Entertainment
Fela becomes first African to receive posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
Afrobeat maestro Fela Anikulapo-Kuti is set to make history as the first African artist to receive a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Recording Academy announced that the “King of Afrobeat” will be honoured at the 2026 Grammy Awards, marking a symbolic reconciliation between Fela’s revolutionary music and the global music establishment he fiercely criticised during his lifetime.
The award will be presented at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony on Saturday, January 31, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, a day before the main 68th Grammy Awards ceremony.
The announcement has been met with celebration across Nigeria and the international music community, with fans and artists alike hailing the recognition as long overdue for one of Africa’s most influential cultural figures.
The Recording Academy said, “Fela’s influence and catalog of music have been widely celebrated and explored, including the podcast series Fela Kuti: Fear No Man (the New Yorker’s No. 1 Podcast of 2025) and the Tony Award-winning Broadway run of Fela! The Musical from 2008 to 2010. Fela’s influence spans generations, inspiring artists such as Beyoncé, Paul McCartney and Thom Yorke, and shaping modern Nigerian Afrobeats.
A titanic sociopolitical voice, Afrobeat’s revolutionary politics brought Fela into violent conflict with successive Nigerian military regimes, which made many attempts to suppress him and once sent in the army to burn down his communal home, Kalakuta Republic.”
Fela’s son, Seun Kuti, who currently leads the iconic Egypt 80 band, described the honour as a victory not only for Afrobeat but also for politically conscious music. However, he disclosed that he would be unable to attend the ceremony in person due to travel restrictions.
“We are all proud as a family,” Seun said. “It is just a shame that I can’t be there physically to join my family to accept the honour because of travel restrictions.
“Trump has banned me because of talks of Christian genocide. Nevertheless, the family is proud. It’s a good day for African music, Afrobeat culture, and resistance music.”
The award will be formally received by Fela’s children, Yeni, Femi and Kunle Kuti, who have continued to preserve and promote his legacy through the New Afrika Shrine and other cultural platforms linked to the former Kalakuta Republic.
Seun Kuti has recently been in the spotlight following a heated public exchange with fellow Nigerian star Wizkid over debates surrounding musical greatness and legacy.
However, he used this moment of recognition to advocate unity within the music industry rather than rivalry.
“The term ‘greatest’ has a lot to do with comparison,” Seun explained. “My point has always been: don’t compare. Our artists and culture should breed cooperation, not pitch people against each other. Fela is great, and that is the truth. What we must question is the mindset of those who feel they are not great unless they are compared to others.”
Fela, who died in 1997 at the age of 58, is being honoured for creating Afrobeat, a genre that fused West African highlife, jazz, funk and traditional rhythms, while using his music as a weapon against military dictatorship, corruption and social injustice.
In announcing the award, the Recording Academy cited his “inestimable contributions” to global music and acknowledged that his sound and ideology laid the foundation for the modern Afrobeats movement currently dominating international charts.
Fela joins a distinguished list of 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, including Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana, Chaka Khan, Cher and Paul Simon.
The honour follows the 2025 induction of Fela’s 1976 album Zombie into the Grammy Hall of Fame, further cementing his enduring influence.
As Grammy weekend approaches, a special live band tribute is also scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, celebrating Fela’s radical spirit, political courage and timeless groove.
BBNaija Season 11 housemates Yusuf, Bells and Chimsom Chuka have been evicted from the reality television show.
Their eviction was announced during the live eviction show on Sunday as the ‘Show Ya Sef’ edition entered another stage of the competition.
The trio’s exit follows the previous eviction, which saw Araga and Abi leave the competition.
Before their eviction, the season had also witnessed the exits of Martins, Mercedes, Kamsy, Cassi, Sultex, Goddessa and Gerard, while Neche voluntarily withdrew from the show.
The season recorded another major development during the week when Nomy was disqualified from the competition.
Following the latest eviction, 10 housemates remain in the ‘Show Ya Sef’ house as the competition moves towards its final stages.
Actress Nkechi Blessing and former Big Brother Naija reality show winner, Phyna are set to settle their ongoing fight in a celebrity boxing match.
The highly-anticipated face-off is scheduled for October 1, 2026 at the Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos State.
The organisers, Balmoral, announced the match in an Instagram post on Friday evening.
Sharing the poster, the organiser wrote, “Plot twist? Let’s see what the women can do. Phyna VS Nkechi.
“The rivalry is real. Now, let’s see who backs it up when the bell rings.”
This came a few hours after Nkechi Blessing and Phyna engaged in a heated exchange on social media.
Grammy-nominated music producer Tay Keith died from the toxic effects of multiple substances, with his death officially classified as an accidental overdose, according to an autopsy report released nearly three months after his death.
The Nashville Office of the Medical Examiner determined that the producer, whose real name was Brytavious Lakeith Chambers, died on June 18, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee.
According to ABC News, the 29-year-old producer had mitragynine, 7-hydroxy mitragynine, mitragynine pseudoindoxyl and ketamine in his system. The medical examiner listed toxicity from the substances as the cause of death and ruled the manner of death accidental.
Keith was found dead inside his Nashville apartment after Metro Nashville Police officers conducted a welfare check.
At the time, police said there were no indications of foul play and that the cause of death would be determined following an autopsy.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Keith rose to prominence in the American hip-hop industry through collaborations with some of the biggest names in music, including Drake, Travis Scott, Beyoncé and Cardi B.
He produced Drake’s 2018 hit “Look Alive” and earned his first Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song for his work on Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode” at the 2019 Grammy Awards.
Keith received another Grammy nomination in 2024 in the Best Rap Song category for producing “Rich Flex,” performed by Drake and 21 Savage.
His death prompted tributes from several major artists with whom he had worked.
Drake paid tribute to Keith in an Instagram post, expressing appreciation for the producer’s contribution to his music career and mourning his death.
Travis Scott also honoured Keith, saying his absence would be felt and vowing to continue pushing forward while carrying his memory.
Beyond music, Keith maintained strong ties to Middle Tennessee State University, where he earned his degree. Despite achieving significant success in the music industry, he remained committed to completing his education.
Beverly Keel, dean of the university’s Scott Borchetta College of Media and Entertainment, said Keith had promised his mother that he would graduate from college.
Keel said the producer later returned to the institution as an honorary professor and continued supporting students after completing his studies.
Keith’s family described him as a producer, songwriter, entrepreneur and philanthropist whose influence extended beyond the music industry.
In a statement issued through his record label, Drumatized, the family said his legacy would live on through the music he created, the opportunities he helped create for others and the people he inspired.
The newly released autopsy findings formally establish the cause and manner of Keith’s death. Police had previously ruled out suspected foul play while awaiting the medical examiner’s findings.
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