2026 Grammys Reignite Questions on the African Music Category

On February 1, 2026, the 69th Grammy Awards were held in Los Angeles, California, and the award ceremony was of particular interest to Nigerian music fans, as it has been since the Best African Music Performance category was introduced.

This year, five Nigerian artists were nominated across two categories. Burna Boy led the contingent with two nominations as his album ‘No Sign of Weakness’ earned him his fifth consecutive nod in the global album category, while his single ‘Love’ from the album was in contention for the Best African Music Performance prize.

Other Nigerians nominated in the Best African Music Performance category are Davido and Omah Lay for ‘With You’ and Ayra Starr and Wizkid for ‘Gimme Dat’. They faced competition from South African star Tyla, whose hit record ‘Push 2 Start’ was nominated, and Uganda sensation Eddy Kenzo, who made the cut with his song ‘Hope and Love’ featuring Mehran Matin.

Ahead of the ceremony, fans have opined on the chances of the Nigerian superstars, with sentiments largely favouring Davido for the huge impact of his hit song ‘With You’ while Tyla’s status as a global pop star with a big song was considered the biggest hindrance to a Nigerian win.

It turned out to be a historic night for South African sensation Tyla, who became the first artist to win the African Music Performance category twice. Her single ‘Push 2 Start’, which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and has gained over 400 million Spotify streams, fended off competition from other contenders to win the prize.

While her win didn’t come as a surprise, given the precedent of her past win, it left several Nigerian fans disappointed in what was another loss for the Afrobeats stars, whose success played a significant role in the establishment of the category.

For some fans, they just couldn’t understand why Tyla won the prize. They wondered if the song was sufficiently African in its sonics or if her nomination was mainly because she’s African. Others were disappointed that their favourite artists failed to pick up the award, especially for Davido, who was considered a favourite.

Afrobeats star Teni considered Davido’s loss a robbery. Reknowned music executive Bankulli opined that the Grammy is the product of over 60 years of building and consistency by the United States, and Nigerians cannot afford to be entitled to it, especially when they have failed to build at home.

His thoughts are also shared by celebrated OAP and Hypeman DOTUN, who shared that the continuous debate over Afrobeats, both as a genre and the infighting within the ecosystem, has affected its lack of proper appreciation on the global stage.

Leading Nigerian pop culture curator Ayomide Tayo pointed out that the Grammy Awards are shaped by American labels with the resources to dominante market, hence Nigerian fans shouldn’t lose sleep over it as the chances were always slim.

On whether ‘Push 2 Start’ was fit to be in the category, Mayowa Idowu, the Editor in Chief of Culture Custodian, argued that the song was sonically Afrobeats, hence deserving of its place. His position is also backed by Music Curator and Podcaster Tunde, who agreed that the song was, in fact, very Afrobeats in its elements.

These varying reactions are reminiscent of the debate that followed Tyla’s win of the maiden award of the African Music Performance Category in 2024.

A fact that must be appreciated is that the category, by its very title, is a prize for African Music Performance as opposed to Afrobeats Music Performance. This means that all musical genres and sounds emanating from the continent is eligble for consideration, even though the category is largely dominated by Nigerian stars whose global success puts them in a stronger position than their counterpart in other countries.

Also, so far, the category has favoured mainstream music, which allows for domination by Nigerian stars who are making Nigerian pop music shaped by indigenous and international genres widely known as Afrobeats.

Tyla’s nomination is primarily by virtue of the song, which carries Afrobeats percussive structure, and also by her status as a South African. In 2025, American star Chris Brown was nominated for the Best African Music Performance category for his single ‘Sensational,’ which carried Afrobeats production, writing, and cadence delivered by guest verses from Davido and Lojay.

We must also note that being African might be sufficent criteria to be nominated in this category even if the song sonically lacks African elements. Take, for example, Ghanaian star Moliy’s ‘Shake It To The Max,’ which only missed out on being nominated because the submitted remix failed to meet the Grammys’ original content quota.

That’s to say, if stars like Burna Boy, Tyla, Davido, Wizkid, Amarae, Tems, Moliy, Ayra Starr, Rema, among others, score a hit with palpable US success, such a song might be nominated even if it’s blatantly hip hop, R&B, or American pop. Their African identity appears to be a primary factor in this category rather than the sonics of the material. 

To navigate this, this writer thinks that the Recording Academy must clearly define this category. Some of the questions that must be answered are: 

What is considered to be African music? Are indigenous genres included, or is it restricted to mainstream African music? What should form the major consideration: intrinsic quality and the presence of sufficient African element, or commercial success?

The answers to this question will further clarify the category and pave the way for the potential creation of more categories that cater to the multiplicity of African music. Without addressing these questions, the conversation will be the same in 2027 when Tyla almost inevitably wins the Best African Music Performance category with her hit song 'Chanel'.

At the end of the day, Nigerian fans but understand that the Grammys are an American award and voters are likely to be swayed by the context of the success and impact of the song in the USA rather than the African identity, quality, and commercial context of songs outside America.

For now, this writer will restate the position he took after Nigerians fruitless outing at the 2024 Grammys: The Nigerian music industry needs to lose more Grammys because this is a sign of more nominations and an upward mobility of the Afrobeats ecosystem. 

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