According to TheCable, the family of the late Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti has officially accepted a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 Grammy Special Merit Awards. The ceremony, held just ahead of the main 68th Grammy event, marks a monumental milestone as Fela becomes the first African artist to ever receive this specific distinction from the Recording Academy.
The honor recognizes Fela’s unparalleled contribution to global music and his role in founding the Afrobeat genre, which continues to influence contemporary stars like Burna Boy and Wizkid. His children and grandchildren were present to receive the golden gramophone, cementing the Kuti legacy on the world’s most prestigious musical stage.
This recognition comes at a time when African music is seeing record-breaking representation at the Grammys. The Academy highlighted Fela’s activism and musical innovation as key reasons for the honor, placing him alongside icons like Whitney Houston and Cher in this year’s class of honorees.
The win has sparked widespread celebration across Nigerian social media, with fans noting that the “Abami Eda” has finally received his due from an institution that many felt had overlooked him for decades. The timing of the award serves as a powerful prologue to the main ceremony, where several Nigerian artists are vying for wins in the newly established African music categories.
* Punch Newspapers (Official Website): “Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti is posthumously honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the first for an African artist, at the 2026 ceremony.”
* The Nation Online (Official Website): “He’ll be celebrated alongside icons like Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Cher, and Paul Simon at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony.”
Echotitbits take:
This is more than just a trophy; it is a formal validation of Nigeria’s cultural export at its source. By honoring Fela, the Recording Academy is finally acknowledging that the current global Afrobeats explosion isn’t a trend, but a movement built on a half-century-old foundation. Expect this to fuel the “Grammy fever” in Nigeria, potentially influencing how the Academy views African legacy acts in the future.
Source: Al-Jazeera — https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/2/1/fela-kuti-becomes-first-african-to-get-grammys-lifetime-achievement-award February 1, 2026
Photo Credit: Al-Jazeera
