Elephant Man in his element at East Fest 2004 at the Goodyear Oval, St. Thomas. He has earned the most nominations in the upcoming IRAWMA.THE CATEGORIES are many, the nominees diverse and it is the public who will decide just who clutches the award in nearly 40 categories and makes a speech at the Apollo Theatre, New York, on May 6 as the 25th IRAWMA climaxes.
The voting will be done in one of two ways. On the back of the official poster for the event are the names of nominees and the categories and interested persons are asked to indicate their choices and return them to Martin Inter-Culture's Chicago mailing address. A more popular method would appear to be the online vote, which can be done at the website www.IRAWMA.com.
Each person is allowed to vote only once and the deadline is April 6.
The nominations were done by canvassing industry personnel, including musicians, journalists and performers, Elephant Man with eight, Damian Marley and Sean Paul with six each, and Beenie Man and Jah Cure with five apiece leading the nominations.
Among the categories are 'Entertainer of the Year', in which Beenie Man, Elephant Man, Luciano, Junior Gong and Sean Paul are nominated, with Jah Cure substituting for Luciano as the only change for the 'Recording Artist of the Year' category. Jah Cure and Luciano are also up for 'Best Male Vocalist', along with Freddie McGreggor, Richie Spice and Sanchez, while in the female version Marcia Griffiths, Sasha, CeCile, Tanya Stephens and Fiona are the nominees.
BEST FEMALE
CeCile is the only one of the five who is also nominated for Best Female DJ/Rapper, along with Macka Diamond, Lady G, Spice and Lady Saw, while Beenie Man, Vybz Kartel, Elephant Man, Buju Banton and Capleton are up for male honours. The 'Best Song' will come from Junior Gong's Welcome to Jamrock, TOK's Footprints, Jah Cure's True Reflection, Willie Bounce by Elephant Man and Gyptian's Serious Time. The nominees for 'Best Crossover Song' are We'll Be Burnin' by Sean Paul, Pon Di Replay by Rhianna, Wild Tonight by Shaggy, featuring Olivia, and Gun Session by Vybz Kartel, Akon, Shabba and Sizzla.
Mutabaruka, DYCR, Malachi Smith, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Joel Poet are up for 'Best Poet'.
Outside of Jamaican music, Machel Montano, Rupee, Shurwayne Winchester, Destra and Bunji Garlin are up for 'Best Calypso/Soca Entertainer', with the 'Best Reggaeton Entertainer' category seeing Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Pit Bull, Tego Calderon and Looneytunes up for honours. There is also the 'Best Compas/Racine Entertainer' (Sweet Mickey, Tabou Caombo, Zin, Carimi, Djakout), 'Best African Entertainer' (Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Amadou and Merriam, Youssou N'Dour, Tinariwen, Thandiswa Mazwai) and 'Best Soukous Entertainer' (Leketa, Soukous Stars, Papa Wembe, Kanda Bongo, Werrason) and Best Hip Hop Entertainer (Akon, Kanye West, 50 Cents, Common, Ludacris), among other categories.
M.C.
