Kenya’s music industry is poised for a historic transformation as the nation signs a groundbreaking partnership with The Grammy Awards.
The momentous occasion came to light following Ababu-Namwamba’s the Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, the Arts and Sports visit to the headquarters of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles, California, where he met with Academy President Panos Panay.
Announcing the collaboration on X, Ababu exclaimed, “Good news for the Kenyan Music industry as we significantly progressed our partnership with the #GRAMMYs following my visit today to the headquarters of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in LA, California hosted by the Academy President Panos Panay #TalantaHela.”
The Recording Academy is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. Musicians from African countries, such as French-Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo (5 wins, 14 nominations) and Nigerian singer Burna Boy (one win, 6 nominations), regularly dominate the Grammy world music categories.
Already the Kenyan music industry has in recent years witnessed an increased association with The Academy. For instance, In 2021, The Grammy awards academy had proposed Octopizzo to be nominated in four categories: Best Global Album (Jungle Fever), Best Global Music Performance (Lela), Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, Best Rap Song (Pockets, Interlude), and Best Rap Performance.
In June 2023 Sauti sol was invited to join the grammys as Voting Members. The invitation included the privilege and responsibility of reviewing submissions, casting votes, and influencing the selection of nominees and winners across various award categories.
