The nominations for the 2023 edition of the SAMA awards are a combination of established and rising artists.
Music producer and Gospel Gqom pioneer, Cairo CPT, is one of the fortunate artists to receive a nod at the long-running music awards - in the Best Gqom album category.
His 2022 much-loved album, ‘Love & Light' earned the Khayelitsha-born muso his very first SAMA nomination.
“I don’t want to lie, this award is the first one I’ve been nominated for in my life,” he told IOL Entertainment.
“This genre that I do isgubhu from Cape Town is underrated. I think this is a big one, people are going to be excited as well.
“My sound speaks to my fans and it’s not something I could have deviated from, hence why I keep upgrading the sound.”
‘Love & Light ', which carries the national anthem Sobonana Phambili (ft Zintle Kwaaiman and Thembi Mona), is Cairo CPT’s second studio album.
The 16-track collection has multi-million streams across all digital music streaming platforms and continues to dominate Mzansi’s music scene.
“Getting nominated for a SAMA does not only validate my position in the industry, it also inspires me to keep doing what I love to do,” he added.
The nomination comes a month after Cairo CPT released his much-anticipated third album, ‘World of Sgubhu’.
Cairo CPT is looking forward to the SAMAs, which is going back to KwaZulu Natal, and already has a designer in mind for his big night’s drip.
The SAMAs29 will take place at the Durban ICC on November 18, 2023 and broadcast live on SABC1.