African Acts And The Grammy Award 

-FUMILAYO KANMODI

African music is now getting much-deserved recognition, and talented stars have been rewarded for their hard work.

One award many covet has always been the Grammy Award, and we have had African acts that have received the award. In our little way of celebrating the growth of African music, here is a list of every African act and artist that has received a Grammy award.

Categorising the Grammy Awards as one of music’s highly converted awards is no understatement; many often have mixed feelings as to why much relevance is placed on an artist securing a Grammy award before he or she can be viewed as an artist who has succeeded in the West.

For Western artists, the award itself is highly significant because, over time and in some instances, the Recording Academy has always celebrated talent and hard work. Accomplishing this, however, as an African act is something that is noteworthy and worth celebrating.

This is the case because winning such an important and prestigious award is a testament to how far such an artist has come in the music industry and just how much people are paying attention to African music as a whole.

From legendary figures such as Fela Kuti to Angelique Kidjo and many more, African music has remained in the spotlight, and the evolution of African music is one that has been recognised and is now celebrated with a new category by the Recording Academy.

Music has always been something African acts have always been passionate about; the crucial part is, however, receiving recognition for your passion. The Recording Academy has continued to reward artists for their excellence, and we have compiled a list of Africans who have continued to be recognized.

A notable figure in the history of South African music, Zenzile Miriam Makeba, a gifted singer and activist popularly known as Mama Africa, has a total of nine Grammy Award nominations under her belt. She became the first African artist in the award’s history to receive a Grammy award in 1964 with her collaborative album with Henry Belafonte, titled An Evening with Belafonte, in the Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording category.

The first Nigerian to ever win a Grammy award, according to the Grammy Official website, was Sikiru Adepoju at the 53rd edition of the award ceremony. The talented artist won the Best Contemporary World Music Album for his contribution to the album, ‘Global Drum Project.’

List Of African Acts That Have Won A Grammy Award

Tems

Black Coffee

Miriam Makeba

Sikiru Adepoju

Tinariwen

Wouter Kellerman

Wizkid

Burna Boy

Youssou N’Dour

Soweto Gospel Choir

Ali Farka Toure

Angelique Kidjo

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

However,  Nigerian music superstars Davido, Burna Boy, Asake, Olamide, and Ayra Starr have all earned nominations in the category as well for the 2024 Grammy Awards.

Nigerian Afrobeats stars have dominated the list of nominees in all Africa categories of the 2024 Grammy Awards, with Burna Boy leading the pack with four nominations.

Singer Davido earned three nominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards – marking his first return to the list of nominees in over ten years.

He posted on X, formerly Twitter, about his long patience to get back to the list: “3 nominations at the Grammys! Delay is not denial!”

Davido has been nominated for the Best African Performance category for his hit single ‘Unavailable’ featuring Musa Keys.