The 66th Grammy Awards took place in Los Angeles on February 5, 2024, and Nigerians were disappointed not to see any Afrobeats artists win in any of the categories in which they were nominated.
Nigerians have responded to the failure of their country’s musicians to win any of their ten nominations, with many expressing disappointment at the result.
Rapper Ikechukwu vented his frustration on social media, accusing the Recording Academy of exploiting and disrespecting Nigerians. The rapper claims that Afrobeats was exploited for its exposure and used to increase the attractiveness of the Grammy this year and that Nigerians received nothing in return because they were duped and the prize was awarded to someone else.
Ikechukwu urged Nigerian musicians to cease submitting their songs for Grammy consideration, saying, “We should stop sending in submissions and create our award.”
“They tried to divide Afrobeats, and they took all of us over there, used us, and betrayed us,” Ikechukwu remarked about the Grammy Awards.
Fans who were disappointed that Tyla’s song “Water” defeated Davido’s “Unavailable,” Asake & Olamide’s “Amapiano,” Ayra Starr’s “Rush,” and Burna Boy’s “City Boy” in the Best African Music performance category have repeated Ikechukwu’s sentiments on social media.
The songs “Feel” by Davido and “Alone” by Burna Boy were defeated by “Pashto” by Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, and Zakir Hussain featuring Rakesh Chaurasia for Best Global Music Performance. Shakti’s “The Moment” defeated Davido’s “Timeless” and Burna Boy’s “I Told Them” for the title of Best Global Album.