Nasty C Earns AFRIMA Nod For “Soft” Featuring Usimamane
Nasty C Earns AFRIMA Nod For “Soft” Featuring Usimamane. South African rap star Nasty C has been nominated for Best Male Artiste in Southern Africa at the 2025 All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) for his single “Soft” featuring Usimamane.
The nomination places the Durban-born hitmaker among the region’s most celebrated performers this year, with “Soft” earning recognition for its slick writing, chart-ready polish, and a hook that has dominated playlists across the continent.
AFRIMA—sanctioned by the African Union—returns to Lagos, Nigeria, with a week of events culminating in the main awards show. AFRIMA Awards Week runs from November 25 to 30, 2025, turning the city into a pan-African music hub through concerts, industry summits, and a nominees’ party ahead of the ceremony.
Beyond the regional category, “Soft” also scores Nasty C additional recognition on the continental stage: Best African Lyricist/Rapper and Best African Artiste, Duo or Group in African Hip-Hop—both for the collaboration with Usimamane. The triple-threat showing underscores the song’s cross-border traction and the rapper’s consistency as one of SA hip-hop’s most exportable voices.
This year’s Lagos hosting is designed as a full cultural takeover—spanning the Africa Music Business Summit, the AFRIMA Music Village/Festival, and citywide showcases—before the red-carpet finale on the last day of the awards week. Organisers and the Lagos State Government have already signalled readiness to welcome artists and fans from across Africa and the diaspora.
Nasty C’s nomination caps a strong year for Southern African artists at AFRIMA and further cements his status as a regional bellwether. With “Soft,” he extends a catalogue that reliably blends lyrical sharpness with mainstream appeal—now formally acknowledged by one of the continent’s biggest stages.
