Grammys introduce African category

The development forms part of additions and amendments that were voted on and passed at the Recording Academy’s most recent semi-annual board of trustees meeting last month. 

It also follows calls for more consideration of African music at the Grammys, which have in recent years been criticised by the Afrobeats community for snubbing the most talked-about genre in the world.

In September last year, during a trip to Ghana, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr had revealed that the organisation was considering an Afrobeats category at music’s biggest awards event.

The Best African Music Performance, a track and singles category, will celebrate recordings that utilise unique local expressions from across the continent. Specifically, it would highlight regional melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical traditions, including Afrobeat, Afro-fusion, Afro-pop, Afrobeats, amapiano, highlife, bongo flava, fuji, kwassa, ndombolo, mapouka, Ghanaian drill, Afro-house, South African hip hop, Ethio-jazz genres and a host of others.

“By introducing these three new categories, we are able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists, and relocating the Producer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year categories to the General Field ensures that all our voters can participate in recognising excellence in these fields,” Mason said. “We are excited to honour and celebrate the creators and recordings in these categories, while also exposing a wider range of music to fans worldwide.”

He added: “These changes reflect our commitment to actively listen and respond to the feedback from our music community, accurately represent a diverse range of relevant musical genres, and stay aligned with the ever-evolving musical landscape.” 

At last year’s Grammys, South African artists Nomcebo Zikode, Zakes Bantwini and Wouter Kellerman emerged triumphant, taking home the Best Global Music Performance category for their collaboration on the song ‘Bayethe’. Nigerian singer Tems also took home her first Grammy in the Best Melodic Rap Performance category for her appearance on Future’s ‘Wait for U’ featuring Drake.