Check out The List of Nigerian Artist with Grammy Award, Winners and Nominees

Let’s check out the list of Nigerian artists who has won the Grammy award and those who were also nominated in the past recent years from 1980’s to present. We have 11 grammy award winners, and 6 nominated artists.

We will take a look at some of the Nigerian artists who have been nominated for Grammy Awards, including King Sunny Adé, Babatunde Olatunji, Femi Kuti, Femi Kuti & Made Kuti, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, Burna Boy, Wizkid, Wizkid featuring Tems, Sikiru Adepoju, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Kah-Lo, and Tems.

The Grammys are one of the most prestigious awards in the music industry. Winning a Grammy is a significant achievement for any musician. In recent years, Nigerian artists have been making waves in the international music scene, with many of them being recognized by the Grammys.

Winners

• Burna Boy
• Babatunde Olatunji
• Sikiru Adepoju
• Wizkid
• Sade Adu
• Tems
• Seal
• Lekan Babalola
• Hakeem Seriki (Chamillionaire)
• Kevin Olusola
• Jenn Nkiru

Nominated

• King Sunny Adé
• Femi Kuti
• Seun Kuti
• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Kah-Lo
• Made Kuti

List of Nigerian Artist with Grammy Award

Nigeria’s music industry has grown significantly, and many artists aim to win a Grammy, which is music’s highest recognition. Burna Boy and Wizkid recently won Grammys in 2021, making them the latest Nigerian Grammy award-winning artists.

Nigerian singer, Tems won the Best Melodic Rap Performance Grammy Award for her collaboration with Future and Drake on the song “Wait For U”.

This is a significant achievement for Tems and the Nigerian music industry as a whole. Tems has won other awards, including the Prize for Music at The Future Awards Africa and the Impact Award at the BMI London Awards.

Burna Boy

Burna Boy is a musician from Nigeria who has been nominated for six Grammys and won one. ((en.wikipedia.org))

He has been nominated three years in a row for Best Global Music Album and has also been nominated for Best Global Music Performance. ((africanews.com))

At the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, his album “Twice as Tall” won the award for Best World Music Album.

Babatunde Olatunji

Babatunde Olatunji was a musician and activist from Nigeria. In 1991, he won a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart for their album Planet Drum. ((ng.opera.news))

He was also on the Mickey Hart Planet Album, which won the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album in 1991. In 1998, his album “Love Drum Talk” was also nominated for a Grammy. ((notjustok.com))

Sikiru Adepoju

Sikiru Adepoju is a percussionist and recording artist from Nigeria. He has won a Grammy Award and been nominated for more. ((sikiru.com))

He was in Mickey Hart’s band Planet Drum, whose album of the same name won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album. ((yorubaness.com.ng))

In 2009, his album “Global Drum Project” won the Grammy Award for Best World Music Album.

Wizkid

Machala (Wizkid) has won a Grammy for his collaboration with Beyoncé on the song “Brown Skin Girl” in the Best Music Video category. Wizkid is a popular Nigerian musician who has been nominated for several Grammy Awards. ((guardian.ng))

His album “Made in Lagos (Deluxe)” was nominated for Best Global Music Album at the 2022 Grammy Awards, but he did not win.

He was also nominated for two awards at the 2022 Grammys. However, at the 65th Grammy Awards, Wizkid did not receive any nominations. ((coolfm.ng))

Tems

Tems is a Nigerian singer and songwriter who has won her first Grammy Award at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. She has been nominated for four Grammys and won her first one at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. ((africanews.com))

She won the award in the Best Rap Performance category for her part in Future’s hit song “I Know.” She was also nominated for three awards at the 65th Grammy Awards. ((afrocritik.com))

King Sunny Ade

King Sunny Adé is a well-known Nigerian musician who was the first Nigerian artist to be nominated for a Grammy Award. ((pulse.ng)) Although he has been nominated for the award, he has not won one yet.

King Sunny Adé’s albums “Syncro System” and “Odu” were nominated for Best World Music Album and Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording, respectively.

Femi Kuti

Femi Kuti is a Nigerian musician who has been nominated for six Grammy Awards but has never won one. ((yourstru.ly)) In 2003, 2010, 2012, and 2013, he was nominated in the world music category.

At the 64th Grammy Awards in 2022, Femi Kuti and his son Made Kuti were nominated for Best Global Music Album for their album “Legacy +.”

