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Considered the highest form of honour for musicians, the Grammy Awards, since its inception in 1954, has continued to spotlight and celebrate musical geniuses globally.
Its recognition of brilliant projects by African
artistes dates back to the 1960s when South Africa’s Mariam Makeba became the first African act awarded a Grammy.
Here are 12 African acts that have won Grammy awards.
Angélique Kidjo (Republic of Benin, 5 Grammys)
Beninese-French artiste Angélique Kidjo has won the Grammy Awards five times. Kidjo won in 2007, 2015, 2016, 2020, and 2022 in the categories; ‘Best Contemporary World Music Album,’ Best World Music Album( clinched thrice) and Best Global Music Album,” respectively.
The vocal powerhouse won the Grammys for the albums “Djin Djin, Eve, Sings, Celia, and Mother Nature.”
Ali Farka Touré (Mali, 3 Grammys)
Malian musician Ali Farka Touré bagged the Grammy Awards three times. Touré won the ‘Best Global Music Album’ Grammy in 1995 for the ‘Talking Timbuktu’ album.
In 2006, a few weeks before his demise, the Malian multi-instrumentalist won his second Grammy for ‘Heart Of The Moon,’ album with Toumani Diabate.
His post-humous album,” Ali and Toumani,’ released in 2010, won Touré his third Grammy in the category “Best Traditional World Music Album.’
Mariam Makeba (South Africa, 1 Grammy)
Fondly called Mama Africa, Makeba, a South African music
icon, won the Grammy award in 1966 with the joint album “An Evening with Makeba/Belafonte.” Makeba, alongside mentor Henry Belafonte, won in the “Best Folk Recording” category.
Sikiru Adepoju (Nigeria, 2 Grammys)
Adepoju, a two-time Grammy Award winner, hit the
spotlight internationally in 1991 when he won the Grammy Award in the “Best World Music Album” category for his contribution to American percussionist Mickey Hart’sHart’s 1991 “Planet Drum’Drum’ album.
In 2008, Adepoju bagged another Grammy alongside musical acts Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, and Giovanni Hidalgo for the
Album’Album’ Global Drum Project” in the “Best Contemporary World Music Album’Album’ category…
