Burna Boy , Davido , Asake, Olamide, and Ayra Starr have all clinched nominations for the February 2024 Grammy Awards.
Burna Boy leads with four nominations, while Davido has three, Olamide, Asake and Ayra Starr all have one each in the new African Music Category which was created specifically for African Music .
New Grammy Category
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. stated in June the reasoning behind the new category.
“The Recording Academy is proud to announce these latest category changes to our awards process, reflecting our commitment to actively listen and respond to the feedback from our music community.”
“By introducing these three new categories, we can acknowledge a broader array of artists, 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 recognizing excellence in these fields.”
The significant changes were approved at the Recording Academy’s recent semiannual Board of Trustees meeting in May 2023.
“Best African Music Performance is a track and singles category that recognizes recordings utilizing unique local expressions from across the African continent, including but not limited to Afrobeat, Afro-fusion, Afro Pop, Afrobeats, Alte, Amapiano, and more.”
These changes aim to celebrate a wider range of music and ensure inclusivity in recognizing excellence within the ever-evolving musical landscape.
Nominations
They secured spots in the inaugural African Music category, with Davido earning recognition for his hit single ‘Unavailable,’ Burna Boy for ‘City Boy,’ Ayra Starr for ‘Rush,’ and Asake for ‘Amapiano’ featuring Olamide.
Burna Boy also earned nominations in Best Melodic Rap Performance for his collaboration with 21 Savage in Sittin’ On Top of the World and for Alone in the Best Global Music Performance category. Davido also earned a nomination in this same category with FEEL.
Both artists were also nominated in Best Global Music Album for I Told Them… by Burna Boy and Timeless by Davido.
This marks the debut Grammy nominations for Davido, Olamide, Asake, and Ayra Starr, underscoring the undeniable influence of Nigerian mainstream music across the African continent.
