Grammy Awards 2024: Asake, Burna Boy, Ayra Starr Dominate Best African Music Performance Category

Vanessa Obioha

The Recording Academy has just announced the nominees for the 66th Grammy Awards and Nigerian afrobeats artists dominate the new category, Best African Music Performance. Unveiled in June, this category sees four out of five nominations going to Nigerian talents. They include Asake and Olamide for their song “Amapiano,” Burna Boy for his song “City Boys,” Davido featuring Musa Keys for “Unavailable,” and Ayra Starr’s “Rush.” The fifth nominee is the South African new sensation Tyla for her song “Water.”

This marks the first time Asake, Olamide and Ayra Starr will earn a nomination in the Grammys, marking a significant milestone for the Nigerian music industry as well as for afrobeats.

Continuing his Grammy streak, Burna Boy secures nominations in the Best Melodic Rap Performance category for “Sittin’ on Top of the World” featuring 21 Savage, and Best Global Music Album for “I Told Them…” Davido also got a nod in the latter category for his album “Timeless.”

As the top nominee for the 66th Grammy Awards, SZA garners nine nods for her album “SOS.” Noteworthy contenders include Victoria Monét with seven nominations and several artists, including Jon Batiste, boygenius, Brandy Clark, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and Taylor Swift, earning six nominations. The nominations reflect recordings released from Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 15, 2023.

The Grammy Awards ceremony will take place on Feb. 4, 2024, at the Crypo.com Arena in Los Angeles.