One of the most influential and respected awards in the world, the Grammy has released the names of African musicians who have in the past been bestowed with the award. The award which has different categories encourages musicians all over the world according to their hard work, success, and impact made from their music.
The names of the musicians include;
1. Zenzile Miriam Makeba
Zenzile Miriam Makeba, popularly known as Mama Africa, was a South African music icon born on March 4, 1932. She is one of the first African musicians to gain worldwide recognition after starting her singing career in her primary school choir in Pretoria.
Miriam is the first African to win Grammy Award in the year 1966 with Harry Belafonte for the 1965 album, An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba, as the Best Folks Recording.
2. Helen FolaSade Asu
Sade was born in Ibadan, Nigeria, and was brought up in England from the age of four. She is one of the most successful African musicians with a total number of four Grammy awards from nine nominations.
Sade won her first Grammy in the year 1986 as the Best New Artist. In 1994 she won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal with her hit song “No Ordinary Love”.
Other Grammy Awards by Sade are; Best Pop Vocal Album with her work “Lovers Rock” in 2002. “Soldier Of Love” by Sade gave her another Grammy in the year 2011 as the Best Pop Vocal Album. In the year 2011, her song “Soldier of Love” named her the Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
3. Ali Farka Touré
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.’
4. Cesaria Evora
Cesaria was born on August 27, 1941, in Mindelo, Cape Verde, and died on December 17, 2011, in Mindelo. The Cape Verdean singer was known for her rich, haunting voice. She was born from a poor background and fought herself out of poverty.
Évora received a total of six Grammy Award nominations, and she won the Grammy Award For Best Contemporary World Music Album in 2004 for her album Voz dámor.
5. Youssou N’Dour.
He was born in Dakar, Senegal on October 1, 1959, the Senegalese singer known for his extraordinary vocal range and for introducing international audiences to mbalax a Senegalese popular music style that blends Wolof traditional instrumental and vocal forms primarily with Cuban and other Latin American popular genres.
In 2004, N’Dour won a Grammy Award for best contemporary world music album with his song “Egypt”.
6. Angelique Kidjo.
Angélique Kidjo (born July 14, 1960, Ouidah, Dahomey [now Benin]) Beninese popular singer known for her collaborations with internationally prominent popular musicians and for her innovative blending of diverse musical styles.
She has won a total of five (5) Grammy Award. The awards are contemporary World Music Album song “Djin Djin” in the year 2008. Her album “Eve” gave her the Grammy Award for Global Music Album in 2015, others awards in the same category won by her works are “Sings”, “Celia” and Mother Nature.
7. Nadir Khayat
Nadir Khayat also known as RedOne, is a Moroccan-Swedish record producer, record executive, singer, and songwriter. Known for his successful music career, he was nominated for a total of eight Grammy awards and won two.
He won Pop Vocal Album in 2011 for his Album “The Fame Monster” and Dance Recording in 2010.
8. Tinariwen
Tinariwen is a group of Tuareg musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. The band was formed in 1979 and started gaining wider recognition in the 2000s, bagging the prestigious Grammy Award for The Best World Music Category for their captivating and soulful album ‘Tassili’, which most music guides describe as timeless as the desert itself. They had three nominations and won one.
9. Nkosinathi Innocent Maphumulo
Popularly known by his stage name Black Coffee is a South African DJ, producer, and songwriter. He released his popular album titled Black Coffee in 2005.
In 2022 Black Coffee bagged a Grammy Award for the category in Dance/Electronic Album with his work “Subconsciously”.
10. Burna Boy.
The Nigerian singer-songwriter, BURNA BOY, was born Damini Ogulu on the 2nd of July, 1991 in Port Harcourt city, Nigeria to Bosede and Samuel Ogulu and he is the only son and eldest of three children. He started producing music when he was ten years old. Burna Boy released his fifth studio album, Twice as Tall, in August 2020. It won Best World Music Album after being nominated for ten times.
According to Grammy Website Burna Boy is the only Afrobeat singer shortlisted among the Grammy Award winners in Africa.
See list below:
