On their official website, MTV Base has buzzed praises of itself as the only establishment that highlights the “gold standard” in music, creativity and achievement, and that at the sixth edition of the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA) they are going to do it once again. Some of the nominees have already been named and the grand occasion will this time be live from The Ticketpro Dome, Johannesburg, South Africa on Saturday, October 22, 2016.

Below is the list for the first bunch of nominees:

BEST MALE

Black Coffee

Wizkid

Patoranking

Aka

Diamond Platnumz

BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT

Drake

Beyoncé

Rihanna

Adele

Future

BEST COLLABORATION IN ASSOCIATION WITH ABSOLUT

Sauti Sol Ft Alikiba – “Unconditionally Bae”

Patoranking Ft Sarkodie – “No Kissing”

Nasty C Ft Davido, Cassper – “Juice Back (Remix)”

Aka Ft Burna Boy, Khuli Chana & Yanga – “Baddest”

Dj Maphorisa Ft Wizkid & Dj Bucks – “Soweto Baby”

PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR IN ASSOCIATION WITH DSTV

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Caster Semenya

Linda Ikeji

Pearl Thusi

Wizkid

BEST GROUP

Toofan

Navy Kenzo

Sauti Sol

Mi Casa

R2bees

BEST LIVE ACT

Mafikizolo

Flavour

Cassper Nyovest

Eddy Kenzo

Stonebwoy

BEST LUSOPHONE

C4 Pedro

Nelson Freitas

Preto Show

Lizha James

Nga

BEST POP / ALTERNATIVE

Tresor

Shekhinah

Timo Odv

Locnville

Desmond & The Tutus

BEST HIP HOP

Emtee

Olamide

Ycee

Kiff No Beat

Riky Rick

Meanwhile, the second round of nominations, comprising 7 additional award categories, including Artist of the Year, Best Female, Listener’s Choice, Best Breakthrough, Best Francophone, Song of the Year in partnership with Google, and Video of the Year, will be revealed at the Hard Rock Café in Lagos, Nigeria during Road to MAMA – Lagos 2016 (2 October 2016). No nominations will be revealed for the MTV Base Reimagined award, and MAMA Legend.

Senior Vice President & Managing Director, Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) Africa, Alex Okosi commenting on this year’s awards said, “The MAMA celebrates Africa’s incredible young musicians and trailblazers by breaking down barriers, driving engagement, and highlighting the continent’s rich and abundant talent. It’s an honour to be able to salute their achievements at MAMA 2016, and we offer our congratulations to all of the nominees as we look forward to the most exciting and diverse MAMA yet.”

Voting opened on September 21, at http://www.mtvbase.com and affiliated Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. Furthermore, fans can vote for Best Group and Best International Act from September 21, by simply searching for “MTV MAMA” on Google, with each Google account allowed 5 votes per category per day. Google voting for Best Breakthrough and Song of the Year will open on 2 October. Voting in all categories closes on October 19, 2016.