Was the 2016 Grammy the most African ever?

Kendrick Lamar declared in his song ‘The Blacker the Berry’, “I am African.” By the end of the night he was the most awarded performer of the night. His performance was also one of the reasons the 2016 edition was African centred. A point emphasised when at the end of his session he stood with an outline of the continent behind him. The rapper also added African drums to his music onstage.

Following the ceremony, Lamar’s performance has been hailed, with major media in the US noting the African component of the set. " After a blistering rap," noted the New Yorke Times, "he stood in front of a giant glowing map of Africa marked with the word “Compton.”"

Although the night’s major categories—Best Album, Best Recording and Best Song—were won by artists from other cultures and most of the African nominees left empty-handed, the continent was rightly celebrated on music’s biggest award night.

Also, the legendary Beninoise artist Angelique Kidjo won a second straight Grammy Award and the third trophy over all in her long, much acclaimed career.

“He had a vision that African music can meet classical music,” Kidjo said about her collaborator on the album Sings, seconds after a delicious dance move brought her to the Grammy podium. “This is what music is about…to bring walls down.”

Praising musicians from her continent, she added a pointed advice to her audience: “"Africa is positive, Africa is joyful...[There is] vibrant music … from my continent that you have to get yourselves to discover. Africa is on the rise!”

In Los Angeles, faraway from the continet, it was hard to disagree with her.