For its 2024 edition, the Grammys have included the Best African Music Performance category, alongside two other categories (Jazz and Pop). In a statement on the Grammy Awards Instagram page on Tuesday, the award organizer announced the following,
“Our goal at the #RecordingAcademy is to recognize and honour the very best in music from across the globe. Every year, we strive to accurately represent and celebrate the various cultures, influences and genres that shape our world and provide the soundtrack to our lives. Today, we’re proud to announce a new category for the 66th GRAMMY Awards – Best African Music Performance. This track and singles Category 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.”
This is a great stride as the Grammys along with other international shows are finally seeing the impact African music has been making, particularly the emergence and contributions Afrobeats has been making in the last few years to the international music and pop culture scene.
