The Recording Academy of the Grammy Awards recently introduced a ground-breaking innovation to its esteemed awards program, much to the pleasure of music lovers throughout the world.
Afrobeats and African music now have their own category in the Academy, which was first reported to be under consideration.
The CEO of the Recording Academy, Harvey Manson Jr., visited Ghana on business in 2022 and reaffirmed the organization’s dedication to accurately reflecting African music. He noted the care with which they handled the issue of accurately presenting the continent’s unique musical environment.
Three fascinating new categories will be added to the Grammy Awards in 2024. The first is the eagerly awaited “Best African Music Performance,” which is intended to honor outstanding records that have distinctive regional expressions from all throughout Africa.
The melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic customs that differ across the continent shall be honored in this category. 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 are among the genres that are eligible for candidacy.
The Recording Academy has expanded the range of genres recognized at the renowned event by adding the “Best Alternative Jazz Album” and “Best Pop Dance Recording” categories in addition to this ground-breaking inclusion.
Following a comprehensive voting procedure, these new categories were authorized during the Recording Academy’s semi-annual Board of Trustees meeting in May 2023. These modifications show the Academy’s dedication to actively hearing and acting upon comments from the music community, according to grammy.com. The Recording Academy seeks to remain in step with the constantly changing musical scene by appropriately portraying a wide variety of pertinent musical genres.
As the Recording Academy’s CEO Harvey Mason Jr. proudly announced, “By introducing these three new categories, we are able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists.” All voters will be able to participate in recognizing achievement in these disciplines thanks to the decision to move the Producer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year categories to the General Field. It was further said by Mason, “We are excited to honor and celebrate the creators and recordings in these categories while also exposing a wider range of music to fans worldwide.”
African musicians now have a specific venue to display their ability on a worldwide stage thanks to the establishment of the Best African Music Performance category.