Leading up to the 66th Grammy Awards on February 4, the Recording Academy, organizers of the awards, have unveiled a list of African artists since the 1960s, sparking controversy on social media due to the omission of Nigerian music stars Wizkid and Tems.
According to the rundown, Miriam Makeba, the late South African songstress, stood as the first African winner of a Grammy award. Sade Adu, the pop sensation, followed suit, securing her place as the first Nigerian to clinch the global accolade, while Burna Boy emerged as the most recent and final Nigerian to bag the golden microphone.
Grammy Award – Africa Winners List:
- Miriam Makeba (South Africa) — Best Folk Recording (with Harry Belafonte) – 1966
- Sade Adu (Nigeria/UK) — Best New Artist – 1986
- Ali Farka Touré (Mali) — Best World Music Album – 1994
- Cesária Évora (Cape Verde) — Best Contemporary World Music Album – 2004
- Youssou N’Dour (Senegal) — Best Contemporary World Music Album – 2005
- Angélique Kidjo (Benin/France) — Best Contemporary World Music Album – 2008
- RedOne (Morocco) — Best Dance/Electronic Album – 2010
- Tinariwen (Mali/Algeria/Libya) — Best World Music Album – 2012
- Burna Boy (Nigeria) — Best Global Music Album – 2021
- Black Coffee (South Africa) – Best Dance/ Electronic Album — 2022
Recall that in March 2021, Wizkid won his first-ever Grammy award for his role in ‘Brown Skin Girl,’ a 2019 song by Beyonce, in the ‘Best Music Video’ category. In 2023, Tems won her first-ever Grammy award in the ‘Best Melodic Rap Performance’ category for her role in ‘Wait for U,’ the 2022 hit song by Future featuring Drake.
Upon the release of the list by the Grammy organizers, questions were raised about the criteria used to assemble it. Some users argued that Wizkid and Tems were left off the list because they won Grammys as featured artists. However, it remains unclear why both Nigerian music superstars were omitted from the official Grammy Africa Winners List.
The 2024 Grammy Awards are scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 4, in Los Angeles. The award organizers have also introduced the ‘Best African Music Performance’ category to recognize African artists, with nominees including Asake, Olamide, Tems, Burna Boy, and Ayra Starr.
