Plans are in motion to create an Afrobeats Category for the Grammys.
This was confirmed by the CEO of The Recording Academy, Harvey Mason Jr. While addressing the press at the Global Citizens Festival in Ghana on Saturday (Sept. 24). During the interview, he disclosed that the process has commenced and meetings and listening sessions with various stakeholders; Artists, Producers, Songwriters and Executives in the Afrobeats Genre have taken place.
“We just had a meeting literally about six or seven days ago with leaders of the Afrobeats community. We had a listening session, a virtual listening session where we heard from Afrobeats creators to talk about ‘what are the different subgenres, what are the needs, what are the desires,’ and my goal is to make sure we represent all genres of music including Afrobeats at the Grammys,” he told the press.
“But it has to be done properly. I don’t decide categories. The categories are decided by proposals submitted by members. So the members can say, ‘Harvey, I want a Afrobeats category,’ they write a proposal, it comes into the academy, it gets voted on then we’ll have it. That process is started now. I think the listening session last week was very important. It was very valuable and a step towards that path,” Mason continued.
Over the years, Nigerian veteran artistes such as King Sunny Ade, Femi Kuti and Seun Kuti have received nominations for their work from The Academy.
Other artists like Burna Boy, Wizkid and Davido have also played a major role in make Afrobeats a global phenomenon.
