Here are the Heavy & The Beast Rock award winners
It was all rock and roll at Kenya’s first rock music awards, Heavy & the Beast, last Saturday.
Held at Rue 104 Lounge and Restaurant in the Central Business District, the award saw nominated artistes, bands and even radio presenters recognized for their work and impact on the rock scene in Kenya.
Phyline Jean held the stage down as the MC as the crowd was entertained by various artistes including Murfy’s Flaw, Kanyeki, Straight Line Connection, Last Year’s Tragedy and DJ Gurlfriend.
Heavy and the beast is the only online rock magazine in East and Central Africa that focuses on Kenyan rock. It was inspired by Daily Nation’s Zuqka column, which was written by Rish, the late Sam Kiranga and Issa Khalid.
What started out as a Tumblr blog passion project of two rock local rock fans who wanted to create awareness about the local rock music scene, soon moved to reviews and interviews of local artistes.
These blogposts have slowly but surely helped the site gain recognition with its writers even becoming the forefront of rock music journalism in East and Central Africa.
Heavy and the Beast has partnered with other African rock music sites like Audioinferno and Metal4africa doing pieces focusing on topics related to Kenyan rock music.
Here is the full list of winners on the night:
Best Female Artist- Rish
Best Male Artist- Sam Warui from Rash Band
Best Rock Song- Nitachange by Rash feat Ruff
Best Metal Song- Mammoth by Last Year’s Tragedy
Best Live Performance- Murfy’s Flaw
Best Music Video- Cheshire Grin by Powerslide
Best Radio Presenter- Nick Ndeda
Best African Act- Vale of Amonition from Uganda
Best International Act- Stick To Your Guns from USA
Heavy and the Beast Award (Awarded to those who have greatly impacted the Kenyan rock scene) – Mark Mwanyigah, DJ Edygrim and George Atsula