Grammys to Honor Fela Kuti With 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award

Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti is set to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 Grammy Awards. Kuti will be bestowed this 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.”

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.