Celebrating African Music: A Look at Grammy Wins Over the Years
A Look at Grammy Award Wins for African musicians Over The Years - the past and present
For several decades, African artists have been making a lot of waves at the Grammy Awards, taking home golden gramophones, and showcasing the continent’s music heritage at the global music pinnacle. Their wins have drawn much-needed recognition to African music with the creation of the first Made-for-Africa category, Best African Music Performance. The debut winner for this new category was South African artist Tyla for her global Afrobeats hit, "Water."
South African singer Miriam Makeba was the first African to win the Grammy in 1966 for her album An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba, which spoke about the struggles of Black South Africans.
The historic album, composed of traditional South African sounds like Isicathamiya, Mbaqanga, and other elements of South African jazz won the Best Folk Recording at the 8th Annual Grammy Awards held in Chicago, LA, Nashville, and New York.
In 1986, Nigerian-born British singer, Helen Folasade Adu, popularly known as Sade Adu, became the first Nigerian to win the prestigious award for Best New Artist, at the 28th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony held in LA. Before the award, Sade and her band gained global acclaim with their 1985 record Promise, from which Nigerian Afro rave star Rema, sampled his recent hit, Baby (Is it a Crime).
After their first Grammy win in 1986, multiple Grammys followed, including Best R&B Performance by a Duo with Vocal for No Ordinary Love and Soldier of Love in 1994 and 2011, respectively, and Best Pop Vocal Album for Lovers Rock in 2002. Notably, Sade’s influence goes beyond awards, with many artists paying tribute to the music icon.
Then came Ali Farka Toure, the Malian guitarist and singer who won multiple Grammys for his African blues style of music, including Talking Timbuktu in 1994 and The Heart of The Moon in 2006, a collaborative album with Toumani Diabate.
Farka’s African blues music inspired a whole generation of desert Blues/tishoumaren artists including the 54th Annual Grammy Award winners for World Music Album, Tinariwen.
Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo is another household name in African music who has won multiple Grammys, becoming one of the most decorated artists. She won the Best World Music Album for Djin Djin in 2008, Eve in 2015, Celia in 2020, and Mother Nature in 2022.
In 2021, Nigeria’s Burna Boy made history when his album Twice as Tall won Best Global Music Album. It was a major win for Afrobeats, proving that African music could thrive internationally without losing its authenticity. Wizkid followed shortly after, winning Best Music Video for Brown Skin Girl alongside Beyoncé, Blue Ivy, and SAINt JHN.
Recently, with the introduction of the Best African Music Performance category in 2024, the recognition of African music at the Grammys has reached a new level. With the inaugural winner being Tyla, Nigerian singer Tems became the most recent winner of this category with her Afrobeats song Love Me JeJe. This category now provides a dedicated space for African artists, ensuring their music is not just included in global categories but celebrated on their terms.
Besides artists winning this esteemed award, African instrumentalists and producers or those with African heritage have amassed recognition for their efforts in delivering stunning rhythms and production.
Phil Ramone was a South African record producer and sound engineer. And is considered the most decorated African non-music artist with 13 Grammys to his name. Babatunde Olatunji, popularly known as the father of African drumming, was a Nigerian drummer and educator who won a Grammy award in 1991, for his contribution to the Best World Music winning album Planet Drum by Mickey Hart. Also, Nigerian drummer Sikiru Adepoju at the 53rd edition of the Grammy ceremony won the Best Contemporary World Music Album for his contribution to the album, Global Drum Project.
American-born Nigerian singer-songwriter, Kevin Olusola, popularly known as the BeatBoxer for the a cappella group Pentatonix, has won three Grammys for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for Daft Punk and Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy, 2015 and 2016, respectively, and Best Country Duo/Group Performance for Jolene in 2017.
In the 67th Grammy Award ceremony in 2025, Oluwaseni Saraki joined the list of Nigerian non-artists to have cupped the prestigious Grammy award for his contribution to the Bob Marley: One Love soundtrack, which won the award for Best Reggae Album, making him the second Nigerian to bag an award at the ceremony.
With the run of African winners over the years, we have seen a trend of African artists tapping into their roots to make a mark on the global stage and bring African culture and music to the world for the outside world to experience. This fusion of African and Western elements, with the African element dominating in these songs, has put more focus on the African music industry. This continued success ensures that African music is no longer left on the sidelines but at the forefront of the global music conversation, shaping trends and setting new standards.
