History has proven that several Africans have won Grammy Awards in various series, beginning from its inception to the present. The Grammys, as they are often simply called, started about 66 years ago. It made its debut on May 4, 1959, to be precise. The Grammy Awards, often considered the most outstanding award in the global music industry, are presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to honor individuals who have earned an outstanding track record in the music industry in the year under review. Here is a list of ten African artists who have, in various instances, clinched reputable awards. It is worth noting, however, that this list is inexhaustive of all Grammy title holders in Africa; therefore, they include but are not limited to:
1. Angélique Kidjo (Republic of Benin, 5 Grammys)
The five-time Grammy award-winning Angelique Kidjo is a Beninese-French multi-talented songwriter, actress, and activist. She is said to have won over five Grammys in different series and categories of the award, ranking her among the top winners of the Grammys, especially in Africa. Kidjo won in 2007, 2015, 2016, 2020, and 2022 in the categories ‘Best Contemporary World Music Album,’ Best World Music Album( clinched three times), and Best Global Music Album,” respectively.
2. Ali Farka Touré (Mali, 3 Grammys)
Ali Farka Touré hails from Mali and has clinched the award on three consecutive occasions. He won the ‘Best Global Music Album’ Grammy in 1995 for the ‘Talking Timbuktu’ album. In 2006, Touré bagged a second Grammy for ‘Heart of the Moon. Toure passed into glory a few weeks after receiving the second award. Quite surprisingly, his posthumous album ” Ali and Toumani,’ released in 2010, won Touré his third Grammy in the category “Best Traditional World Music Album.’
3. Owuor Arunga (Kenya, 3 Grammys)
Arunga was popularly known for his intriguing trumpeting prowess in Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’s record, In 2014, he won two Grammys in the categories of ”Best Rap Song” and “Best Rap Performance.” His project, the “Thrift Shop,” gave him that buzz. His third Grammy win came from his contribution to the music group’s 2012 “The Heist” album, which scored a Grammy in 2014 for “Best Rap Album.”
4. Sikiru Adepoju (Nigeria, 2 Grammys)
Sikiru came to the limelight in 1991 after winning the Grammy Award in the “Best World Music Album” category for his contribution to American percussionist Mickey Hart’s 1991 “Planet Drum ’Drum’ album. He clinched another award in 2008.
5. Youssou Ndour (Senegal, 1 Grammy)
N’Dour is a Senegalese musician who is also partly into business and politics. He made significant efforts in developing a style of popular Senegalese music known to all Senegambians. He clinched the Grammy award in 2005 in the “Best Contemporary World Music Album” category for the project ‘Egypt.’
6. Miriam Makeba (South Africa, 1 Grammy)
Makeba, alias “Mama Africa,” is said to be the first singer to receive the prestigious award on the whole continent of Africa. She bagged the award in 1966, chronicling her name in the archives of the winners in the 7th edition of the prestigious award. She won in the “Best Folk Recording” category. with the joint album “An Evening with Makeba/Belafonte.” Makeba, alongside mentor Henry Belafonte.
7. Wizkid (Nigeria, 1 Grammy)
Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, professionally known as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. Undoubtedly, he is one of the most influential and prominent figures in the contemporary Afrobeat music genre. The Star Boy had the hit record “Brown Skin Girl” and collaborated with Beyonce in 2019. The hit track earned him a Grammy win in 2021 in the” Best Music Video” category.
8. Burna Boy (Nigeria, 1 Grammy)
Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, professionally known as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He bagged the award for the ‘Best World Music Album’ category at the 2021 Grammy Awards with his “Twice As Tall” album, which was released in the year under review at the time.
9. Tems (Nigeria, 1 Grammy)
Temilade Openiyi, known professionally as Tems, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer. Tems clinched the Grammy award in 2023 in the “Best Melodic Rap Performance’ category for her contribution to American rapper Future’s hit single “Wait For U.”
10. Tyla (South Africa, 1 Grammy)
Tyla Laura Seethal is a South African singer and songwriter born and raised in Johannesburg. Tyla is the most recent African to bag a Grammy win. She won the award for Best African Music Performance category with her hit song titled ‘Water’. In the category that was newly introduced, the singer locked horns with industrial giants such as Davido, Burna Boy, Asake, Olamide, and Arya Starr but finally bagged the award. She’s said to be the youngest African to have won the Grammy.
