The Recording Academy, popularly referred to as the Grammys, has announced that it will be placing more recognition on African genres of music, including South African hip-hop and amapiano.
In a tweet, the esteemed music awards show wrote, “Our goal at the #RecordingAcademy is to recognise and honour the very best in music from across the globe. Today, we’re proud to announce a new category for the 66th GRAMMY Awards – Best African Music Performance.”
Providing more information about the new category, the Recording Academy explained, “A track and singles Category that recognises recordings that utilise 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.”
Our goal at the #RecordingAcademy is to recognize and honor the very best in music from across the globe.
Today, we’re proud to announce a new category for the 66th GRAMMY Awards – Best African Music Performance.
Learn more: https://t.co/neBAQWE7cc #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/qJoQoF8PqA
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) June 13, 2023
Tweeps had much to say about the introduction of the new category.
Speaking about the recognition of South African hip-hop, a tweep wrote, “African Hip hop not South African hip hop that’s a disrespect to African’s making hip hop yo.”
African Hip hop not South African hip hop that’s a disrespect to African’s making hip hop yo
— Martin Caly Brooklyn (@CalyBrooklyn) June 13, 2023
Another shared, “African music is 10,000 different things. It gets one category. I’m not sure this is an improvement.”
African music is 10,000 different things. It gets one category. I’m not sure this is an improvement. https://t.co/aAGandoFBt
— John Edwin Mason (@johnedwinmason) June 14, 2023
One tweep thinks that Afrobeats will dominate all other African genres.
Afrobeats to other categories: pic.twitter.com/MRxbN9XZih
— Ebuka (@RosebankGlobal) June 13, 2023
Many also feel that Nigerian artist Burna Boy is set to win this category amongst others.
Burna should easily win this https://t.co/mk3FTRMDoq
— tiredNigerian (@DuruchibuzorE) June 13, 2023
This is massive and a positive green light for an African music because for the past decade,African music is doing great….I guess they created this scheme for stonebwoy and burna boy ??
— _lil.Jay002 (@juvenile002_IG) June 14, 2023
Why not named it as Best BurnaBoy Music Performance Category..??
— sammy view (@view_sammy) June 13, 2023
