Last year’s awards really hurt me – Neo

POPULAR Zambian RnB singer James Makowane alias Neo has spoken candidly about his disappointment at continually missing out on awards, despite consistent nominations.

“Last year’s awards really hurt me,” Neo confessed in a recent interview with Kalemba. “I worked hard the whole year, and I felt I deserved the recognition.”

The Artiste who made his mark on the Zambian scene for several years, has many hit songs to his name such as ‘process’ which sort of announced his big feet in the Zambian landscape.

Neo is also the voice behind songs such as, Falling, ‘Bottle pali love’, ‘a woman’s Prayer’, ‘If love was a person’s, ‘At my Worst’, ‘Back to the Sender’ and of course, the current trending song, ‘After God Fear Men’ among many other.

If you can define consistency correctly than it’s probably N.E.O.

The mentioned songs paved way for nominations in various music categories and awards in the past few years such as the Ngoma award, Diamond Personality Awards, Kwacha Awards, MOSI Lager Zambian Music Awards, including the Zikomo Awards where he was just nominated last year.

However, despite the many nominations, his only award has been the 2021 Diamond TV Personality Awards Rising Star of the year, something unexpected of a star of his level of hard work.

But in an interview with Kalemba, the Artiste revealed that loosing awards last year did pinch a little.

Despite the sting of past losses, Neo remains optimistic.

“Well am a human being, and am a person who is patient, am a person who waits for his time. Even when I feel like life is not fair but I know that time comes and there is time for everything.”

“Let me tell you this… Last year I really got hurt because I really worked hard… like the whole year I was just being on point and I really felt I needed the recognition for last year. But anyway, like I said I got hurt in that moment and I picked myself up, and here we are, again,” confessed Neo.

Neo acknowledged the unwavering support of his fans. “My music and fans don’t fail me,” he states. “Maybe the system does, but it’s time for that to change.”

Looking ahead, Neo has exciting news for his fans. He’s set to launch his new album, “Home Coming,” on May 25, 2024, at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.

With new music on the horizon and a dedicated fanbase behind him, Neo is poised for a successful future, awards or not.

By Buumba Mwitumwa

Kalemba April 14, 2024