The ongoing rivalry between Portmore Empire leader Vybz Kartel and Gully Gad Mavado for supremacy in the dancehall will come to a head at the 7th annual Excellence in Music and Entertainment (EME) Awards as each artiste snagged a whopping 6 nominations for the 2011 event. The announcement was made on the “EME Awards Nominations Show” which aired exclusively on CVM TV in Jamaica on Monday, February 14 at 10:00pm.
Kartel grabbed nominations for “DJ of the Year,” “Song of the Year,” “Album of the Year,” “Collaboration Of The Year” and “International Artist of the Year” while Mavado earned nominations for “Song of the Year,” “Singjay of the Year,” “Collaboration of the Year” and “International Artiste of the Year.” I-Octane who had a whirlwind year in 2010 and Bounty Killer both earned a respectable 5 nominations each. Other leading male nominees include Beenieman and Jah Cure each had with 4 nominations while Busy Signal and Busy Signal had two nods each.
Among the ladies, Dancehall Queen Lady Saw and Etana lead the pack. Saw had 3 nominations including “DJ of the Year,” “Album of the Year,” and “Artiste of the Decade” while Etana grabbed nominations for “Vocalist of the Year,” “Song of the Year” and “Cultural Artist of the Year.”
The very competitive “Artist of the Decade” category will be awarded to the artist who had the biggest impact from 2001 – 2010. Among those vying for the prestigious award are Capleton, Elephant Man, Sean Paul, Sizzla, Beenieman, Shaggy, Bounty Killler, Luciano, Lady Saw, Buju Banton, Jr. Gong, Marcia Griffiths, Wayne Wonder and Beres Hammond.
International hip hop stars Eve and Trina will both be honored with “International Friends of Reggae” awards while veteran artiste Ernie Ranglin will be honoured for his contribution to the reggae genre. A special music tribute will be paid to singer Gregory Isaacs who passed away last year.
The 7th Annual “EME Awards Nominations Show” will have several unscheduled re-runs on CVM Plus TV in Jamaica. The show was hosted by Saudicka Diaram of CVM TV’s ‘The Wrap’ and had a small studio audience made up of sponsors, celebrity presenters, entertainers (Voicemail, Toya & Ishawna), journalists among others. Chairman & Founder Richard “Richie B” Burgess gave an overview of this year’s show while category/nominees, announcements were made by Winford Williams – On Stage TV, Jacque Daley – Hot 102 FM, Jerome Hamilton – Headline Entertainment, Ronnie Sutherland – CVM TV, Chris Mc Farlane – Stewart Motors and Budget Car Rentals (Official Transport Partners), Chris Dehring – Chairman, LIME JA (Mobile Partners), journalist Novia McDonald-Whyte and Cordel Green – Exec. Director, Ja. Broadcasting Comm.
The EME Awards is slated to take place on Saturday, March 12, 2011 at The East Lawn of the historical Devon House in Kingston, Jamaica. Sponsors include Energy Beat Ltd, CVM TV, Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), Zojak Worldwide, HOT 102 FM, Starlight Productions, IMAGESnewsletter.com, Grafton Music and Entertainment Konnections.
