Who Is Really The First Nigerian To Win a Grammy

There are a lot of controversies when it comes to the first Nigerian to win a Grammy as the general public believes that it is Damini Ogulu popularly known as Burna Boy as he won the Best Global Music Album at the 63rd Grammy Award in 2021.

Some others argue that it is Wizkid as he also won a Grammy in the Best Music Video category alongside Beyonce for his contribution to Brown Skin Girl in the same year.

However, I did research to confirm the first Nigerian ever to win a Grammy, there was no unanimous answer as several Blogs and websites gave different answers.

According to an article written by Damilola Adewummi on the United Nations Website, Michael Babatunde Olatunji was the first Nigerian to win a Grammy for his contribution to the 1991 Planet Drum album by Mickey Hart.

But Going through the Grammy website to confirm Damilola’s claim, I discovered that Micheal Babatunde Olatunji has just one Grammy nomination and has never won any before.  That is to say that the claim that Babatunde Olatunji is the first Nigerian to win a Grammy is wrong.

Past winners of Nigerian descent

Sade Adu

Going further on the research of the first Nigerian to win a Grammy, notable websites Like,  Legit and Vanguardngr stated that Helen Folashade Adu simply known as Sade Adu was the first artiste of Nigerian origin to win a Grammy award for Best New Artist in 1986.

The claim by Legit and Vanguard is very correct but is imperative to know that  Sade Adu is a BristishNigerian, who was born in Ibadan but spent most of her life in England, so I personally think it is wrong to credit her as the first Nigerian to win a grammy.

Sade Adu won another Grammy in 1994 with “No Ordinary Love” for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or  Group With Vocals and her third Grammy in 2002 with “Lovers Rock” in the Best Pop Vocal Album.  She bagged her fourth in 2011 with “Soldier of Love” for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or  Group With Vocals.

However, aside from Sade Adu, there are other people, who are of Nigerian descent that have also won one or two Grammies, example is Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel known professionally as Seal, is a British singer-songwriter who has 4 wins and 14 Grammy nominations to his name.

Another is Hakeem Seriki professionally known as Chamillionaire, an American rapper, who won his first and only  Grammy in 2007 for his song, “Riddin’ under the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group category. He received a total of four nominations that year.

Kevin Olusola of Pentatonix is another Grammy winner of Nigerian descent, who has three Grammy awards to his name, and Jenn Nkiru the Video Director of Beyonce’s Brown Skin Girl who won her first and only Grammy in 2021.

Meet Sikiru Adepoju, the first Nigerian to win a Grammy

Mickey Hart and Sikiru Adepoju in 2009

After my thorough research, I discovered that the first Nigerian to win a Grammy Award was Sikiru Adepoju A Nigerian-born talking drummer born in Oyo State.

He won an 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.

Sikiru comes from a musical family in Oyo State. He and his brothers Saminu and Lasisi learned how to drum from their father, Chief Ayanleke Adepoju.

While still in his teens, Sikiru toured with and recorded several albums with the Inter-Reformers Band, and the popular Chief Commander Ebenezer Obey.

He went to America in 1985 to play O. J. Ekemode’s Nigerian All-Stars, where he met Babatunde Olatunji who introduced him to Mickey Hart and has since then been on several projects of the Drummer.