# Maso Awards

Maso Awards are Malawian music award show that was established in early 2019 to celebrate entertainers and other minorities in music, film, philanthropy and fashion. Maso awards are a brainchild of MASO Enterprise which is a company founded by Augustine Mukisi, Beaton Ndawa, Fedson Mwadala and Mphatso Tembo and handles event management and branding,graphics and social media management, web design... The event takes place in Malawian major cities and it is featured by performances from artists. They are one of the major Malawi's local music industry awards. The awards recognizes Malawian music from all genres, including gospel. The awards also promote culture and encourages people to showcase their talents. The awards categories are split into male and female.

## History

The Maso Awards started in the early 2019 by the Maso Enterprises aiming at promoting of local music talents within the country. The CEO of the awards is Augustine Mukisi. The winners receive a gold-plated statuette.

### Artist of the Year

The Artist of the Year award is the highest and most prestigious of the awards given at the event given to the artist(s) following votes by the general public as having the highest audience appeal, online streaming, popularity and radio play. To be chosen as the artist of the year, the artist must have a released hit single/album during the year under review to be eligible.

## List of ceremonies
### 2019

The 2019 inaugural ceremony took place in Blantyre.

### 2021

The 2021 physical events took place in Lilongwe on 17 December 2022 after two years of holding the events online. The Maso Awards had over 13 categories. The Male Best upcoming of the year awards were given Driemo while the female was Niekay. The Best album award went to Phyzix for his album titled "Flaws". The Lifetime achievement were given to Lucius Banda, among other winners and categories.

### 2022

The 2022 Awards were expanded and had 16 more categories with at least 10 non-musical. The awards took place in Blantyre at Amaryllis Hotel on 26 November.

### 2023

The 2023 ceremony took place at Bingu International Conference in Lilongwe where more than 135 artists were nominated in 35 categories for the awards. Out of the total of 35 categories, 32 were permanent where as three were temporary with their addition to reflect the theme of the awards. Among the winners were Sir Paul Banda who took home the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Maso Humanitarian Award for the social media influencer were given to Pemphero Mphande. Among notable artists that won were Zeze Kingstone among others.

## Current award categories
### Music

* Best New Female Artist
* Best New Male Artist
* Song of the Year
* Best Hip Hop Act
* Video of the Year
* Best Gospel Artist
* Producer of the Year
* Best Dancehall Act
* Album of the Year
* Female of the Year
* Male of the Year
* Best Duo/Group
* Lifetime Achievement

### Media

* Best Radio DJ/Personality
* Best Entertainment writer
* Best TV personality
* Media Legend

### Fashion

* Most Fashionable Celebrity
* Designer of the Year
* Model of the Year
* Living Legend
* Fashion Icon

## Host Cities

| Year | Country | Host city | Venue | Host(s) |
| 2019 | Malawi | Blantyre | Golf Club | Joy Nathu |
| 2021 | Malawi | Comesa Hall, Blantyre | Golf Club | Chifundo Maganga |
| 2022 | Malawi | Lilongwe | BICC |
| 2023 | Malawi | Lilongwe | BICC | |

## Recipients

List of selected recipients and years:
| Category | Nominee / work (and year) | Result |
| Song of the Year | Anana by Piksy (2022) | Won |
| Best Collabo of the Year | Legends by Phyzix and Various Artists (2022) | Won |
| Dj of the Year | Joy Nathu (2022) | Won |
| Fashion Designer of the Year | Roy View (2022) | Won |
| Music Video of the Year | Mojo by Driemo (2022) | Won |
| Best Comedian | Che Mandota (2022) | Won |
| Producer of the Year | Tactic (2022) | Won |
| Life Time Achievement Award | Giddess Chalamanda (2022) | Won |
| Poet of the year | Raphael Sitima (2022) | Won |
| Best Male Artist | Driemo (2022) | Won |
| Best Female Artist | Tuno (musician) (2022) | Won |
| Best feature film | The Last Fishing Boat (2022) | Won |
| Best Gospel Act | Suffix (2022) | Won |
| Best Actress | Flora Suya (2022) | Won |
| Media Personality of the Year | Priscilla Kayira (2022) | Won |
| Best group/duo of the Year | Ace Jizzy and Beejay (2022) | Won |
| Album of the Year | Red Flag by Eli Njuchi (2022) | Won |
| Best sound engineer of the Year | John Nthakomwa (2022) | Won |
| Best male upcoming artist | Zonke (2022) | Won |
| Best female upcoming artist | Kellie Divine (2022) | Won |
| Best Live Act | Tay Grin (2022) | Won |
| Gospel Song of the Year | Mwandikondera by Suffix (2022) | Won |