On the Grammys and Afrobeats Culture
Hot hands or mainstream, Nigerian culture has become a Grammys mainstay…
Before making it to the World Cup in 1994, Nigeria had a few close calls. I remember a particular one because of the dramatic way the late Matthew Falade a.k.a 70–70 often narrated the stories. Mr Falade, an avid fan of sports and music — particularly a big fan of Mohammed Ali — told his stories like they had happened just the night before. With all the details and emotions accompanying the events. I still remember his narration of the Thrilla in Manila and the various things Ali did and said before the match. He even demonstrated the beginning of the game, how George Foreman, devoid of confidence, was readying himself whilst Ali already closed in on him. I remember his stories more than I remember watching them on YouTube.
Falade’s story on Festus Odiye and how Nigeria missed out on the 1978 World Cup was the toughest to take for me. He, like every Nigerian football fan at the time, believed that would have been Nigeria’s first appearance at the World Cup but for that own goal at a packed National Stadium in Lagos. Tunisia won the game, 1–0 and then went on to lead the group ahead of Nigeria and Egypt. It was 5 points to Tunisia, 4 to Egypt and 4 to Nigeria. Had Nigeria even drawn that game and things happened elsewhere like they did, it would have been 4 points to Nigeria, 4 points to Tunisia and 4 to Egypt, whilst both Nigeria and Tunisia would have ended on +2 goals — 2 points for a win. None of that mattered because Odiye had to run for his life as Nigeria missed out.
It took Nigeria another 16 years before making it to its first World Cup. Interestingly, save for the 2006 World Cup, the country went on to appear at every World Cup after that up to the 2018 World Cup. We went from being outsiders to being regulars.
That mirrors our story at the Grammys. We had some solo nominations through the years and near misses. King Sunny Ade’ Synchro System got our first nomination in 1984 in the Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording. His Odu album also got nominated years later. He did not win either. Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti, Babatunde Olatunji, Wizkid, Kah-Lo, etc., racked up more nominations for Nigeria, yet the country continued to miss out on that plaque. It is worth noting that Babatunde Olatunji won Nigeria’s first Grammy in 1991 as a featured act when Planet Drum won the Best World Music Album.
If you put a question mark on Sade Adu’s 2002 win for Best Pop Vocal Album for Lovers Rock, then Burna Boy’s Twice as Tall winning the Best World Music Album in 2021 was the first time an artist who made music as a Nigerian and from Nigeria won a solo Grammy plaque. Tems landed another solo victory last Sunday, winning the Best African Music Performance category with Love Me Jeje, a remake of Seyi Sodimu’s hit song of the same name.
Grammy nominations have now become the norm for Nigerian acts. These days, the fans don’t even appear to acknowledge being nominated. They expect our acts to win even when nominated in the same category. There is a dark side that comes with that because as the culture expanded its influence around the world, camps started to build up back home. I remember Burna Boy getting repeatedly trolled when African Giant lost out in 2020. I tweeted at the time it was an act in ignorance because Burna Boy, in my opinion, was destined to win multiple Grammys. Wizkid had his win, shared with Beyonce and co., treated like it was not enough an accomplishment.
This year, Davido has been on the receiving end of these trolls. He deserved a Grammy award as far back as 2018. But the Grammys universe wasn’t paying this much attention to Nigeria at the time. Obvious enough in the fact the great Fela never got a nomination. If our music was mainstream then, he’d be a multiple winner without a doubt. That is the subjective nature of awards. It speaks to why even some of the all-time American greats never won it till they passed. If Davido wants it enough, he will ultimately win it. It’s inevitable.
What I find funny in these now annual post-Grammy trolling is that you will never find anyone who understands the pain of creating masterpieces troll anyone for missing out on a Grammy win after getting nominated. This doesn’t include those who were once defined by their artistic prowess, lost their way and have been desperately clutching to the relics of those lost times.
Amidst the trolling and what some will call banter, we must not lose sight of the truth; we are a country blessed with talents. In a merit-based world, Nigerians will always win. When they don’t, they will compete. It speaks to how far the country has come that in back-to-back years, one Nigerian artist or the other gets trolled for being snubbed by the Grammys. It was Davido this week. It was Wizkid once, then Burna. Even Seun Kuti has had to watch his respectful nominations be treated like they never happened. Rema and Ayra Starr have had to bear some of the brunt of their own successes.
Losers aren’t trolled for not winning the big awards, because they don’t create anything of note. Congratulations to Tems for bringing it home this time. I remember Tems herself being mocked for not jumping up and down and screaming, “put your hands in the air” in one of her viral performance videos. She won a Performance Grammy. Congratulations to Yemi Alade for doing it her way and shining across the continent. To Asake and Rema and all the other nominees and winners. Congratulations to Wizkid and Bloody Civilian for their winning feature on the Bob Marley project. It helps to build our own platforms. That said, you can’t fault winning abroad either. Afrobeats is here to stay.
This piece appears in the THISDAY newspaper on the 7th of February, 2025
