via afripopmag.com

Phiona Okumu takes us through the events at the live MAMA show. For the unabridged version stop over here.

“…Best part is they rang true. The African camaraderie many of the performing artists had alluded to at a press conference the day before came to life on show night: Kenyan MC Nameless and Samini, dancehall star from Ghana, both MAMA winners, teamed up with Wyclef teamed for their tribute to slain South African reggae legend Lucky Dube.

Clef (below) kicked off the show jumping on keyboards, congas and guitar as he tore through abbreviated versions of his own and Fugee classics Ready or Not, No Woman No Cry, 911 and …err… Hips Don’t Lie. Then came Dollar Bill, the natural entry point for his (hugely anticipated) collaborator Akon to join him on stage. Cue the pandemonium.

The back story goes Akon had been expected to play in Kenya on three previous occasions but somehow because of shady promoter dealings, it had never gone to plan. But all was forgiven and forgotten in this moment as he miscalculated his stage dive, landed flat on his ass, and then got back up again to tread the shoulders of his euphoric fans. If they noticed, they didn’t care that he was blatantly miming his hits including Dangerous, Smack That, Beautiful and, of course, Mama Africa. Kenyans Nameless and Amani winning two awards that night (best male and female respectively) fed the enthusiasm of an already amped home crowd, and gave the night two of its many moments….. ”