Legendary Afrobeat pioneer 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 late “King of Afrobeat” will be honoured at the 2026 Grammy Awards, nearly three decades after his death, Channels Television reported.
The recognition carries strong symbolic significance, given Fela’s lifelong criticism of Western power structures and the global music establishment.
The award will be presented at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony on Saturday, January 31, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, one day ahead of the 68th Grammy Awards ceremony.
