From time immemorial, I’m not a fan of the Grammys but I always can’t wait to know who wins what at the world’s biggest music awards ceremony.
Yeah, the 66th edition has come and gone, and as usual, Grammys has left us with sweet bitter tales that will rock the cyberspace for months.
I’m not really interested in the winners of other categories, it’s no longer news that Tyla Laura Seetha the South African ‘mammy water’ floored Davido, Burna boy, Olamide, Asake, Ayra Star, Rema among other Nigerian stars, to clinch the only category meant for Africans.
Did Tyla deserve to win? Yes!
Are Davido, Asake, Burna Boy etc are losers? No!
While some people might not agree with Tyla’s win, it’s unarguable that ‘water’ is a global song! That doesn’t mean that the gifted songstress is more successful than Davido, Asake, Olamide and Burna boy in the year under review.
In short, the aforementioned Nigerian stars had better ample airplay and media review globally than Tyla.
They not only released fantastic albums with a couple of hit songs, they headlined some shows and sold out their personal concerts home and abroad. I began to ponder on the requirements that earned Tyla the Grammys.
Trust me, despite his brief break to mourn the death of his child, Davido came back better and stronger with Timeless, the album that earned him Grammys nominations.
Despite his winning in the previous edition, Burna boy burns the music charts with some of the songs off his album titled, ‘I Told Them’
Aside from being the biggest revelation of 2021/22, Asake shines on in 2023 as his sophomore album titled, ‘Work of Art’ that has the global hit song, ‘Lonely At the top’ among others place ‘Mr Money’ as one of the favourites at the Grammys.
Olamide remains one Nigerian music star who doesn’t freak about international appearances but Baddo has his name on the lips of music lovers all over the world.
Rema and Ayra Starr are doing quite well, and their Grammys nominations didn’t come as a surprise.
No doubt, there are two or more categories, which Davido and Burna Boy are being nominated for, some of us who have been following the trend know for sure that Nigeria can’t win.
I’m not surprised, because Africans can only win against African. Grammys has a tradition and standard style of selecting its nominees and winners. Not to talk of conspiracy and board room politics.
Grammys has been a thing of the western world and has managed to protect its vision for many years until the advent of digital music and social media that placed African/Nigerian sound on a global stage.
However, what seems like a loss to Davido, Asake, Burna Boy, Olamide among other music heavyweights, is a WIN for Nigeria because for the very first time Nigeria has the highest number of Grammys nominations in Africa.
Conclusively, I think Nigerian artistes should just keep doing good music, make more money and keep ruling the African music industry.
Kazeem Popoola is the CEO, Reality entertainment and convener of the Nigerian Broadcasters Merit Awards.