Do you remember sophomore year in college? That beautiful time when you're no longer a freshman, school is no longer strange and confusing. You meet up with friends from your previous year, but you also make new ones. Your peers and teachers take you more seriously. It is an achievement, and however small it seems to others, it is a big deal for you. After all, not everyone made it this far!

The UnKut Hennessy Hip Hop awards  is officially a sophomore.  managed.She is older, wiser, and  more experienced.She has made new friends, new partnerships and even added more categories to her catalogue.The buzz around the whole award ceremony has increased, and more players in the hiphop space are noticing. What perhaps is interesting is the esteem or regard in which these awards are held. It is a young project, but the respect it commands is exceptional! As one of Unkut's new friends we got the chance to sit down with it's founder  Ruby V and learn about a few intimate details.

Tangaza: What was the initial vision behind the creation of the UnKut Hip Hop awards? Is that vision being fulfilled as you saw it first?

Ruby V: I just wanted to create a central point where various Hip Hop artists could converge and be appreciated for their work. It was very much needed because Hip Hop is only put as a category in major award shows yet there's more to Hip Hop than just the music. There are other elements to be celebrated.

Tangaza: Take us a bit into the process of awarding a given artist. For example taking the category of best male artist,how does the nomination and eventual announcement of the winner happen? 

Ruby V: Nominations start from the fans. We put up the categories on our social media and ask them to tag who they feel deserves it. After that a panel of industry professionals vets artists suggested then comes up with a final list. Nominees are chosen based on consistency throughout the year, their effort in pushing their craft, streams/ media plays and of course, the skill.

Tangaza: There are new categories that have been added this year such as Best Coastal Hiphop Artist, Best Drill Artist and Best Alternative Media. What was the inspiration behind the addition of these categories to be awarded?

Ruby V: I've seen people asking because we included the coastal region could we consider other regions as well? The reason we added Best Coastal Hip Hop Artist specifically is because the roots of KE Hip Hop are from there because members of Ukoo Flani were based there. That region has also been hella active in pushing Hip Hop yet there has always been a disconnect between what is happening in Nairobi and Mombasa. This is the first effort towards merging these two regions. Other counties still need to pull up their socks.Drill Artist of the Year was added because it has been such a wave this year and there are plenty of new artists riding it. Best Alt Media was added because over the past two years we've really seen a rise in alternative media to traditional broadcast and we had to applaud those who are using alternative means to ensure Hip Hop gets heard.

Tangaza: Some fans point out, maybe rightly, maybe wrongly- that adding a category just for a specific genre (which is drill in this case) is unfair. In other words why is there a category for Best Drill artist and not Best Gengetone or Best Shrap artist? Please respond to these observations.

Ruby V: Gengetone is rap music, not Hip Hop so that's answered. We had Best Shrap Artist last year and Boutross won. Initially I was not for the Drill category being added but the rest of the team assured me that there were very many upcoming artists specializing on drill. The UnKut Hip Hop Awards is about inclusivity and celebrating the sounds inspired by Hip Hop so why not? Doesn't hurt anybody to celebrate more people, right?

Tangaza: The UnKut Awards team has made more partnerships going into its second edition. One of those partners is Tangaza Magazine,and on behalf of the team, I want to thank you for this opportunity. What are some of the other partners you've worked with before, which one's have you added on board? Also how are these partners important to the whole process? Any partners you'd like to work with in future?

Ruby V: Some of the brands I've worked with in the past are Belaire, Bongo Sawa, DilRay. This time round I'm working with Hennessy, Homeboyz Kenya, Swap, Axis and Mohwingz. It's the first time we're getting major corporate support and it is a much needed boost. WIthout corporate endorsements pulling off an event is hard. Hard but possible though. 

Tangaza: Is everything ready for the 18th December. Just tell fans about the actual event, the what, when, where maybe how? How do people find tickets or watch from home?

Ruby V: We're in the final stages of our plans, just tying up some loose ends. Our theme is Culture Over Fear and only 100 tickets are available on Tikiti. We've got Sean Carter Seats at Kshs. 5,000, The Diddy Deal at Kshs 3,500 and The Kanye Package at Kshs. 2,500. Each of these tickets comes with a meal and cocktail. We've got a red carpet so come dressed to kill cuz this is going down in Hollywood fashion on Dec 18th at Sarit Expo Center!

Check out everything on UnKut Hennessy Hip Hop Awards by following us on social media.