A prestigious Grammy's brunch dedicated to African nominees took place at the Spring Place in Beverly Hills, California, The United States, on Saturday February 4, 2023. This is ahead of the highly anticipated 65th Grammy Awards taking place on Sunday at the Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles. Our very own South African talent, Zakes Bantwini and Nomcebo Zikode is nominated for their hit collaboration, Bayethe.
They attended the ceremony hosted by GUBA Enterprises where they expressed excitement over their nomination.
Nomcebo hopes to win the award but won't be a sore loser should she walk empty handed, “I’m hoping that South African people are going to be proud of me, we’re hoping to take this one but hey, if we don’t take it, it’s OK, I feel like I’m a winner already.”
It's all play and a little bit of work for Zakes Bantwini who said this at the event, “Being in LA for the Grammys and being able to network and connect with other fellow African artists, music executives, and entrepreneurs is such an amazing thing.
“I’ve been busy here with meetings with music executives, taking part in a Grammy Week panel discussion at the Grammy Museum, and later today I’m going to the studio to do some song programming and writing music — and of course getting ready for the big night.”
In an exclusive interview with ZAlebs, Zakes Bantwini appreciated the nomination and gave his fellow musicians a shout out. "I heard the news while I was out at a restaurant having dinner with friends. I was so happy and called everybody to share this moment with me. I made so much noise, and I am sure some of the customers in that restaurant thought I was crazy but, I was excited that I am nominated at the Grammy's. This is the biggest accolade I could ever get," he says.
"It means everything to me, shout out to Nomcebo Zikode and Wouter. It means I am in a good direction with my music career and I am dope," he added.
"I try by all means to never expect anything when it comes to the awards in SA because I have never had a good experience or luck with them. I feel like I have been snubbed so many times in SA, so awards are some of the things that I don't look forward to. If you had asked me before, I would have told you that was expecting a nomination from the MTV EMAs, BET Awards and so many awards. So, the Grammy was one of those things that I doubted but shout out to Nomcebo and Wouter who worked hard on this record. It's a collaborated effort and all credit needs to be given to everybody," he said.
