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  As one of the scene’s most popular ambassadors, many
  people were – and this is putting the following quite mildly –
  stunned at MOBO’s almost sacrilegious omission of both  
  Guvna B and Muyiwa from the 2009 gospel category.

  There were other deserving folk, but both these artists ticked all
  the right boxes totally in the round: significant sales within the
  sector, an undeniable profile on the scene, a clear and present
  achievement in their respective genres, plus a tangible
  commitment to excellence.

Be that as it may (and as something of a counterfoil to MOBO's inability to harness grassroots credibility), the Urban Music Awards once again proved their finger was close enough to the pulse to pick up on the vibe on the scene and present the world with a strong gospel nomination field (in alphabetical order):
29th ChapterGuvna BJahaziel
New Direction CrewSons Of LightVictizzle

The UMAs had also done away with the token US act nominations (MOBO went with Mary Mary and Kiki Sheard).

Anyway, the Guvna win was a popular one, much like Victizzle's at the MOBOs. I'd have liked to have seen Sammy G in that lineup as well, but whoever the UMA's advisers are - and for the record I am not one of them - they at least seem to have an understanding of the players and dynamics of the UK gospel scene.

More good news
An additional bit of good news for the UMAs was that the excellent startup website
MBrio Music sponsored the gospel category.

In the short time they've been online, MBrio has become a player I hugely respect for the quality they bring to the UK reporting landscape. Stop by and show the guys some love. You won't regret it.

Not all rosy
However, the UMAs still have work to do reputationally. Last year's event was marred by trouble at the 02 (and by all accounts things were gravely serious), and while I didn't attend this year's event, there were also murmurs about the event this time around.

As I wasn't there, that'll be pretty much all I can say about that.

Still, congrats to Guvna all all the people nominated. Every of those projects and artists are worthwhile nominees.

Don't take my word for it - check them all out on UKGShop.com

Yinka Awojobi

London based hiphop artist and writer - get Updates!

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