The nominees for 2022 MTV Europe Music Awards have been announced ahead of the presentation ceremony scheduled for Düsseldorf at PSD Bank Dome, marking the annual global music celebration’s sixth time in Germany.
The sensational Ghanaian hip hop artiste, Black Sherif, makes his debut appearance as a nominee following an impressive year of dominance that saw him publish multiple hit songs and an album, “The Villain I Never Was” to his credit. The Accra-based rapper will be going up against Nigeria’s Ayra Starr, Burna Boy, Tems, Tanzania’s Zuchu and South Africa’s Musa Keyss in the “Best African Act” category. His nomination comes barely a week after losing this year’s BET Hip Hop Best International Flow Award.
Sherif’s sleek but compelling discography conveys his hustler’s tale. In August of 2020, he debuted on the platform with his “Forgive My Accent” freestyle, but became a household talent in 2021 after going viral with his “First Sermon” and “Second Sermon”. His fanbase further expanded after he published a Burna Boy-assisted “Second Sermon” remix later that year.
In March 2022, Sherif released his most introspective song yet, “Kwaku The Traveller.” The song is noted to have contributed immensely to his Audiomack growth, with over 35 million streams, making it the most-streamed song of 2022, thusly, on the platform. He also received significant recognition from DJ Khaled, who lauded the Ghanian artist’s latest single on his Instagram as a “big chune.”
Black Sherif released his debut album on October 6, which saw the Ghanaian rapper extends his raw delivery and the overcoming-self-sabotage philosophy he introduced on singles like “Kwaku The Traveller” and “Second Sermon” into a 14-track manifesto. Centred on making sense of a hard life, The Villain I Never Was plays like a collection of Sherif’s personal affirmations, ones he uses both to battle inner demons and fuel his ambitions.
Meanwhile, Harry Styles leads the nominations for the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs) 2022 with seven nods, including for best artist, best song and best video. Taylor Swift follows closely behind with six nominations, including for best artist, best pop, and the new category of best longform video. Nicki Minaj and Rosala each earned five nominations.