In case you didn't know, Cassper Nyovest did not submit his music to be considered for nomination at this year's South African Music Awards (Samas), because he believes he does not need awards to prove his worth — and also because, according to him, the awards are "trash" and "not credible".
This is not the first time. In 2016 and 2017, Nyovest did not submit his music for consideration either, after his hit song "Doc Shebeleza" had failed to be nominated in the record of the year category in 2015.
Earlier this year, when it was time for submissions, the "Tito Mboweni" hitmaker announced that he had not changed his mind about local awards shows and would not be entering his latest album, "Thuto", this year.
In May, Nyovest received a nomination for the Best International Act category alongside Distruction Boyz at the upcoming BET Awards.
When asked during a press conference why he takes part in international awards while boycotting local ones, Nyovest said he did not understand the credibility of the Samas and called for a conversation to be had on the subject.
He said the BET Awards come with a bigger market, which he believes is good for his growth prospects.
"How credible is the Samas? These are the kind of conversations we need to have. Why are some categories voted for by the people? I have so many questions, like when I was nominated for my first Sama [in 2015], I wasn't nominated for Record of the Year with "Doc Shebeleza", and my question was why they had to cut from 20 people to 10 the year we were nominated?
"These are questions that haven't been answered. For me, it was like: 'I can't submit at the Samas every year when I don't understand certain things and you have questions and no one has ever answered us'.
"So when I thought about it, for me it was like I don't really need the Samas. They don't take me anywhere. They don't expose me to anybody. They are here in South Africa and people in South Africa know me and love me regardless of whether I win or not.
"In terms of the BETs, they offer me a bigger market and I'm trying to grow. The Samas is trash though," Nyovest said.
Watch his response in full here:
But entertainment commentator Phil Mphela disagrees.
"I love Cassper, but he needs to chill. Right now, he's going to the BETs, and he's very excited about the nomination, and I understand it's an international award, but even there he doesn't know who actually makes the selection for nominees, and he probably doesn't care — it's BET. So why is it that when it comes to local awards, he wants to know who's selecting when?
"That said, I think at some point, there's some validity to his concerns, and I give him that, but at the same time, the idea that just because it's South Africa he needs to know who's voting and choosing nominees is ridiculous, because he doesn't ask for the same when it comes to international awards.
"If the process is done correctly and is not marred by controversies, then why do you want to know who's on the panel?" Mphela said.
He said local stars should also guard against coming across as bitter when they are not celebrated.
"Some of our celebrities are annoying in the sense that when they win all is okay, but when they are not nominated then all of a sudden they start to question processes, etc., yet when it was their turn they did not ask," he said.
The Samas kick off at the Sun City Superbowl on Friday night. The main awards will be held on Saturday and broadcast live on SABC1 from 8pm.