Guyanese artiste Samuel Medas was Sunday night awarded Best Regional Artiste of 2018 at the Gospel Music Awards of Trinidad and Tobago (GMATT). Medas was voted the best for this award from among three other regional artistes who were also nominated.
“It is an incredible feeling, not just for my personal career but for the history I’m making for my country”, the artiste said. He is the first Guyanese to receive the award. The award, he noted, was given after considering how successful an artiste was overall regarding how great his music is, live performances they would have done, social media presence and how frequently they toured.
Samuel received the award from Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Community Development, Culture and Arts, Nian Gadsby-Dolly.
Samuel’s latest single ‘Blowing My Mind’ was released last month and within a three-week span garnered more than one hundred thousand views on each of his Facebook pages. He descrives the song as a mind blowing song in which he tells God he’s amazed by His love and just when he thinks that God would have granted him enough grace, he did it again. He also took to mentioning some of the struggles people face and how they would have overcome by God’s grace.
Since copping the award, many took to congratulating the singer and wishing him the best. The song was recorded in an upbeat tempo. One fan in particular said she was off her seat in seconds.
Samuel in his acceptance speech thanked God and his wife, the woman who has stuck it out with him before anyone knew who he was. Receiving the award, he said, was something rather huge mentioning that he comes from Guyana, a country where the music industry is not as advanced as many other countries which would explain he said why persons would have tried to dissuade him from pursuing music.
He added “…this award is a wonderful testimony…. to show that the purpose and the call has to be bigger than your restrictions….” The singer also thanked Trinidad for giving him such an opportunity and also congratulated the other artistes to have made the nominations list of the Best Regional Award Category. The other artistes to have been nominated were – DJ Nicholas from Jamaica, John Yarde and Neesha Woodz, both of Barbados.
Samuel who anchored the show also was the final performance of the night. He shared songs with Jaron Nurse, DJ Nicholas and Blessed Messenger. During his performance in an impromptu move, all of the other nominees, winners and performers joined him onstage.
During his music career Samuel has worked along with some of the major names in the Caribbean including – Positive, Blessed Messenger, jaron Nurse, DJ Nicholas, Jermaine Edwards and Shermaine Gardener.
The artiste is currently attached to recording studio, Paradigm Audio Lab. Currently he’s working on his 2019 album and though he can’t give much details he does promise that it will be twice as epic as his last album ‘Royalty’ which was released last year.
Addressing where he’d like to see the gospel entertainment arena, Samuel said, “[I see us] strong and united and functioning as an arm of the tourism sector. I don’t think we realize yet how much the arts can develop Guyana.”
To his fans he says he loves the love shown and says to keep it flowing.
Currently Samuel is in St. Kitts for a concert. His calendar of activities is as follows – Gospel Fest Guyana at the Sophia Exhibition Complex (February 23rd), the Cornerstone Bible Fellowship in Bermuda (March 10th), Victory Assembly of God in New York (April 5th-7th), In the Midst Prophetic Worship in Tortola, B.V.I (April 14th) and on April 19th at the Pre-Easter Camp at Hararuni situated on the Linden/Soesdyke Highway.
