Every Nigerians That Has Won or Have Been Nominated For The Grammys

The 67th annual Grammy award will take place tonight, honoring those, who made significant strides in the music industry in the past year. The award is practically the most prestigious music award on the planet and is only presented to recognize “outstanding” achievements in the music industry. The Nigerian music industry has recently been a constant guest at the prestigious Grammy Awards, but years ago it wasn’t like this. So in honor of those, who paved the way for this reality and those who, are doing everything to ensure that the culture stays mainstream, we have compiled a list of all Nigerians, who have ever been nominated for the prestigious Grammy award.

The Way makers

The legendary Juju singer King Sunny Ade, was the first Nigerian Singer to get nominated for the Award as far back as 1983. He earned his first nomination with his 2nd label debut Synchro System and his second nomination, with his 1998 album Odu. Alongside KSA, Babatunde Olatunji a Nigerian drummer, social activist, and recording artist, was also nominated in 1988 for the Best World Music Album with his collaborative album Love Drum Talk.

Femi Kuti, son of the Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti,  is one of the music acts that paved the way for the recent generation. He earned his first nomination at the 45th edition of the Grammy Awards in 2003,  with his Iconic 2001 album Fight To Win. He has since garnered five additional nominations to his name. The legendary, percussionist and recording artist, Sikiru Adepoju, with also just one nomination to his name, is known for being the the first Nigerian to win a Grammy Award.  He won the award in the Best Contemporary World Music Album category at the 51st annual Grammy Award in 2008 for his contribution to the album of Mickey Hart’s Global Drum Project.

The Diaspora

Nigerians in the diaspora cannot also be forgotten for their contribution to the culture. The British Nigerian Singer,  Sade got her first nomination as far back as 1986. She has since then garnered 7 additional nominations, winning four.  Aside from Sade Adu,   Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel known professionally as Seal, is another foreigner of Nigerian descent, with Grammy nominations.  He has 14 nominations to his name with four wins to his name.

Hakeem Seriki professionally known as Chamillionaire, is another Nigerian in the diaspora who has been nominated for the Grammy awards. He received a total of four nominations in 2007 and won for his song, “Riddin’ under the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group category. Kevin Olusola of Pentatonix is a one-time Grammy winner with three Grammy nominations to his name.

The New Generation.

Led by Burna Boy, Tems and Wizkid,  the recent generation of Nigerian music stars has earned multiple nominations at the grammy Award. The African giant, Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy is the most nominated  Nigerian artist at the Grammys acquiring 10 nominations to his name over the course of his career. He got his first nomination at the 62nd edition of the Award in the Best Global Music Album Category, with his record-breaking album African Giant (2019).  He won the same category at the 63rd edition of the Grammy Awards,  with Twice as Tall (2020) becoming the first Nigerian to earn a back-to-back nomination.

Temilade Openiyi popularly known as Tems, with also one win has acquired eight nominations to her name. She earned her first nominations as a featured artist on Wizkid Essence for Best Global Music Performance at the 64th Grammy Awards. The African Starboy,  Wizkid has five nominations to his name and one win to his name at the 63rd Grammy Award in 2020 for Best Music Video with Brown Skin Girl. Wizkid’s arch-rival David Adeleke also known as Davido has also earned four nominations to his name.  He earned three nominations for the 66th Grammy Awards, including a nomination for Best Global Album with his comeback album, “Timeless”.

Other notable mention include Made Kuti, who was nominated alongside his Father Femi Kuti, at the 64th annual Grammy edition for the Best Global Music Album with their 2021 double album Legacy +. Olamide and Asake  recently earned their first-ever Grammy nominations for their collaboration “Amapiano” in the category of Best African Music Performance. Asake was also nominated for his collaboration with Wizkid for this 66th edition Ayra Starr  Fireboy DML  and Ckay earned their first only  nomination in the last grammy edition. Acts like Yemi Alade and Rema, earned their first nomination in this 66th edition of the Grammy.