Nigeria's Afrobeat king Fela Kuti will this weekend be posthumously recognised by the Grammys with a Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming the first African artist to receive the distinction.
After a lifetime of clashes with successive powers in Nigeria, the recognition comes nearly three decades after Fela's death and long after his influence reshaped global music.
He is one of several artists getting the award at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday, the eve of the main Grammys gala.
Others are Cher, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon and Chaka Khan.
In the 1970s, Fela the multi-instrumentalist and full-of-life performer invented Afrobeat: a mixture of jazz, funk and African rhythms.
That laid the groundwork for Afrobeats — a later genre that has attracted a global audience by blending traditional African rhythms with contemporary pop sounds, with its roots in Nigeria.
Two years ago the Grammys introduced the category of Best African Performance in 2024 and it has been dominated by Afrobeats artists, especially from Nigeria.
Of the five nominees for the Best African performance this year, three are Nigerian Afrobeats singers, after another Nigerian, Tems, won last year.
"Fela's influence spans generations, inspiring artists such as Beyonce, Paul McCartney and Thom Yorke; and shaping modern Nigerian Afrobeats", said a citation on the Grammys list of this year's honorees.
Known also as the "Black President", the activist and legendary musician, died in 1997 at the age 58.
His legacy lives on through his sons, Femi Kuti and Seun Kuti and grandson Made.
'Better later than never'
Yemisi Ransome-Kuti, Fela's first cousin and who is also the head of the family said on Friday the award is "a celebration for the African people and they should take (it).. as their award. Another African is being celebrated.
"But we also want to send a message to those who are giving these acknowledgements, please... not wait till people are dead", she said.
His songs were long, defiant and explicitly anti- governments in power and corruption.
His manager for Rikki Stein, speaking on the phone from Los Angeles where he will join the Kuti family at the ceremony, was confident the award will "significantly uplift Fela's music — 50 albums out there — I'm sure it's going to continue onward and upward".
"An increasing number of people who weren't even born when Fela died are expressing interest in listening to Fela's music and hopefully Fela's message", he said. — AFP
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