It’s Nigeria to the world on the #AOTW today talking 4 Nigerian artists who have been featured on the international songs and got nominated at the Grammy awards in the last 3 years. Since Beyoncé’s ‘Lion King: The Gift’ album dropped, some Nigerians have begun the Grammy nominations campaign for Nigerian artistes featured on the album. I mean we take prides of the fact that our artistes are seriously competing with foreign counterparts. We’ve had some of our local acts bragging about clinching Grammys soon but yet to get recognition (e.g 9ice); also some bigger acts that have had major collaborations, features and wins are yet to clinch Grammy awards. But we cannot deny their huge contributions to the increased awareness of the Nigerian music industry world-over.
Absolutely! The acts we are featuring today have been recognized majorly in the category of album nominations. The recognitions which spread across various genres: hiphop, dancehall, reggae etc will spotlight from 2017 to 2019. Remember artists with various genres like King Sunny Ade, Babatunde Olatunji, Sikiru Adepoju, Femi Kuti have been nominated and even won Grammy awards in the past years. Seun Kuti was recent as well. Nigeria music is arguably worthy of being called “International Standard”.
Well! As great as that sounds, some are of the opinion that those music acts that have won or got nominated for certain music categories at the international awards was because they were either part of foreign musical groups or have contributed to certain songs. Some have said Grammys for instance, basically honours an artiste from other countries because that artist have been featured in a song by foreign acts. Does that mean that Nigerian artists that have had collaborations with foreign music acts are just features? I mean we got a number of them that are primary owners of songs. Anyway, let’s check this 2016 collaboration out by Riton and Kah-Lo on #4 spot. Have a listen.
No 4: Kah-Lo: Rinse & Repeat”
Rinse & Repeat” by British DJ Riton features our very own Nigerian singer-songwriter Faridah Seriki known professionally as Kah-Lo on the song that got nominated at the 59th Grammy Awards in 2017 under the category Best Dance Recording. I bet many some do not know Kah-Lo
We move all the way to numbers 3 and 2 now playing you the song that got Wizkid credited as the writer and a co-producer of the record on #3. By the way, why hasn’t Davido clinched a Grammy? Isn’t he due for the Grammy awards yet?
LOL! Hopefully Nigerians will be done with Wizzy and Davido comparison some day. These two African giants on the front burner always get mentions whenever one of them is being talked about. The other time it was about #BrownSkinGirl and #BlowMyMind. Let’s see! Davido announced collaboration with Grammy-nominated singer, Jeremih earlier this month. Perhaps that’s a sign he’s gonna bring Grammy awards home come 2020!
Apparently, the song on #3 has similar gist as #4. Both Wizkid and Kah-Lo failed to win at the Grammy Awards in 2016. Then, it was a British born Nigerian singer and actress Cynthia Erivo that took away a Grammy award for Best Musical Theatre Album. #2 spot introduces Timaya as a featured artist recognized at the Grammys in 2018. 3 and 2, here we go!
No 3: Drake One Dance ft Wizkid and Kyla
Wizkid who is on the newly released track “Brown Skin Girl” off Beyonce’s “‘Lion King: The Gift’ album” bagged a nomination for Album Of The Year at the Grammy in 2017 when Drake’s fourth studio album Views was nominated in the category. The album was released in April 2016. One Dance is off the album.
No 2: Morgan Heritage “Reggae night,” ft Timaya, Stonebwoy, Chubb Rock, Stylo G, Bunji Garlin, Dre Zion & Jaheil
Nigeria’s dancehall act Timaya bagged a nomination at the 60th Grammy Awards in January 2018 for his feature on the just played song “Reggae Night,” off Morgan Heritage’s album “Avrakedabra” released back in 2017.
Morgan Heritage is a reggae band formed in 1994 by five children of reggae artiste, Denroy Morgan. The band comprises Peter “Peetah” Morgan, Una Morgan, Roy “Gramps” Morgan, Nakhamyah “Lukes” Morgan, and Memmalatel “Mr. Mojo” Morgan.If the album had won in its category Best Reggae Album at the 60th Grammy Awards, Timaya would have been the first Nigerian-based act to win a Grammy.
Bonus: ‘Location’ by Khalid
Tunji Ige – A Nigerian who earned his first Grammy nomination in 2017 when ‘Location’, a song by Khalid, which he co-produced along with Syk Sense and Chris McClenney was up for nominations in the category “Best R&B” at the 60th Grammy Awards.
Producer Tunji Ige (TI) more known as a rapper, than a producer is a black whose top role model and influence is Kanye West from producing to rapping. He’s got a self-produced debut “The Love Project,” as well as mixtape and EP and more.
No 1: Fall Out Boy ‘Sunshine Riptide’ ft Burna Boy
Globally-loved superstar Burna Boy who recently released his 4th studio album “African Giant’ in July 2019 and got featured on the track “Ja Ara E” off Beyonce’s‘Lion King: The Gift’ album (Love Letter To Africa) also released in July got nominated earlier this year (2019) at the Grammy awards in the category Best Rock Album. Mania the album released in January 2018 is by Fall Out Boy – an American rock band
Burna boy featured on the 9th track ‘Sunshine Riptide’ happened to be the only the only featured artist on the 7th studio album by Fall Out Boy. In a new recent tweet, Recording Academy / GRAMMYs ✔ @RecordingAcad explained that Burna Boy is steadily ascending as a globally-loved superstar. The tweet reads: “Burna Boy is steadily ascending as a globally-loved superstar, with his smooth, rich vocals and infectious beats that blend traditional Afrobeat, dancehall, hip-hop, trap, and more.”
CONCLUSION
With these entire acknowledgements, is there future hope for the Nigerian artists? Will the Nigerian artist win the Grammy awards? It been said by some popular Nigerian recording act that Nigerian artist cannot win the Grammy because they sing in our local dialect “and the sounds are poor.” That our artists “do not use the right nomenclatures” which foreigners can easily relate to or decode and that “the genre of music we create in Nigeria cannot blend with what obtains in the international music. (I read an article published by pmnewsnigeria.com in March artiste was of this year where a recording quoted)
