Fela joins an extraordinary roster of past honorees that includes The Beatles, Johnny Cash, John Coltrane, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, and Frank Sinatra.
By Abioye Damilare Samson
Afrobeat pioneer, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, is set to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 Grammy Awards, joining an elite group of international legends including Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Cher, and Paul Simon. The award will be presented at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony on the eve of Grammy Sunday, January 31, 2026, honouring Kuti alongside icons recognised for making “creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording”.
Fela joins an extraordinary roster of past honorees that includes The Beatles, Johnny Cash, John Coltrane, Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, and Frank Sinatra.
In an official statement, Harvey Mason Jr, CEO of the Recording Academy, describes the honourees as “an extraordinary group whose influence spans generations, genres, and the very foundation of modern music”. Although Fela didn’t win a Grammy during his lifetime, he has received numerous posthumous awards for his expansive contributions to global music. Most notably, his 1976 classic album, Zombie, was inducted into the 2025 Grammy Hall of Fame in June this year, marking a significant milestone in the recognition of his enduring influence.
According to the official statement, the Lifetime Achievement Award is presented by the Recording Academy’s National Trustees to “performers who, during their lifetime, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording”. Fela’s legacy in international music and Nigerian advocacy is undeniable; he remains one of the most daring and politically engaged musical artistes to come out of Nigeria.
On a level of craft, his music blended local instrumentations and genres like Ghanaian Highlife with American Funk, Jazz, and Soul, birthing the highly referenced Afrobeat genre, the first iteration of the more contemporary, pop-leaning Afrobeats genre of the 2010s.
Fela’s music has been sampled and referenced by some of the world’s biggest artistes, including Beyoncé, Burna Boy, Wizkid, Kelly Rowland, and many others. His legacy continues to inspire art, novels, fashion, and social consciousness across generations. Most recently, the Nigerian exhibition Afrobeat Rebellion provided an expansive look into Fela’s legacy as both an inventive music artiste and a strong advocate for Black liberation.
This Lifetime Achievement Award is a fitting way to close out a monumental year for the iconic artiste and his sprawling legacy, cementing his place not just in African music history but in the global cultural canon.