Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance

Award presented by the Recording Academy

Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance

Tyla is the inaugural recipient for "Water"

Awarded for| Quality vocal or instrumental African music recordings (tracks or singles only)
Country| United States
Presented by| National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences
First awarded| 2024
Currently held by| Tyla – "Water" (2024)
Website| grammy.com

The Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance is an award presented by the Recording Academy to honor quality African music[1] performances in any given year. The award was presented for the first time at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in 2024, and is a sister category to the Best Global Music Performance award, following on from the creation of that category in 2022, and sits in the global genre field.

The academy announced the new category in June 2023, stating that the award "recognizes recordings that utilize unique local expressions from across the African continent, highlighting regional melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical traditions." The award honors, but is not limited to African popular music[1] (Afro pop),[2] genres.[3][4][5][6]

## Background

[edit]

The category was created in order to amplify and expand the reach of African music and its creators and to celebrate the distinct, unique sounds of the continent. The Academy specifically cited the work of artists such as Davido, Libianca, Burna Boy, Wizkid, Rema, CKay, Wouter Kellerman, Tems, Zakes Bantwini, Tyler ICU and Nomcebo Zikode for highlighting African music on an international scale.[7]

Regarding the establishment of this category, which was announced alongside Best Pop Dance Recording and Best Alternative Jazz Album, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. stated “The Recording Academy is proud to announce these latest category changes to our awards process. 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. By introducing these three new categories, we are able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists. We are excited to honor and celebrate the creators and recordings in these categories, while also exposing a wider range of music to fans worldwide.”[8]

## Recipients

[edit]

Tyla was the inaugural winner with "Water" Year[I] | Winner(s)  | Work  | Nominees  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

2024 | Tyla | "Water"  |

* Asake & Olamide – "Amapiano"
* Burna Boy – "City Boys"
* Davido featuring Musa Keys – "Unavailable"
* Ayra Starr – "Rush"

| [9][10]

^[I] Each year is linked to the article about the Grammy Awards held that year.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Collins, Professor John (2002). "African Popular Music". University of Alberta. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
2. ^ Conteh, Mankaprr; Makinde, Tami; Miya, Madzadza; Saraki, Seni; Wangeci, Tela (28 December 2022). "The 40 Best Afropop Songs of 2022". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 28 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
3. ^ Morgan Enos (June 13, 2023). "Three New Categories Added For The 2024 GRAMMYs: Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album & Best Pop Dance Recording". Grammys.com. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
4. ^ Paul Grein (June 13, 2023). "Here's Everything We Know About the 3 New Grammy Categories for 2024". Billboard. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
5. ^ Anagricel Duran (June 14, 2023). "Grammys 2024 to add three new awards categories – including Best African Music Performance". NME. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
6. ^ Laketu, Adedayo (10 November 2023). "Grammys 2024: Here are the nominees for the 'Best African Music Performance' Category". Okay Africa. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
7. ^ Eric Renner Brown, Kyle Dennis, Katie Bain and Paul Grein (July 14, 2023). "Get to Know the Three New Grammy Categories for 2024". Billboard. Retrieved July 14, 2023.`{{cite magazine}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
8. ^ Morgan Enos (June 13, 2023). "2024 GRAMMYs: 4 Things To Know About The New Categories & Changes". Grammys.com. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
9. ^ "2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List | GRAMMY.com". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
10. ^ Kazeem, Tiléwa. "South African Singer Tyla Won The Inaugural Best African Music Performance Category At The 2024 GRAMMYs. What Does It Mean For African Music On The Global Stage?". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2024-02-12.

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* Best Orchestral Performance
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* Best African Music Performance

Package, Notes & Historical|

* Best Historical Album
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Pop & Dance/Electronic|

* Best Pop Vocal Album
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* Producer of the Year, Classical
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* Best R&B Album
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* Best Rock Album
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