Get ready for the 2018 ECMA Awards – This year will mark the 30th anniversary of the East Coast Music Association and anticipation is building for this year’s award show taking place early May.
The 2018 East Coast Music Awards nominations were announced late January, and rap/hip-hop is decently represented and in multiple categories.
Nominees in the Rap/Hip-Hop Recording of the Year category included City Natives, Fortunato & DJ IV, Ghettosocks, Mitchell Bailey, and Quake Matthews.
Members of the East Coast hip-hop community found nods in other categories including Album of the Year, where Classified’s work on Ria Mae’s self-titled project is being recognized.
Meanwhile, City Natives were nominated in two other categories including Group Recording of the Year and Indigenous Artist of the Year.
Quake Matthews’ Celebrate the Struggle album is nominated for Rap/Hip-Hop Recording of the Year
Wordburglar’s “Channel Halifax” is up for Video of the Year, while Neon Dreams and Kardinal Offishall received a nomination in the Fans’ Choice Video of the Year category for the Cazhhmere-directed “Marching Bands.” Neon Dreams was also up for Fans’ Choice Entertainer of the Year, while group member Corey LeRue was also nominated for Producer of the Year.
It was a bit surprising not to see Quake get love for Celebrate the Struggle outside of the hip-hop category. The SOCAN Songwriter of the Year brought some of his best work to date on the project and we expected to see it get at least one or two more nominations.
In any event, well-deserved nominations all around and we hope to be on hand when they announced the winners.
“‘The 30th Anniversary of the East Coast Music Awards will be an incredible event, taking over the city of Halifax with five days of our region’s best music. This year’s nominees include well-established East Coast acts and exciting newcomers, which reflects not only our rich history of the past 30 years but also the direction our music is taking in the future,’ says Andy McLean, ECMA Executive Director. ‘We’re also thrilled to announce our showcasing lineup that highlights the variety of music coming out of the East Coast today. Plus, there’ll be many more exciting announcements in the weeks to come!’”
Halifax artist Ghettosocks is nominated for Rap/Hip-Hop Recording of the Year (Photo: Kelly Clark)
2018 ECMA Awards: Rap/Hip-Hop Recording of the Year
We’ve got the nominations for the Rap/Hip-Hop category here for you to check out.
Who do you think deserves the win?
City Natives – Dream Catchers
The 12-track Dream Catchers album was released on Sept. 29, 2017.
Download or stream it now on Bandcamp.
Fortunato x DJ IV – 2 Bad Dudes
2 Bad Dudes was released on Feb. 17, 2017 via URBNET Records.
Download or stream it now on Bandcamp.
Ghettosocks – Diamants en cendres
Diamants en cendres was produced by Kin’ Size Slim and released on Mar. 20, 2017
The Bandcamp embed / share tool for this project isn’t working properly. Please click here to check out Diamants en cendres by Ghettosocks.
Mitchell Bailey – Last Time Introducing Myself
The 10-track Last Time Introducing Myself was released on July 20, 2017.
Stream it now on Spotify.
Quake Matthews – Celebrate the Struggle
Celebrate the Struggle was released on July 7, 2017.
Stream it now on Spotify.
About ECMA
The East Coast Music Association (ECMA) is a regional collaboration of people in the music industry of Atlantic Canada that fosters, develops and celebrates East Coast music and its artists locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. The ECMA annually produces the ECMAs, one of the top music industry events in Canada, which includes Awards, a Festival, an Industry Conference and the International Export Buyers Program. ECMA and its programs are generously funded by the Government of Canada through the International Business Development Agreement (represented by Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, and Industry Canada), the Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Music Fund), the four provincial governments in Atlantic Canada, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and MUSICACTION. ECMA recognizes the support of the province of Nova Scotia, the Halifax Regional Municipality, and Platinum Partners The Chronicle Herald, Newcap Radio, and TD Bank Group.
Visit the official ECMA website, ECMA.com.
Stay tuned for more coverage of the 2018 ECMA Awards.
