Fela Kuti to Receive Posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys

Legendary Nigerian musician and cultural icon, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, widely regarded as the inventor of Afrobeat, is set to be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Recording Academy at the upcoming Grammy Special Merit Awards.

The recognition, which will be presented posthumously during Grammy Week, celebrates Fela’s far-reaching influence on global music and his enduring legacy as one of the most original and fearless artists of the 20th century.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is reserved for performers whose contributions to recorded music have had a lasting cultural and historical impact.

Fela, who died in 1997, pioneered Afrobeat by blending traditional African rhythms with jazz, funk and highlife, creating a sound that went beyond entertainment to become a vehicle for social and political commentary.

His music boldly confronted issues such as corruption, military rule and social injustice, earning him both devoted followers and powerful adversaries.

Although he never won a competitive Grammy during his lifetime, his influence has continued to grow decades after his death. Contemporary Afrobeat and Afrobeats artists across Africa and the diaspora frequently cite Fela as a foundational figure whose work opened global doors for African music.

The Recording Academy’s decision to honour Fela places him among a select group of legendary musicians recognised for shaping the course of music history.

The award also reflects the Grammys’ expanding acknowledgment of non-Western musical traditions and the global impact of African artists.

Fela’s legacy lives on through his vast catalogue of music, cultural institutions such as the New Afrika Shrine in Lagos, and the work of his children, many of whom have continued his musical and activist traditions.

His influence can be heard not only in Afrobeat but across hip-hop, jazz, funk and contemporary African pop music.

As the Grammy season approaches, the posthumous honour is being widely seen as a long-overdue global recognition of Fela Kuti’s role as a musical innovator, political voice and cultural revolutionary whose work continues to resonate across generations and borders.