A Nomination Close To My Heart

 I am deeply honoured to have been nominated for Best Jazz Album at the BOMU Awards for my album Sephonono. 

For me, this nomination is about more than visibility. It is about the music itself being heard, received and valued. Sephonono is a deeply personal album. It carries memory, heritage, storytelling, womanhood, home, rhythm and spirit. When I created this work, I wanted to honour the emotional and cultural world that has shaped me, and to express it through the language of jazz. 

That is why this particular nomination matters so much to me. Best Jazz Album speaks directly to artistry, craftsmanship, musical interpretation and the integrity of the album as a complete body of work. It honours the depth of the music itself — the arrangements, the storytelling, the feeling, the musicianship and the soul. For an artist like me, whose voice and journey are rooted in jazz, that kind of recognition carries special meaning. 

This season has also been meaningful to me for another reason. Earlier this year, I had the extraordinary honour of receiving the No. 1 Music Award in a moment connected with Sir Alexander McCall Smith at the Phuthadikobo Museum in Mochudi, in recognition of my music and its cultural impact. 

That earlier recognition reminded me that music has a life beyond performance. It carries place. It carries memory. It carries identity. It tells the world who we are. In that sense, I have come to see Sephonono not only as an album, but as part of a larger conversation about Botswana, about our stories, our beauty, our emotional truth and the value of our cultural voice. The recognition linked to Sir Alexander McCall Smith earlier this year made me reflect even more deeply on the relationship between storytelling in books and storytelling in song. Both can preserve a people’s spirit. Both can travel far beyond borders. 

My journey in music has never been simple or hurried. It has been a journey of patience, growth, challenge, faith and grace. Fourteen years after my debut album Mmasonoko, I returned with Sephonono carrying not only experience, but also a deeper understanding of why I sing and what I want my music to leave behind. To now see this album recognised in the BOMU Awards is both humbling and affirming. It tells me that the work has landed where it was meant to land — in the hearts of listeners and within the wider story of Botswana music. 

I want to thank everyone who has walked this journey with me — my family, my fellow musicians, my collaborators, my listeners, my supporters, and every person who has listened to Sephonono with an open heart. Thank you for believing in my voice. Thank you for honouring Botswana jazz. Thank you for receiving this music with such warmth and generosity. The launch of my new website this year as a digital home for my music and story has also reminded me that this moment is not only about one nomination, but about building a legacy with care and intention. 

To my fellow nominees, I offer my warm congratulations. And to BOMU, thank you for this recognition. 

Whatever happens next, I receive this nomination with gratitude and pride. 

Because for me, this is a nomination close to my heart. 

— Nnunu Ramogotsi