Not a single one of the ten Nigerian artists nominated across five categories in the 66th edition of the Grammy Awards was deemed deserving of the prestigious global honors held annually in the United States.
Eight artistes of Nigerian descent – David Adeleke, aka, Davido; Damini Ogulu, aka Burna Boy; Ahmed Ololade, aka Asake; Olamide Adedeji, aka Baddo; Oyinkansola Aderibigbe, aka Ayra Starr; Chukwuka Ekweani aka Ckay; Adedamola Oyinlola Adefolahan aka Fireboy DML; and Temilade Openiyi aka Tems all lost out of the Grammy in their combined 10 nominations across different award categories.
In November 2023, the eight artistes were nominated for the 2024 Grammy Awards.
Few months later, the Nigerian afrobeats stars that were nominated were Burna Boy, Davido, Tems, Ayra Starr, Olamide and Asake, lost the inaugural ‘Best African Music Performance’ trophy to South-African singer Tyla who earned the prize with her 2023 track, “Water”.
Davido lost three categories with ‘Feel’ nominated for the Best Global Music Performance category, ‘Timeless’ nominated for the Album of the Year category, and his ‘Unavailable’ nominated for Best African Music Performance.
Grammy award winning star, Burna Boy lost four with The artiste’s song ‘Alone’ lost to the trio of Zakir Hussain, Bela Fleck and Edgar Myer’s song ‘Pashto’, which won the Global Music Performance category.
The second award lost by the Nigerian artiste was the Best African Music Performance category, which was won by South Africa’s female. Her song, ‘Water’ saw off competition from Burna’s ‘City Boys.’
Third on the list was the Best Melodic Rap Performance category, won by American rappers Lil Durk and J Cole. Their song titled ‘All My Life’ was rated above ‘Sittin’ On Top of the World’ by Burna Boy and 21 Savage. Burna Boy lost his fourth nomination – Best Global Music Album.
Tems who won her first Grammy last year in the Best Melodic Rap category for her collaboration with Future and Drake on the track ‘Wait for You’, lost in the Song Written for Visual Media category. The Grammy Awards which held once again at Los Angeles saw performances from some of music’s biggest stars. Comedian and former “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah returned to host the ceremony for the fourth time in a row.
Nigerians took to several social media platforms to express their disappointment in the outcome of the 2024 Grammy Academy Awards, which signaled a poor outing for Nigerian artistes as none of them bagged the prestigious annual award.
Following last night’s announcement of the awards winners, music producers, artists, songwriters, and online communities have flocked to social media to express their discontent with the Recording Academy’s choices. Several controversies emerged from the prestigious event.
When Tyla Laura Seethal, also known as Tyla, was declared the winner of Best African Music Performance, there was a significant uproar as Fela’s timeless classic, ‘Water No Get Enemy’, was played instead of Tyla’s track. This blunder raised doubts about the organizers’ familiarity with the songs they deemed the best in African music performance.
In response, Adesope, known as Shopsydoo and self-proclaimed Afrobeats ambassador, criticized the Grammy Recording Academy, suggesting that they were merely exploiting Nigerian artists to gain traction and popularity within the African continent category. He lamented that artists like Davido were utilized for marketing purposes and then disregarded.
Shopsydoo went on to advise African artists against submitting their work to the Recording Academy, questioning their credibility by highlighting the confusion between Fela’s ‘Water’ and Tyla’s award-winning song in a category supposedly well understood by the organizers. Apparently, “They had no clue about the award they were given.”
Another controversy arose in the category of the Best Global Music Album that had Epifanías — Susana Baca, History — Bokanté, I Told Them… — Burna Boy, This Moment – Shakti, Timeless — Davido. With ‘This Moment’ winning the category.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, “Global” is defined as “of or relating to the entire world: Worldwide.” Something attains a global status when it is widely recognized and acknowledged. Therefore, a Global Music Album is expected to have a worldwide presence, whether through streams, social media engagement, or other means.
It was revealed after some research work that the winning song, ‘This Moment’ by Shakti, released on June 23, 2023, has garnered less than 100,000 views in total, with the highest stream, Shrini’s Dream, amassing only 20,000 views in the past seven months. In contrast, Davido’s “Timeless” accumulated close to 100 million streams within ten months of its release, and Burna Boy’s “I Told Them” garnered over 50 million streams on YouTube.
However, the Recording Academy explained the criteria for award selection, stating, “Musicians, singers, songwriters, producers, engineers, and others who have made an impact in the industry comprised the voting members.” Every voting member has the opportunity to cast their votes in four general categories: Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. In other categories, voters cast ballots only within their areas of expertise, such as pop, rock, hip-hop, country, jazz, classical, etc. In both voting rounds, Academy members are required to vote solely based on quality, without consideration for sales, chart performance, personal relationships, regional preferences, or company affiliations.
Meanwhile, Jay-Z faulted the Recording Academy Award for marginalization. He took a moment to acknowledge his fraught history with the Recording Academy, which he has long accused of marginalizing Black artists.
The hip-hop mogul specifically noted that his wife has won more Grammys than any other artistes — but never the prestigious Album of the Year despite a smattering of nominations.
“Think about that, most Grammys, not one Album of the Year — that does not work,” he said.
“Some of you might leave here tonight feeling like you’ve been cheated. Some of you might actually be cheated,” he continued, eliciting laughter. The irony of the situation is that he made these remarks while holding a Grammy in his hand, which is quite audacious of him. It would be more commendable for him to follow the example of Eminem, who openly criticized the Grammy Awards and subsequently refused to attend. It’s contradictory to take a stand against something while still participating in it.
Let’s momentarily set aside the controversies and address the undeniable fact that Nigerian artists nominated for these awards were overlooked. The past two years have been monumental for Nigerian musicians. Nearly all the artists nominated for the Grammy embarked on European tours within the last year. The O2 Arena has emerged as the new Muri Okunola Park, with Nigerian artists consistently selling out this arena. Even Asake, who has recently risen to prominence in the music scene, managed to sell out one of Europe’s largest venues despite being in the industry for less than three years.
Burna Boy made history by becoming the first African artist to sell out shows in various stadiums worldwide. He has performed in nearly every country globally, excluding Asia, Australia, and South America. Nigerian artists have consistently sold out every international show they’ve undertaken. European musicians are eager to collaborate with Nigerian artists due to the tremendous hype surrounding them. This is evident in unexpected collaborations, such as One Republic featuring on Kcee’s Ojapiano remix.
Given these remarkable achievements, it’s bewildering that Nigerian artists were overlooked at the Grammys this year. One might question whether the Grammy Awards are leveraging Nigeria for clout. Should Nigerian artists cease submitting their work for Grammy consideration and focus solely on gaining recognition within their own communities?
While we may not have taken home a Grammy, Damini Ogulu, aka Burna Boy, made history by becoming the first Nigerian artist to perform live on the Grammy stage. His electrifying performance alongside Brandy and 21 Savage was a momentous occasion indeed.
