Nigeria’s Grammy chronicles: Triumphs, trials and long road to glory

Once again, Nigerian artists have become a symbol of national pride as few have been nominated in the 2025 Grammy nominations. On the list are Burna Boy, TEMS, Wizkid, Asake, Davido, Yemi Alade, Lojay and Rema. In this feature, Weekend Trust details Nigeria’s journey to the Grammys, contributing factors to the nominations, and reactions that […]

Once again, Nigerian artists have become a symbol of national pride as few have been nominated in the 2025 Grammy nominations. On the list are Burna Boy, TEMS, Wizkid, Asake, Davido, Yemi Alade, Lojay and Rema. In this feature, Weekend Trust details Nigeria’s journey to the Grammys, contributing factors to the nominations, and reactions that have trailed the nominations over the years.

 

Timeline

Nigeria’s journey to the Grammy Hall of Fame is one of ambition, near-misses and controversies, yet Nigerian artists remain undeterred in their pursuit of the Grammy plaque.

It began in 1983, with King Sunny Adé becoming the first Nigerian to be nominated for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording with Synchro System. Although he did not win, this nomination opened the Grammy stage to African singers, inspiring many more Nigerian artists to follow.

One of the earliest Grammy stories belong to Babatunde Olatunji, a percussionist who received a Grammy nomination in 1960 and won posthumously in 1991 as part of Mickey Hart’s Planet Drum project, which won Best World Music Album. Fellow Nigerian percussionist Sikiru Adepoju also won alongside Hart in 1991 and again in 2009 for Global Drum Project, making him a two-time Grammy winner.

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A new wave of recognition came in the 2000s with Femi Kuti, who was first nominated in 2003 and continued to earn nominations over the years, though he has yet to secure a win. By 2016, it seemed as if luck was turning in Nigeria’s favour when Wizkid’s feature on Drake’s Views brought Grammy attention. In 2021, his collaboration with Beyoncé on Brown Skin Girl earned him a Grammy, and in 2022, ‘Made in Lagos’ garnered him two nominations for Best Global Music Album and Best Global Music Performance. Following in his father’s legacy, Seun Kuti was also nominated in 2018 for his album Black Times in the Best World Music Album category.

Then came Burna Boy’s Grammy win in 2021 for ‘Twice as Tall’, after his 2020 nomination for African Giant, an iconic moment for the Afrobeats genre. TEMS made history in 2023 as the first female Nigerian artist to win a Grammy, receiving the award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for ‘Wait for U’, a collaboration with Future and Drake.

In 2024, Davido entered the Grammy spotlight, securing his first-ever nominations in three categories: Best Global Music Album for Timeless, Best African Music Performance for “Unavailable,” and Best Global Music Performance for “Feel.” Fireboy DML and Ayra Starr also joined that year’s nominations, recognised in the Best Global Music Performance and Best African Music Performance categories.

 

2025 Nominations

The 2025 Grammy nominations were recently released, with Wizkid, Asake, Burna Boy, Davido, TEMS, Rema, Yemi Alade and Lojay all earning a spot on the list.

For TEMS, this nomination marks her eighth career nod. Her debut studio album, Born in the Wild, is nominated for Best Global Music Album, setting new streaming records for a Nigerian female artist with an impressive 8 million streams on Spotify on the album’s release day. Its lead single ‘Love Me Jeje’, is up for Best African Music Performance. This track is Born in the Wild’s highest-charting single on the U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart, with 3.2 million official streams in the U.S. alone. The album also debuted at #56 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales reaching 16.5K copies.

Asake and Wizkid earned a nomination for their collaborative track ‘MMS’ from Asake’s album Lungu Boy. The song shattered records, achieving 870,000 first-day Spotify streams in Nigeria, surpassing Wizkid’s previous record on the platform. Lungu Boy itself enjoyed a staggering 5.86 million streams on its opening day, overtaking Davido’s Timeless album, which previously held the record with 4.9 million streams. Lungu Boy also set the benchmark for the highest first-day global streams for a Nigerian album, achieving 9.2 million streams. This nomination is Asake’s first Grammy nod and Wizkid’s fifth.

Davido and Lojay also made waves with ‘Sensational’, a track they recorded with American R&B star Chris Brown, which secured a nomination in the Best African Music Performance category. Since its release on October 20, 2023, ‘Sensational’ has amassed over 94 million Spotify plays. The song achieved significant chart success, ranking #71 on the US Billboard Hot 100, #24 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, #4 on US R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, and #12 on the Nigeria TurnTable Top 100.

Burna Boy received his eleventh Grammy nomination for ‘Higher’. Upon its release, the track generated 530,792 streams on Spotify Nigeria on the first day alone, breaking a previous record set by Wizkid’s single ‘Diamond’, which had 518,000 streams.

Rema’s album HEIS, released in July 2024, brought him his first Grammy nomination for Best Global Music Album. As of November 2024, HEIS has racked up over 150 million Spotify streams. Its lead single, ‘Hehehe’, recorded over 2.7 million streams in its first week. The album debuted at number one on Nigeria’s official top 100 album charts and held that spot for a remarkable 17 consecutive weeks.

Finally, Yemi Alade celebrated her first Grammy nomination in the Best African Music Performance category for her track ‘Tomorrow’ from her album Rebel Queen. Following the album’s release, Spotify named Alade its EQUAL Artist of the Month for September 2024, highlighting her as part of a global initiative that promotes female artists through curated playlists, content hubs and collaborative projects.

 

Leading controversies

Despite a steady rise in Nigerian Grammy nominations, outcomes haven’t always met fan expectations, leading to widespread debates online about Grammy voting criteria, regional recognition and perceived biases.

The fact that Wizkid’s highly regarded album ‘Made in Lagos’ failed to win in its two nominated categories, Best Global Music Album and Best Global Music Performance, left many fans unhappy in 2022. His loss fuelled debates about how much attention African artists receive for their solo work vs. collaborations with Western performers, an object of irritation for fans who consider African music deserves more independent recognition at the Grammys.

Burna Boy’s Grammy record took a dramatic turn in 2024 after he missed out on multiple nominations, including Best African Music Performance, a recently added category that was intended to honour African music but was instead won by South African musician Tyla. Insisting that Burna should have won the Best African Music Performance prize, fans expressed displeasure and argued about the reliability of the Grammy voting process, causing debates regarding the fairness of Grammy selections.

A significant turning point in Davido’s career was his first Grammy nominations in 2024, which established his position in the international music scene. However, the Grammys’ history of recognising African artists, particularly Nigerian Afrobeats stars, has been criticised for being slow or selective, pushing fans to wonder why Davido had not nominated in previous years despite his consistent success and influence.

Aside from the disappointments of individual artists, discussions have arisen on the possibility of establishing an “African Grammy” in association with the Grammys. Hannatu Musawa, the Nigerian Minister of Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy, received heat from the industry for the idea, with many claiming it would lessen the Grammy’s interest to recognise African musicians and endanger the current African music awards. Many argued that this will diminish Nigerian award programmes like the Headies.

These recorded incidents are representative of larger discussions about the Grammys and its connection to African musicians. Fans claim that although more Nigerian musicians are being nominated, wins are still few and frequently include working with foreign celebrities, a pattern that could be a sign of lingering discrimination. The Grammy Awards and Nigerian musicians’ conflicts show African music’s achievements as well as its continuous challenges to achieve equal recognition in the international music industry.