Over the weekend, the nominees for the 2012 Salax Awards were announced by Ikirezi group, the organisers of Rwanda’s premier music awards.Last year’s best male artiste, King James, leads the pack with five nominations. Rapper Ama-G The Black is the main surprise as he’ s nominated for Best Male Artist, Best  Hip Hop Artist and Best New Artist.Though the Salax Awards are in their 5th edition, this year  is proving to be rough on the part of organisers as a big number of musicians have opted to withdraw their names from the awards.Alpha Rwirangira, who is based in the US and nominated in the Diaspora Recognition category, was the first to pull out claiming he’s not ready to take part.Kitoko, Knowless, Dream Boys, Uncle Austin, Tom Close and Jay Polly have also withdrawn their names from the list yet there are rumors more artistes will pull out by March 9 when the event will be held.

The full list of nominees1.Best Male ArtisteA. Ama-G The blackB. KamichiC. King JamesD. Mani MartinE. Urban Boys2. Best Female ArtisteA. AllioniB. KnowlessC. PaccyD. Queen ChaE. Young Grace3.Best New ArtisteA. AllioniB. Ama-G The BlackC. Bruce MelodyD. Jay –CE. Queen Cha4. Best Traditional ArtisteA. Daniel NgarukiyeB. IndangamirwaC. Intore TuyisengeD. Mani MartinE. Mr Focus5. Best Afro BeatA. KamichiB. King JamesC. Mico da BestD. Senderi international HitsE. Uncle Austin6.Best Hip Hop ArtisteA. Ama-G The blackB. Bull DoggC. FiremanD. Jay PollyE. Riderman7. Best RnB ArtisteA. Bruce MelodyB. ChristopherC. KnowlessD. Mani MartinE. Tom Close8. Best Gospel ArtisteA. Alarme MinistriesB. Bobo BonfilsC. Dominic NicD. Pateint BizimanaE.  Tonzi9.Best GroupA. Dream BoysB. Just FamilyC. TBBD. TNPE. Urban Boys10. Song of the YearA. Bagupfusha ubusaB. BibayeC. PalapalaD. Take it offE. Uruhinja11. Best AlbumA. Batatu ku rugamba – Urban BoysB. Biracyaza – King JamesC. My Destiny – Mani MartinD. Ubumuntu – KamichiE. Uzambarize Mama – Dream Boys12. Best VideoA. BibayeB. ByacitseC. Komeza utsindeD. My DestinyE. Take it off13. Diaspora recognition AwardA. Alpha Rwirangira – USAB. Ben Kayiranga – FranceC. Jali – BelgiqueD. Meddy –USAE. The ben