Spotlight is still on African music, especially Burna Boy and Wizkid following their big wins at the 2021 Grammy Awards a week ago.
Burna Boy emerged victorious, winning his first Grammy Award in the ‘Best Global Music Album’ category for his latest compilation, ‘Twice As Tall’. Wizkid also scored himself a win for in the ‘Best Music Video’ category for his collaborative input with Beyonce on ‘Brown Skin Girl’ flick.
Reactions are still rolling from all quarters of entertainment and music. Different music executives and entertainment lovers alike are still airing their excitement on Burna Boy and Wizkid’s Grammy Award wins.
The recent reaction is coming from a Grammy Recording Academy Member, Richardine Bartee who revealed she voted for Burna Boy in the recent edition of Grammy Awards. The African-American stressed it is such a big deal for Wizkid and Burna Boy to have clinched the plaques.
Bartee explained that “Wizkid and Burna Boy winning Grammy awards is a big deal, not only to Africa but also to the people in the US pushing music made in Africa. A group of people, including Quincy Jones and myself, are involved in bringing a new inclusive category to the Grammy, which we hope will help to “blend Western and non-Western elements of rhythm, melody and instrumentation”.
On the future of Afrobeats and its longevity, she opined, “Based on music history and what happens in American pop culture, most things have their moment. It’s what we refer to as an era, or something had its “15-seconds of fame”. Nothing lasts forever in its original form, and it shouldn’t. Human life is ever evolving, and it would be a pity if it did. Like the Christ Redeemer Statue is to Brazil, Afrobeats will always be synonymous with Africa. I hope that Afrobeats, in the future, gets coupled with how it affects Diaspora people, encouraging them to learn more about their ethnic backgrounds and visit the land. Afrobeat cannot die in its true form, it can only evolve”.