Eric happy to be a KORA nominee
Maureen Odubeng | Friday January 29, 2016 15:35
Eric has been nominated in the Best Spiritual Male category for his praise song Kabiosi. He is nominated alongside D-Naff (Namibia), Kidum (Burundi), Hatim Ammor (Morocco), Eugene Ablodevi (Togo), and Eddy Kamoso (Burundi).
Eric said being nominated for the prestigious awards means a lot to him, as it has the possibility of giving him international recognition and exposure.
He explained to Arts & Culture that the song which earned him a nomination at this year’s KORA awards is titled in Aruba, which is Yoruba, one of the languages spoken in Nigeria.
Explaining why he decided to mix Yoruba and English in his song, he said he wanted to come up with a song that people in Nigeria can identify with, as well as other parts of Africa. Yoruba is also spoken in Togo and Benin.
“I wanted to cater for the outside market,” he said.
He further explained that the song is his own composition, adding that even though he sings the song in English and Yoruba, the beats have an African feel and it will most definitely appeal to all Africans.
Eric explained that he believes being nominated for KORA awards will open doors for him and give him a lot of exposure.
He said the awards, on Monday launched a new category, which will reward any of the nominees whose song has the most downloads.
He explained that this particular category increases chances of his song being played by many people locally and outside the country. He said through the nomination he will be able to expand his base, and have opportunities to network, share skills and possibly partner with other musicians in the future.
In 2009 Eric won his first musical award as the Best Performing Artist in the Botswana National Youth Service Awards.
In 2011 he won Best Religious Song at the Museke Online Africa Music Awards (MOAMAS) held in New York, United States of America (USA).
He was nominated for Africa Gospel Music Awards for Best Male Artist in Africa the same year.
He won Botswana Musicians Union (BOMU) awards in 2007 and 2014 respectively.
In 2014, Eric became one of the 53 KORA 2014/15 goodwill ambassadors, picked as country representatives across the African continent in the fight against the deadly Ebola virus.
Voting started January 20. Those who wish to vote for Eric can send an SMS with Eric’s code, which is KORA 87 to +248984000 for international voting, which includes Botswana, and 33320 for voters in Nigeria and Namibia.
Local group Makwakwa Cultural Ensemble has also been nominated in the Best Traditional of Africa category for their song Re Dibini. The voting code for the group is KORA 79 (send to +248984000).
Eric urged Batswana to give them support through voting and any other support they can offer. The KORA Awards have been staged 12 times on the African continent.
The event has been hosted in South Africa, Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire.