Fela Anikulapo Kuti To Receive Posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
Nearly 30 years after his passing, Nigerian music legend and Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti is set to receive one of the most prestigious honours in global music.
The Recording Academy will posthumously confer a Lifetime Achievement Award on Fela at the upcoming Grammy Awards, marking a historic first for an African artiste. The honour recognises his enduring influence on music, culture, and political expression around the world.
Widely regarded as the architect of Afrobeat, Fela fused jazz, funk, highlife, and traditional African rhythms into a sound that transcended entertainment. His music became a vehicle for social commentary, inspiring generations of artistes across Africa and beyond.
Reacting to the announcement, Fela’s son, Afrobeat musician Seun Kuti, described the recognition as deeply meaningful.
“Fela has lived in the hearts of the people for decades. For the Grammys to acknowledge that now feels like a second victory. It brings a sense of balance to his story,” he said.
Fela’s former manager and longtime collaborator, Rikki Stein, also welcomed the development, noting that the honour reflects a broader shift in global music recognition.
“Africa hasn’t always been on their radar, but that’s beginning to change,” Stein said, adding that the recognition was long overdue.
The award comes amid renewed global interest in African music, driven largely by the international success of Afrobeats – a genre deeply rooted in Fela’s pioneering work. That momentum was further reflected in the Grammys’ introduction of the Best African Performance category in 2024.
Members of Fela’s family, along with close friends and collaborators, are expected to attend the ceremony to accept the award on his behalf, celebrating a legacy that merged music with activism and cultural pride.
Beyond his artistic brilliance, Fela was a fierce critic of corruption, military rule, and social inequality in Nigeria. His outspoken activism frequently put him in direct confrontation with successive military governments.
That resistance culminated in a tragic episode in 1977 following the release of his protest song Zombie, when soldiers attacked and destroyed his Lagos commune, the Kalakuta Republic. The assault led to the death of his mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, a renowned activist who later succumbed to injuries sustained during the raid.
Rather than retreat, Fela intensified his defiance, famously delivering his mother’s coffin to government buildings and releasing Coffin for Head of State, transforming personal loss into a powerful political statement.
Decades after his death, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award stands as a defining acknowledgment of Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s global impact – not only as a musical innovator, but as an unflinching voice for resistance, justice, and African identity.
