The following is a list of the MTV Europe Music Award winners and nominees for Best African Act.
The Headies is a music awards show established in 2006 by the Hip Hop World Magazine of Nigeria to recognize outstanding achievements in the Nigerian music industry. The annual ceremony features performances by established and promising artists. It is broadcast live on HipTV to viewers across Nigeria. The first and second editions of The Headies were held at the Muson Center in Onikan, Lagos State. Between 2010 and 2012, the awards were held at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos. Several media personalities in Nigeria have hosted the annual ceremony, including Darey Art Alade, D'banj, Dakore Egbuson, Banky W., Rita Dominic, M.I, Tiwa Savage and Dr SID.
Yemi Eberechi Alade, who is better known as Yemi Alade, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, actress and activist. Her music is a mixture of Afropop, highlife, dancehall, pop and R&B, and has been of influence in several countries across Africa. She sings in English, Igbo, Pidgin, Yoruba, French, Swahili and Portuguese.
Oluseye Desmond Sodamola, professionally known as Spinall, is a Nigerian disc jockey, record producer, and songwriter. He was the official DJ to Wande Coal while he was affiliated with Mavin Records. He created a style edge to his outfit known as TheCAP, tracing his roots back to his culture.
The 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards was the 10th edition of the Nigeria Entertainment Awards. Wizkid won the most awards while Olamide received the most nominations with three across 39 award categories. Kiss Daniel won the Best New Act to Watch award while Praiz won the Best R&B Act award after he toppled the likes of Banky W, Chidinma, Seyi Shay, Timi Dakolo and Shaydee. The award was held at the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, New York City, U.S.A and was hosted by Osas Ighodaro and Ice Prince.
Folarin Falana, better known by his stage name Falz, is a Nigerian rapper, songwriter and actor who began his career while in secondary school after forming a group called The School Boys with his friend before his professional career as a music artist began in 2009. Falz became more well-known after releasing the song "Marry Me" featuring vocals from Poe and Yemi Alade.
Augustine Miles Kelechi Okechukwu, popularly known as Tekno, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter and Record producer. His song “Enjoy” was the closing song in an episode of the Emmy-winning TV series Ted Lasso.
Chike Ezekpeazu Osebuka, popularly known by his stage Chike, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actor. Chike gained prominence by participating in the Nigerian reality competition Project Fame West Africa. Additionally, he showcased his talents on The Voice Nigeria, where he achieved the second position during Season 1. Chike ventured into acting by making his debut as Mayoma Badmus on the Africa Magic Showcase telenovela Battleground. He also appeared in the production Gang of Lagos, portraying the character Ify.
The 2016 MTV Africa Music Awards were held on October 22, 2016, at Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg, South Africa. It recognised and rewarded musicians and achievers who made an impact on African music and youth culture during the eligibility period. The awards ceremony aired live on MTV Base, MTV and BET. It was transmitted worldwide on partner stations and content platforms, including BET International. The show was hosted by Nomzamo Mbatha, Yemi Alade and Bonang Matheba. It featured performances from Future, Yemi Alade, Nasty C, Babes Wodumo, Cassper Nyovest and Patoranking, among others.
Chris Alvin Sunday professionally known as Krizbeatz or KrizBeatz the drummer Boy, is a Nigerian record producer best known for producing Tekno his first single "Pana". Ranked 3rd on Pulse Nigeria's 2016 list of "Top 5 Best Nigerian Music Producers", KrizBeatz has worked majorly with Yemi Alade including several artistes like Oyibo Rebel, Skales, Lil Kesh and Koker while also releasing his own single titled "Erima" and the hit single "911" featuring Yemi Alade and Harmonize which further pushed his career to limelight. The song "911" currently has over 20 million views on YouTube.
Rajab Abdul Kahali, also known by his stage name Harmonize, is a Tanzanian Bongo Flava recording artist, and entrepreneur.
Divine Ikubor, known professionally as Rema, is a Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter. He gained initial recognition with the release of his 2019 song "Dumebi". That same year, he signed with D'Prince's record label, Jonzing World. He received wider recognition for his 2022 single "Calm Down", which spawned a remix with American singer Selena Gomez that peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and led the United States Afrobeats Songs chart for a record-setting 58 weeks.
Afrobeats is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Nigeria, Ghana, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a style per se, and more of a descriptor for the fusion of sounds flowing majorly out of Nigeria. Genres such as hiplife, jùjú music, highlife and naija beats, among others, were amalgamated under the "Afrobeats" umbrella.
Aremu Olaiwola Qudus is a Nigerian music video director. He has worked with artists of several musical genres including Wizkid, Skepta, Davido, Burna Boy and many others, winning 2020 The Headies Award for best music video of the year.
Richard Olowaranti Mbu Isong, known professionally as P2J is a Nigerian-British producer from London, England. He has produced for high-profile pop artists including Beyoncé, Wizkid, Stormzy, FKA Twigs, Burna Boy, Tems, and Doja Cat, among others.
Ahmed Ololade, known professionally as Asake, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He is signed to YBNL Nation and Empire Distribution. His stage name "Asake" is his mother's name.
Adesope Olajide known professionally as Shopsydoo OR Energy Gawd, is a Nigerian UK-based Media personality, radio and television personality, talk show host, event host and podcaster. He is the host of The Afrobeats Podcast,.
Adesegun Adeosun Jnr, popularly known as Smade, is a Nigerian-born British event promoter, creative industry expert and entrepreneur. He is co-founder and CEO of Afro Nation, an annual music festival established to bring together the best African artists in afrobeats, hip hop, RnB, dancehall, amapiano and more. He is also the founder of Smade Entertainment, a UK-based entertainment company.
