African music will have its own category at the next Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards, awards of the American music industry, announced Tuesday, June 13 that they will award from their next edition a gramophone to the best performance of African music, a new sign of their quest for diversity. This new category will reward the “recordings that use the unique local expressions of the African continent“, specify the organizers of the Grammys.

The category “African music” includes many styles

This new award includes many styles, from Afrobeat to Afro-fusion, including Kwassa Kwassa and Ndombolo from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana drill, Afro-House or South-South hip-hop. African, said in a press release the Recording Academy, which brings together professionals in the music industry.

Long accused of not sufficiently reflecting the diversity and developments in the music industry, the Grammy Awards have been seeking for years to broaden the range of styles and registers of awards. The category of the best soundtrack for a video game was thus added in 2022.

Africa already dominated the “world music” category

Musicians from countries on the African continent, such as the Franco-Beninese Angélique Kidjo (5 wins, 14 nominations) or the Nigerian Burna Boy (one win, 6 nominations), regularly dominate the categories “world music” of the Grammys. At the 65th edition on February 5 in Los Angeles, a trio led by South African DJ-producer Zakes Bantwini, pillar of local house, won with a title in Zulu in the best category world music performance.

The 2024 edition will also honor two other new categories: best alternative jazz album and best dance pop recording. Another change: the non-classical producer of the year and non-classical songwriter of the year categories will be transferred to the general category, which will allow all voters to vote.

In 2023, 91 awards were handed out in as many categories, notably in the genres of pop, rock, classical music, hip-hop, gospel, or country.