The recent surge in popularity of ‘Afro-based’ music over the last five years seems to have made a strong enough impression on The Recording Academy, so much so, it now has its own category at the Grammys.
In a release by the Academy on Monday, the ‘Best African Music Performance’ is among three new additions for the 66th Annual Grammy’s which includes Best Alternative Jazz Album, and Best Pop Dance Recording.
Last year’s new additions include; Songwriter of the Year and Song for Social Change.
The category for Best African Music Performance is explained:
A track and singles category that recognizes recordings that utilize unique local expressions from across the African continent.
Highlighting regional melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical traditions, the category includes but is not limited to the Afrobeat, Afro-fusion, Afro Pop, Afrobeats, Alte, Amapiano, Bongo Flava, Genge, Kizomba, Chimurenga, High Life, Fuji, Kwassa, Ndombolo, Mapouka, Ghanaian Drill, Afro-House, South African Hip-Hop, and Ethio Jazz genres.
The Academy also notes that the existing categories of producer of the year, non-classical and songwriter of the year, non-classical will be moved to the general field.
The change means that those categories will now be open to nominations from all Grammy voters, which were previously reserved as specialized categories along with engineering of only members in the respective field could vote.
The category additions and amendments were voted on and passed at the Recording Academy’s most recent semi-annual Board of Trustees meeting, held last month.
“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,” said Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy.
He continued; “By introducing these three new categories, we are able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artistes – and relocating the producer of the year and songwriter of the year categories to the general field ensures that all our voters can participate in recognising excellence in these fields. 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.”
The move represents an industry shift toward including the growing global listenership of the music originating from the African continent powered by its most influential proponent Afrobeat.
A shift that began to formally unfold with the establishment of its own US Billboard chart in 2022.
The official chart which was launched on March 29 [2022], ranks the 50 most popular Afrobeats songs in the states, based on a weighted formula incorporating official streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of leading audio and video music services, plus download sales from top music retailers.
With names such as Burna Boy, Wiz Kid, Davido and Tems making seemingly routine appearances on the various global charts, the genre seemed to be reaching a tipping point of mainstream breakthrough.
The most recent example come by way of Burna Boy’s 2022 smash hit ‘Last Last’, which peaked at number 44 on the US Billboard hot 100, earning several music award nominations including a Grammy nod for “Best Global Music Performance”.
Additionally, with global superstars such as Drake, Beyonce, Doja Cat, and Chris Brown tapping into the sound whether through collabs or singles, the reach looks set to increase along with the growing appetite for music.
