sigmund Last night was the 63rd edition of the Grammy awards and what a night it was to remember for the African continent and Nigeria in particular as a country. The awards that seek to recognize and award those who have achieved greater success in the music industry saw African celebrities rise up to the occasion.
The virtual event that went down in style in Los Angeles was hosted by celebrated African comedian Trevor Noah. The famous comedian was just the first of the African superstars that walked away with their heads held high after a historic night.
The event saw Nigerian singer Damini Ogulu aka Burnaboy win the category of Best Global music album for his album Twice as Tall as he battled it out with the likes of Malian band Tinariwen in that respective category.
The ‘Time Flies’ singer who was competing in the prestigious awards for the second consecutive season after losing out to African legend Angelique Kidjo last year had a master class album that featured a wide range of international artists such as Stormzy, Youssou Ndour, Naughty By Nature, and Chris Martin of Coldplay, and had Sean Combs as executive producer.
The Grammys nomination described Twice As Tall as “a masterclass in the vibe and hustle that have made Burna Boy an international musical force”.
“[He] continues to torch limitations, seamlessly blending styles and genres and fearlessly fuelling the fire heating the melting pot of pop, Afrobeat, dancehall, reggae and more,” it said.
Burnaboy was not the only African artiste from the West African country as his good friend Wizkid also walked away with the award for Best Music Video for his song with Beyoncé; Brown Skin Girl, from Lion King: The Gift album.
The video which saw Wizkid win was described as “a feast for the fashion-forward and a celebration of Black and brown female beauty everywhere”.
The other Nigerian artistes who were nominated but did not win were Tiwa Savage and Femi Kuti who featured on Cold Play”s Everyday Life released in 2019 with the award going to Taylor Swift for her Folklore album.
It was a night to reckon for everyone on the black man’s continent that good music can cross barriers and even win prestigious awards something that was once deemed as impossible to be done by anyone from Africa.
This can just act as an incentive to different African artists to horn their craft better and achieve great success as proved by Burna and Wizzy.
