Afrobeat Legend Wins Grammy Lifetime Award
The person being recognised is the late Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti, who is set to make history as the first African to receive a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, nearly 30 years after his death.
The honour will be presented posthumously at the Grammy Awards, marking a rare global salute to his impact.
The recognition carries weight lies in Fela’s legacy, which blended music with activism. Known for challenging corruption, injustice and military rule in Nigeria, he used his songs as tools of resistance, often clashing with authorities.
His defiance peaked in 1977 after the release of Zombie, when soldiers attacked his Kalakuta Republic commune, an assault that later led to the death of his mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti.
Fela turned personal loss into protest by carrying his mother’s coffin to government offices and releasing Coffin for Head of State, cementing his place as both a cultural icon and a political voice.
Family members, friends and close associates are expected to attend the Grammy ceremony to receive the award and honour a life that reshaped African music and global consciousness.
