Long after his voice stopped echoing through smoky clubs and protest-filled streets, Fela Anikulapo Kuti is still rewriting history.
The Afrobeat architect has now become the first African artist to receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a landmark recognition that crowns his towering influence on global music and culture.
The Recording Academy announced that the Nigerian icon will be honoured posthumously at the 2026 Grammy Special Merit Awards, a ceremony reserved for artists whose work has reshaped the recording landscape. More than three decades after his death, Fela’s music — fearless, defiant and unapologetically African — has earned its place among the most consequential bodies of work in music history.
This rare honour places Fela in elite company, alongside legendary figures such as Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana, Cher, Paul Simon and Chaka Khan, all recognised in the same cycle. For African music, the moment signals more than celebration — it marks long-overdue global validation.
Born Olufela Olusegun Oludoton Ransome-Kuti in 1938, Fela did not simply make music — he invented a language. By fusing traditional African rhythms with highlife, jazz, funk and soul, he created Afrobeat, a sound that was as hypnotic as it was confrontational.
Across more than 50 albums, Fela turned the recording studio into a battleground. His songs tackled corruption, military oppression and social hypocrisy, often naming names and daring the system to respond. And respond it did.
His activism came at a brutal cost. Fela endured repeated arrests and violent crackdowns, most notably the 1977 military attack on his Kalakuta Republic following the release of his scathing album Zombie. The assault left many injured and led to the death of his mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, a revered nationalist and feminist — a tragedy that deepened Fela’s resolve and sharpened his political edge.
Despite never winning a Grammy while alive, Fela’s work refused to fade. In 2025, Zombie was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, affirming its enduring relevance and power. Today, his influence pulses through generations — from his sons Femi and Seun Kuti, to global stars like Burna Boy, whose sound carries unmistakable Afrobeat DNA.
Reacting to the honour, Seun Kuti described the award as bringing “balance to the Fela story,” noting that his father never chased trophies, but instead fought for freedom, dignity and African pride through music.
Fela’s Grammy recognition arrives at a time when African music is enjoying unprecedented global momentum. With Afrobeats dominating charts and new Grammy categories spotlighting African sounds, the continent’s creative influence is no longer on the margins — it’s at the centre.
The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is not just a tribute to Fela Kuti the musician. It is a salute to Fela the revolutionary, and a powerful acknowledgement that African music, history and resistance have shaped the world far more than it has ever been credited for.
Decades later, the message remains clear: Fela didn’t just make history — he became it.
