Times Of Swaziland: SATMA NOMINATION FOR LODANDA SATMA NOMINATION FOR LODANDA ================================================================================ Dudu Dube on 21/11/2023 09:10:00 Mbabane – Lodanda Nemalangeni has been nominated for the Best Siswati/Group category at the South African Traditional Music Awards (SATMA) 18 Awards. This information was confirmed by Samkelo Dlamini, a member of the group, in an interview with this publication. The SATMA Awards are an annual ceremony that celebrate music created in the style of the people and various language groups of South Africa. They were founded by Dumisani Goba in 2005, with the aim of promoting unity and eliminating tribalism. The official slogan of the awards is ‘My Culture, Your Culture, One Nation’. The awards, which were inaugurated in 2006, strive to bring together people from all races and ethnic groups by celebrating South Africa’s diverse musical cultures and combating tribalism and other divisive measures. This year, the awards will take place on December 15 at the DCC DOME in SA. According to Dlamini, the group received the nomination through their talent and was contacted by Ligwalagwala FM, a renowned South African radio station. They were informed that their music was well-loved by people from Mpumalanga, which led to their nomination. “We received a call and they shared that they saw some of our videos on YouTube. They said our music was most loved by people from Mpumalanga and that is how we bagged the nomination,” he said. Dlamini expressed his excitement about the nomination and mentioned that it would help the group achieve their goal of promoting indigenous music. He also encouraged people to support the group by downloading their songs from platforms like Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify and Clouds Music. Furthermore, Dlamini appealed to local companies and event organisers to support the group and contribute to the growth of the genre. Lodanda has been in the music industry for about a decade and focuses on producing 100 per cent undiluted pure Swati music. Her songs tell stories of emSwati women and their dances. This nomination is significant as it marks the first time a local artist has been nominated in this category at the SATMA Awards. Other local artists have received international nominations, such as Uncle Waffles, who was nominated for a BET Award and Linda Dlamini, who was recently nominated for the South African Gospel Awards. Since 2006, the SATMA Awards have been hosted in various provinces and cities across South Africa, including KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, and Bokone Bophirima (North West). The awards have also been held in venues such as Durban, East London and Mafikeng. Additionally, the SATMA road show has been conducted in all provinces as part of the build-up to the main event.