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By John Ogunsemore
Legendary Afrobeat singer, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, has become the first African to win a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys.
The recognition comes nearly three decades after Fela’s death aged 58.
The award will be presented at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony on Saturday, January 31, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, a day before the main 68th Grammy Awards ceremony.
The Recording Academy said, “Fela’s influence and catalog of music have been widely celebrated and explored, including the podcast series Fela Kuti: Fear No Man (the New Yorker’s No. 1 Podcast of 2025) and the Tony Award-winning Broadway run of Fela! The Musical from 2008 to 2010. Fela’s influence spans generations, inspiring artists such as Beyoncé, Paul McCartney and Thom Yorke, and shaping modern Nigerian Afrobeats.
“A titanic sociopolitical voice, Afrobeat’s revolutionary politics brought Fela into violent conflict with successive Nigerian military regimes, which made many attempts to suppress him and once sent in the army to burn down his communal home, Kalakuta Republic.”
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The BBC reports that Fela Kuti’s family will attend the event to receive his award.
Fela’s son, Seun Kuti, said the family is proud of his father’s legacy.
“We are all proud as a family. It is just a shame that I can’t be there physically to join my family to accept the honour because of travel restrictions.
“Trump has banned me because of talks of Christian genocide. Nevertheless, the family is proud. It’s a good day for African music, Afrobeat culture, and resistance music,” he said.
Other iconic musicians who will receive the award this year include Carlos Santana, Chaka Khan, and Paul Simon.
The Lifetime Achievement Award was first presented in 1963 to American singer Bing Crosby.