Seun Kuti

Seun Kuti is a musician from Nigeria who has been nominated for a Grammy Award and won a Grammy Award.

At the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in 2018, his album “Black Times” was nominated for Best World Music Album. But he didn’t get the prize. ((saharareporters.com))

Femi Kuti, Seun Kuti’s uncle, has been nominated for a Grammy Award about five times, while Made Kuti, Seun’s cousin, has only been nominated once.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been up for a Grammy Award once. ((jamesmurua.com)) At the 2015 Grammy Awards, she was up for Album of the Year for her work on Beyoncé’s self-titled album.

Kah-Lo

Kah-Lo is a Nigerian singer who has been nominated for two Grammys. In 2017, her song “Rinse & Repeat” was nominated for Best Dance Recording at the 59th Grammy Awards. ((grungecake.com)) She was also up for the same award at the Grammys in 2022.

Made Kuti

Made Kuti and his father Femi Kuti were nominated for the 2022 Grammy Awards for their album “Legacy +” in the Best Global Music Album category. This was their first album together, and it received critical acclaim. However, they did not win the award.

Sade Adu

Sade Adu is a famous singer, songwriter, and actress who was born in Ibadan, Nigeria in 1959. She grew up in Essex, England and is best known as the lead singer of the band that bears her name.

Sade Adu received a grammy award in 1986 for “Best New Artist.” She won her second Grammy in 1994 for “No Ordinary Love” in the category of Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

She won her third Grammy in 2002 for “Lovers Rock” in the Best Pop Vocal Album category, and her fourth Grammy in 2011 for “Soldier of Love” in the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals category.

Seal

Seal is a famous British-Nigerian musician who was born in 1963 with the name Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel. He is well-known for his hit song “Kiss from a Rose,” which was released in 1994.

Seal has received 14 Grammy nominations throughout his career and has won four of them. His song “Kiss from A Rose” won him three Grammy awards in 1996, and in 2011, he won his fourth Grammy for the song “Imagine.” This makes him one of the most successful Nigerian Grammy award winners.

Lekan Babalola

Lekan Babalola is a Nigerian musician born in 1960 who is well-known for his skills in playing jazz percussion instruments, especially the conga and bongo drums. He started playing the conga at a young age and has released seven albums so far.

He has also won two Grammy awards. Lekan Babalola became a professional musician after joining a band called Samba Samba Band and then went on to join Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers band in New York City, where he honed his skills in jazz music.

In 2006, he won Nigeria’s first Grammy award for his work on Ali Farka Touré’s album “In the Heart of the Moon,” where he played in three tracks. He later won his second Grammy in 2009 for his contribution to Cassandra Wilson’s album “Loverly.”

Hakeem Seriki (Chamillionaire)

Chamillionaire, born Hakeem Seriki, is a rapper, entrepreneur, and investor with a Nigerian father and an African American mother. He moved to Houston, Texas when he was four years old.

In 2007, he won a Grammy for his song “Ridin'” in the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group category, and he received four nominations that year.

Kevin Olusola

Kevin Olusola is a musician who can sing, rap, produce records, and play instruments like the cello. He is also a beatboxer, which means he can make music using only his mouth.

He is part of the vocal band Pentatonix and has won three Grammy awards. Pentatonix won their first Grammy in 2015 for their song “Daft Punk” and won two more in 2016 and 2017.

King Sunny Ade was the first Nigerian artist to be nominated for a Grammy in 1983, while Femi Kuti has four nominations. Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Adichie-Ngozi, also got a nomination for her work on Beyonce’s 2015 album.

Jenn Nkiru

The music video for “Brown Skin Girl” was co-directed by Jenn Nkiru, a filmmaker who is British-Nigerian. Nkiru had previously worked with Beyonce as the second unit director for the “Apeshit” video in 2018 and also directed the video for the launch of Beyonce’s Ivy Park fashion line in 2020.

Note:

Jenn Nkiru is a British-Nigerian filmmaker, Kevin Olusola was born by Nigerian father and Grenadian mother in Kentucky. Hakeem Seriki (Chamillionaire) was born to a Muslim Nigerian father and African American mother in Washington D.C.

Helen Folasade Adu (Sade Adu) grew up in Essex, England, making her a British-Nigerian actress and also a singer, while Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel (Seal) is a British-Nigerian singer.