The 66th edition of the biggest music event in the world will be live in Los Angeles this coming Sunday. The best music stars from Africa and around the world will light up the event.
Since the 1960s, the recognition of exceptional projects by African artists is more like a culture, started by South Africa’s Mariam Makeba becoming the first African artist to receive the Grammy Awards.
Below are the 14 African acts that have won the coveted award;
Makeba (South Africa)
Miriam Makeba became the first African recording artist to win the Grammy Awards, just seven years after she became the first African recording artist to win the Grammys in 1966, just when the award show was 7 years old.
She won Best Folk Record for her album “An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba, ” alongside American Singer Harry Belafonte at the 8th Grammy Awards.
Sade Adu (Nigerian-British)
Sade Adu won the ‘Best New Artist’ Grammy Award in 1986. She also won the ‘Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group with Vocal’ for “No Ordinary Love” (1993), the ‘Best Pop Vocal Album for’ “Lovers Rock” (2001), and the ‘Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group with Vocals’ for “Soldier of Love” (2011) at the Grammy Awards.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo (South Africa)
In 1988, South Africa’s male choral group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, won the ‘Best Traditional Folk Recording’ for the song ‘Shaka Zulu’. They won the award in 1988 for the ‘Best Traditional Folk Recording’ for the som ‘Shaka Zulu’. The group has 17 nominations and and have won four Grammy awards.
Ali Farka Touré (Mali)
Regarded as one of Africa’s most internationally renowned musicians, Toure
Touré received a total of five nominations, winning three times at the Grammy Awards. He was posthumously awarded a Grammy award for ‘Best Traditional World Music Album for “Ali and Toumani” at the 53rd edition.
Cesária Évora (Cape Verde)
Cesária got the nod six times and won Best Contemporary World Music Album for “Voz dámor” (2004) at the 47th Grammy Awards.
Youssou N’Dour (Senegal)
One of the most popular singers of all time. N’Dour came with a style of popular Senegalese music known by all Senegambians. He won the Best Contemporary World Music Album for the album “Egypt” in 2005.
RedOne (Morocco)
He is popularly known as ‘Red One’, considered one of the most influential record producer artists in contemporary music. He has 8 nominations and won two; winning Best Dance Recording for “Poker Face” in 2010 and Pop Vocal Album for “The Fame Monster in the following year.
Tinariwen (Mali/Algeria/Libya)
The group consists of individuals from the nomadic Tuareg people of the Sahara. They won the World Music Album at the 54th Grammy Night.
Wouter Kellerman (South Africa)
A flautist, producer, and composer who explores the versatility of the instrument and fuses classical and modern contemporary sounds. He has won two Grammy Awards.
Angélique Kidjo (Benin)
Who hasn’t heard of Kidjo?! She is a popular Beninese-French artiste. She is the African artist with the most Grammy Awards. She has won the Award a record 5 times, with the latest one coming in 2022.
Burna Boy (Nigeria)
Odogwu as he likes to call himself is the first Nigerian male artist to win the Grammy Award for his body of work in Modern-day Nigerian pop music. He won the Best Global Music Album for his 2020 album “Twice as Tall” in January 2021.
Wizkid (Nigeria)
Wizkid is regarded as the greatest ‘Afrobeats’ artist. He won the Best Music Video for his groundbreaking collaboration with Beyoncé and Blue Ivy on the song “Brown Skin Girl” at the 63rd Grammy Awards in 2021.
Black Coffee (South Africa)
“The DJ/producer’s victory represents a shift around ideas of what African musicians are capable of, from traditional genres and folk music to the high-tech world of electronic dance music,”
Grammy stated
He won the Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for “Subconsciously” in 2022 at the 64th Grammy Awards.
Tems (Nigeria)
Temilade Openiyi popularly known as Tems won the Best Melodic Rap Performance for “WAIT FOR U” (Future, Drake & Tems) at the 65th Grammy Awards.
