Wilfred Okiche

The Headies a.k.a Hip Hop World Awards were held on Saturday night in a glitzy ceremony that went on into the wee hours of Sunday morning. Music enthusiasts and entertainment practitioners turned out en mass to honor the finest performers of the last one year despite the earlier downpour that threatened to mar the occasion.

The red carpet leading to the venue, the Expo Hall of the Eko Hotel and Suites glittered with stars from all walks of life. Nominees and guests parried questions from journalists and posed delightfully for the cameras.

The show itself started hours behind schedule with hosts eLDee and Rita Dominic taking charge of proceedings. The first set of awards were presented and winners included Darey, Ice Prince and his label mate, M.I.

Award presentations were punctuated with top notch performances by the brightest and best of Hip Hop’s finest. Waje, Jah Bless, Sound Sultan and Tiwa Savage, backed by a live band put up spirited performances but for sheer dexterity and crowd pleasing showmanship, none could top that of Afro Juju legend Sir Shina Peters who sent the crowd into ecstasy shortly after being inducted into the Hip Hop World Hall of fame.

2Face was the night’s big winner, scoring for Artiste of the year, R&B/Pop Album and Album of the year with his “Unstoppable: International edition” album. M.I, Ice Prince, Darey and Dr Sid scored two Headies each and everyone’s favourite kid, Wizkid went home with a brand new car for winning the Next Rated category. He also closed the show with his performance.

Alas, it was not a perfect night. Apart from the delay in commencement, guests who paid #5000 for the regular seats were huddled at the most disadvantaged part of the hall where they could only watch from one side of the stage. Technical problems were brought to the fore when Dr Sid’s performance was interrupted and he stormed off stage cursing at someone backstage. Save for a win by singer Waje in a female category, the ladies were totally shut out of this year’s awards.

Red carpet photos coming shortly.