2025 Grammy Nominations: Best African Music Performance Nominees, Burna Boy, Yemi Alade, Asake & Wizkid, Tems, Davido, and Lojay Make The List

The Grammy nominations are out, and for the second year in a row, there will be a Grammy for Best African Music Performance.

Afrobeat reigns supreme as Nigeria dominates this year’s Best African Music Performance category; Burna Boy, Yemi Alade, Asake & Wizkid, Tems, and Davido and Lojay made the list of nominees in the second annual Category.

Burna Boy earned a nod for his hit song “Higher,” while Asake’s collaboration with Wizkid, “MMS,” is also in the race.

Davido also earned his second nomination in the Category for his feature on Chris Brown’s “Sensational,” alongside Lojay, who picked up his first Grammy nominations for the same song.

Mama Africa and first-time nominee Yemi Alade earns her first solo nod for “Tomorrow. ” Her hard work and dedication to her craft have never been in doubt, and they’re certainly paying off.

Fan’s darling Tems’ is also in the running, her love song “Love Me Jeje” completes the Grammy nominations list for Best African Music Performance. Tems is also the only African artist to be nominated more than once across the global music categories; her debut album, Born in the Wild, is up for Best Global Music Album alongside her compatriot Rema, nominated for his sophomore album, HEIS. Outside the global categories, Tems is also up for Best R&B Song for “Burning,” giving her three Grammy nominations.

The Grammy nominations

Other African artistes earned Grammy nominations for the 67th Grammy award; in the Best Global Music Performance category, Beninese music and African icon Angélique Kidjo is nominated for “Sunlight to My Soul,” her collaboration with the Soweto Gospel Choir. Ghanaian reggae legend Rocky Dawuni earns his second nomination in this Category and his fourth Grammy nod overall for his single, “Rise.”

Also notable is breakout country artist Shaboozey. The Nigerian-American singer got five Grammy nominations; Shaboozey is up for Best New Artist, and his viral hit song, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” is nominated for Song of the Year and Best Country Solo Performance. The David Guetta remix is up for Best Remixed Recording. He’s also nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance for contributing to Beyoncé’s “Spaghetti.”

It is indeed a good time for African music. Burna Boy’s first nomination for Best Global Music Album at the 2020 Grammys and his win has opened the floodgates for an increased representation of African music at the most significant award in music, reflecting the widespread listenership and global influence of music from the continent.

Earlier this year, the Recording Academy made history by awarding their first-ever Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance; 22-year-old South African singer Tyla won the inaugural edition with her viral song “Water”

The 67th Grammy Awards ceremony will hold on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025.

Congratulations to all the nominees

The complete list of nominees here.

Best African Music Performance
Asake & Wizkid – “MMS”
Burna Boy – “Higher”
Chris Brown – “Sensational” Featuring Davido & Lojay
Tems – “Love Me JeJe”
Yemi Alade – “Tomorrow”
Best Global Music Performance
Angélique Kidjo & Soweto Gospel Choir – “Sunlight to My Soul”
Arooj Aftab – “Raat Ki Rani”
Jacob Collier – “A Rock Somewhere” Featuring Anoushka Shankar & Varijashree Venugopal
Masa Takumi – “Kashira” Featuring Ron Korb, Noshir Mody & Dale Edward Chung
Rocky Dawuni – “Rise”
Sheila E. – “Bemba Colorá” Featuring Gloria Estefan & Mimy Succar
Best Global Music Album
Antonio Rey – Historias de un Flamenco
Ciro Hurtado – Paisajes
Matt B & Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Alkebulan II
Rema – Heis
Tems – Born in the Wild

Photo Credit

burnaboygram, asakemusic ,wizkidayo, heisrema, temsbaby,yemi Alade, davido, chrisbrownofficial, lojaymusic