2022 Grammys: what Fela Kuti has to do with West Africa’s growing pop fame
THERE are a record number of African nominees for the 2022 Grammy Awards and they are almost all from West Africa – Angelique Kidjo (Benin), Rocky Duwani (Ghana), Femi Kuti, Made Kuti, Wizkid, Burna Boy and Tems (Nigeria). Most of these artists are also proponents of Afrobeat(Femi and Made Kuti, following the musical and political form defined by Fela Kuti) or new breed Afrobeats (Wizkid, Burna Boy and Tems). Kidjo, too, has admitted to being influenced by Fela. Author SANYA OSHA, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Humanities in Africa, University of Cape Town As with Afrobeat, Afrobeats is music characterised…