The Metro FM Awards saw celebrities come out in numbers in the town of Mbombela. Themed 'Black is Back', the event honoured the country's top musical talent. Rapper Kiernan 'AKA' Forbes was awarded with Artist of the Year, Best Collaboration Song, Best Hip-Hop Artist, and Best Male Artist categories. Fellow rapper and friend Ntokozo "K.O' Mdluli received seven nominations and no wins.

RECORD-BREAKING

K.O is currently in the UK for a few bookings and shows. He tells ZiMoja that he needed to seize international opportunities and expand his wings. "There were prior bookings that were made in the UK that coincided with the Metro FM Awards, so I could not attend. It's a great opportunity for me to spread my wings and explore new territories outside of the country,' he says. His song Sete featuring Blxckie and Young Stunna was number one on the radio charts for months. It reached a whopping 10 million views on YouTube, in just a month. It also held the number one spot on Radiomonitor airplay charts for at least seven weeks. Sete also joined Master KG and Nomcebo's Jerusalema the only South African song in Spotify history to receive at least over 300K streams per week in a period of six weeks.

NOMINATED SEVEN TIMES

With seven nominations and zero wins at the awards hosted in his hometown, K.O. is far from hurt and instead building his career abroad. "I have been fortunate enough to see so much success at home in South Africa as part of a group and as a solo artist. There is only so much one can do. Not that I take the nominations and awards lightly but I have never been invested like that,' he tells ZiMoja. "There are so many cases where you anticipate a win and it doesn't come or when you don't and you get it. So, awards are really a seesaw for any artist. It's up to you to maintain a level of sanity, you just need to focus on the things that matter. The fact that I was nominated seven times is already a blessing on its own,' he says. "This is a livelihood. I am living comfortably. I am blessed and able to feed my family through music, that's a big win for me, more than any trophy. I am happy for everyone that won that night,' he adds. "When you're a new artist coming, you expect the world to roll the red carpet for you, give you praises and you think trophies are your flowers and medals of honour. But with more years and maturity in the industry, you realise awards are not the end of it all.'

AWARDS ARE TRICKY

K.O says he doesn't understand why Sete didn't win that night. I don't know the mechanism. "Yes, there's a voting aspect, but it's cool. If it's based on that. Clearly, there was a lot more effort that was put out by the winners and fans to make sure they win. Once that is a deciding factor, then it becomes tricky how everything plays out. So, I don't really invest too much in trying to get into campaigning. I make the music and If people love it, they love it, if they don't, then they don't. Awards are not the end goal for me. I am able to go out, do shows, and do big numbers- those are the efforts that bring great returns. When it's all said and done, it is just PR. I am still happy even If I don't get any.' KO doesn't know If the judging was fair or not. "I don't know how it works. If people voted more for others than us, then that's final. There's nothing we can do about that. Awards or not. I am already a made man, legendary and I am going to continue performing my purpose with or without the trophies.'

HAPPY FOR HIS LATE FRIEND

He is proud of the rapper and friend AKA who won all four of his nominations. "We fed off each other. When he was doing great, it encouraged me to do better and sometimes better than him. It was visa versa for him. He always would make sure he tires to outdo that. It was a beautiful friendship and brotherhood with a great competitive spirit. One thing I can tell you is that man never stopped reminding me how he became the person he is because of a list of people like myself; Khuli Chana, and Kabelo Mabalane. Before the end of any conversation, he would give you flowers,' he says. "So, that is one thing I admired. I never really gave him his flowers the same way he did to me. That is one that is unsettling to me, but he knows that there was a lot of love. It still doesn't make sense and is still unreal to be talking about a great figure in the past tense."