Fela Kuti Becomes the First African Artist to Receive a Grammys Lifetime Achievement Award

Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti has become the first African artist honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Recording Academy. 

Fela received his posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2026 Special Merit Awards, which took place in Los Angeles on Saturday, January 31st, the night before the main Grammys ceremony. 

Yeni, Kunle, Shalewa and Femi Kuti accepted the award on their father's behalf at the ceremony. "I want to thank the Grammys for this wonderful award. I'm sure my father is smiling down on us," Yeni said in the acceptance speech, "I want to acknowledge my siblings who couldn't be here tonight, Motunrayo and Seun,  and my nephew who is carrying Afrobeat to another level, Made." 

"I would like to thank all the people carrying Afrobeat that are in this place tonight. DJs, the press, our label Partisan,  our lawyers, fans all over the world. Thank you for bringing our father here, it's so important for Africa. It's so important for world peace and struggle," Femi continued. 

Fela was bestowed the honor alongside other international heavyweights, including Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Cher, and Paul Simon. In an official statement on the matter, Harvey Mason Jr, CEO of the Recording Academy, describes the honorees as “an extraordinary group whose influence spans generations, genres, and the very foundation of modern music.”

"The older I get, I see that [Fela] wasn't the conventional father, he was everybody's father," Femi Kuti told OkayAfrica at a party celebration the Lifetime Achievement Award. "The deeper I think about it, I think this was a way of him protecting his children from the danger he was facing. He showed the Nigerian authorities he loved his children... probably he said, 'this is my home, I'm everybody's father.' But the deeper I looked into his eyes, I did see love. "

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 album Zombie was inducted into the 2025 Grammy Hall of Fame. 

That award was received by his sons, Femi and Seun Kuti. In a statement released on social media, Femi wrote, “Our father's legacy lives on. We are honored to accept this Grammy Hall of Fame award on behalf of Fela Anikulapo Kuti. His music continues to inspire and unite people across the world.”

According to the official statement, this 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 artists 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. It birthed 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 artists, including Beyoncé, Burna Boy, Wizkid, Kelly Rowland, and many others. His legacy continues to inspire art, novels, fashion, and social-consciousness.

Most recently, a Nigerian exhibition, Afrobeat Rebellion, provided an expansive look into Fela’s legacy as both an inventive music artist and a strong advocate for Black liberation. 

This Lifetime Achievement Award seems like a fitting way to close out a monumental year for the iconic artist and his sprawling legacy. 

The award will be presented at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony set to be held on the eve of Grammy Sunday.