After a memorable festivity that ended 2025 across Africa, the African music industry started the year 2026 with the Africa Music Awards, AFRIMA. The ninth edition of the AFRIMA was held in Lagos, and activities were held between Wednesday, January 7, and Sunday, January 11, Entertainment Editor, Gbenga Bada reports.
This year’s AFRIMA attracted no fewer than 1,216 artists, delegates and members of the production team to Lagos for the duration of five days. The five day-long event, had a plethora of music activities that kicked off with the Welcome Soiree for nominees and invited guests. The soiree was hosted by the British Deputy High Commissioner, Jonny Baxter, at his residence in Lagos. The event formally signaled the commencement of AFRIMA Week, setting the tone for a series of activities leading up to the awards ceremony.
In attendance were dignitaries from the British High Commission, Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Toke Benson-Awoyinka, AFRIMA president, Mike Dada and several others.
Following the Welcome Soiree, the train moved to the AFRIMA Africa Music Business Summit (AMBS), which was held on Thursday, January 8, at the Eko Convention Centre, Lagos.
With the theme Connect, Build, Own: Monetising Africa’s Music Revolution, the summit brought together industry leaders, artistes, policymakers, diplomats and global stakeholders to discuss ownership, investment, distribution, copyright and the future of African music on the global stage.
At the Music Business Summit, the conversations went beyond performances and popularity, with discussants identifying policy reform, technology adoption and stronger collaboration as major pillars needed to deepen the growth of Africa’s music industry.
The President of AFRIMA, Mike Dada, stated that the African music industry must now pay more attention to the business side if it wants to grow sustainably saying, “African music is not only about the songs and vibes but about building the business aspect of the industry.”
Dada went further to add that the Africa Music Business Summit was created to bridge the gap between creatives and decision-makers.
In his words, “Africa Business Summit is designed to expose African artists to business leaders within the sector on the continent.”
The Music Business Summit also had a representative of the African Union Commission, the Head of Culture Division, Ms. Angela Martins, who described music and the creative economy as key drivers of development, unity and job creation across Africa.
Attendees at the Music Business Summit include CEO of Universal Music South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, Sipho Dlamini; Morocco’s Karima Damir of Universal Music, Francis Doku, Mustapha Ettouil, Georg Heritlitz, Olisa Adibua, Bizzle Oshikoya. Others are Kofi Olomide, ID Cabassa; Innoss B, Juma Jux, Stonebwoy, and Didi B, among others.
The AFRIMA Music Village was next and it happened on Friday, January 9. For the ninth edition of the continental music and culture awards, The AFRIMA Music Village lit up Ikeja City Mall to deliver an unforgettable celebration of African music and culture that drew a massive crowd of enthusiastic music fans.
The event, which kicked off at about 6:30PM, stretched late into the early hours of Saturday as fans gathered to experience an energetic blend of sounds from across the continent. Performances were led by legendary Afrobeat star, Femi Kuti.
From Wande Coal to Diamond Platnumz, Yemi Alade, Stonebwoy, Innos’B, Kcee, 9ice, Obesere, Jeriq, Skales, Moliy, Mavo, and Ayuba, the African stars took turns to thrill a cheering crowd and give an unforgettable night of excitement.
Saturday, January 10, was devoid of official activities as guests and musicians took the time to relax ahead of the big day on Sunday, January 11, while officials kept working round the clock to achieve a successful event.
On Sunday, January 11, the Eko Convention Centre, situated inside the Eko Hotels and Suites, was busy with beehives of activities that heralded the 9th Gala night and awards ceremony of the continental music and culture ceremony.
The glamour and the glitz of the ceremony became the order of the day as the Red Carpet kicked off at 3:30 pm till 6:30 pm when guests entered the hall for the commencement of the ceremony that kicked off at exactly 7pm.
Nigeria’s FalzTheBahdGuy and French-Senegalese actress and media personality, Liliane Maroune welcomed attendees and guests as hosts of the 9th edition of the awards. Falz emerged the second Nigerian, after music legend 2Baba, who co-hosted the prestigious ceremony at the inaugural edition in 2014.
Despite some production glitches and errors during the five-hour long ceremony, attendees were treated to a night of African royalty with the hosts looking glamorous in their different outfits throughout the night.
Nigerian music stars Burna Boy, Rema, Yemi Alade, Shallipopi and Phyno emerged among the biggest winners of the night. Rema, who attended the event in company of his associates, stood out clinching three major awards -Best Male Artiste in Western Africa, Artiste of the Year, and Best African Artiste, Duo or Group in African RnB/Soul for Calm Down.
Burna Boy, who was absent at the ceremony, clinched the Album of the Year award for his No Sign of Weakness’ album, while Yemi Alade’s You Are from Iyanu: The Animated Series won Best Soundtrack in a Movie, Series or Documentary.
Other Nigerian winners include fast-rising act, Shallipopi, who not only performed at the event but also won Song of the Year with his 2025 monster hit ‘Laho’ and Best African Collaboration alongside Burna Boy for the remix of ‘Laho.’ Phyno won Best African Artiste in African Hip-Hop, while rising star Chella clinched African Fans’ Favourite with his hit single, ‘My Darling.’
Other winners on the night included Tanzania’s Jux, Cindy Le Coeur of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Wendy Shay from Ghana, and DJ Moh Green from Algeria.
