraging a culture of energy efficiency and conservation, and recognize enterprises that have made major and sustainable gains in energy efficiency through the application of modern energy management principles and practices, and in the process made significant energy and cost reductions.

EMA is an annual award that promotes excellence in energy management & recognizes enterprises that have achieved significant reduction in their energy consumption through implementation of energy efficient measures and technologies.

In this day and age, a musician’s stylist is as important as any other part of their recording career.

This is something Coke Studio Africa is keenly aware of when it creates the eye-popping studio shows to showcase all of Africa’s diversely vibrant looks.

The person brought on board for this was Kenyan stylist to the stars Wambui who has been making a mark on the fashion scene for 11 years in music videos, newspapers, movies including the multiple award-winning Rafiki, magazines and three seasons of Coke Studio Africa. 

"African artists are now seeing that their look is crucial to their brand image and quite a number of them are now working with stylists for their music videos, performances and public appearances,” she says. 

Wambui says, "It began back in 2008, a former classmate of mine approached me and asked me to style the fashion page for a magazine she was the Editor of. That was the first time I had heard the word “stylist”. 

Adding “She told me I always had an eye for fashion back in high school and thought I should give it a try. After she told me what the job entailed, I decided to give it a go, after all, I was getting paid to shop!" 

Her big break came working for the national newspaper, The Standard, where she had a weekly fashion page in the Wednesday and Saturday pull-out magazines.

 "It was there that I built my name as a stylist and formed relationships with designers, stores, models, photographers and lots of other people in the industry.” 

Since then, her career highlights include Rafiki, Tusker Project Fame, Moments with Mo, Maisha Superstar and lots more including Coke Studio Africa of course, which was “an exciting prospect but also frightening because I would get to meet and style Africa’s biggest artists”.

She hit her stride though, and can now face any challenge, that is the nature of making TV, which she loves for the diversity of people on set and lessons learnt.

"In Kenya, we don’t have a lot of stores that stock current trends especially for menswear, so most of the outfits the male artists wore were custom-made. Time was, therefore, one of my biggest challenges as I would meet the artists on a Monday and would have to have all their outfits ready by Thursday for a full dress rehearsal and photo shoot on Friday.

“There were days I would sleep at the tailors waiting for outfits to be completed.” A blessing in disguise as these creations were not only stunning but unique too. 

Wambui’s work on Coke Studio Africa happened under tight timelines with the involvement of multiple players.

There is always a highlight moment on Coke Studio Africa.

Wambui shares her highlight: “When background vocalist Wendy Kemunto performed on the show as a Big Break artist. The hair, makeup and wardrobe departments went all out for her and we made sure she looked her best during her performance. The whole crew cheered for her throughout her entire performance. It was such a proud moment for all of us.”

Of course, she wanted to keep all of the gorgeous attire she sourced from designers, chain stores and thrift stores! And it was no wonder some artists were so in love with their outfits they bought them.

But the styling choices on Coke Studio Africa were not about mere fashion, there is a deeper story.

She explains: "As Africans, we are unapologetic about our heritage and culture. We love our iconic prints, bold colors, fabrics and statement accessories and they are here to stay.