All Eyes on Burna Boy, Tems, Tobe at Grammys

Stories by Vanessa Obioha

The 65th Grammy Awards will be taking place tonight at Los Angeles Crypto.com Arena in the United States and all eyes will be on the Nigerian nominees. They include Burna Boy who got two nods for his album ‘Love Damini’,  and his song ‘Last Last’ in Best Global Music Album and Best Global Music Performance respectively.

Temilafe Openiyi better known as Tems snagged three nominations: Album of the Year (AOTY) for Beyonce’s ‘Renaissance’; Best Melodic Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for Future’s ‘Wait for U’. The Future’s track also had other Nigerian songwriters like Tejiri Akpoghene, Israel Ayomide Fowobaje and Oluwatoroti Oke. They all stand a chance to be identified as Grammy winners if the song emerges winner of the Best Rap Song award.

The Nigerian US-based rapper Tobe Nwigwe is nominated for the Best New Artist award. He is competing with other newcomers in the category like the Brazilian artist Anitta, the British indie rock band Wet Leg as well as the American jazz singer Samara Joy. Nwigwe was in the country recently to celebrate his nomination in the company of his wife.

“It was surprisingly overwhelming because I didn’t think they would have the audacity to nominate an independent artist like me, “ Nwigwe said in that gathering sponsored by Afrozons and Heineken.

Burna Boy who has won a Grammy in the past is the most favoured of the three to continue his winning streak. It is expected that with time, Burna will become like Angelique Kidjo, the veteran musician from the Republic of Benin who has won more than three Grammys. She is also nominated for Best Global Music Album for her collaboration with Ibrahim Maalouf ‘Queen of Sheba’.

With the Album of the Year eluding the American celebrity musician Beyoncé for so long at the Grammys, expectations are high that tonight will make a difference. A win for Beyoncé automatically translates to a victory for Tems who has been gaining international acclaim recently.

The 65th Grammys is hosted by the former The Daily Show host, Trevor Noah and will feature performances from Bad Bunny, Lizzo, Mary J. Blige, and a host of others. The U.S. First Lady Jill Biden will also be gracing the event and presenting an award.