It’s the weekend of the most highly anticipated music event, the 68th Annual Grammy Awards. And the world is set for the music industry’s biggest night, taking place this Sunday, February 1, 2026, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

The 2026 Grammy Awards are set to be awarded in 95 different categories from genres — including pop, country, hip-hop, R&B, Afrobeats, jazz, and beyond — reflecting a year marked by the wide-ranging creativity in music.

This year, the Grammy Awards take on a new dimension, with two new GRAMMY Categories: Best Traditional Country Album and Best Album Cover. More importantly for Nigerians, the Grammys 2026 also marks a historical moment for the culture; from strong-contending nominations by Nigerian artists to the historical honour of legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. These cultural moments highlight how far African music (specifically Nigerian) has come in cementing its seat on the global stage.

With the 2026 Grammy Awards promising to be different and emotions staked high, here’s everything you need to know ahead of Grammy Sunday.

This year’s Grammy Awards ceremony will be hosted by Trevor Noah, who returns for his sixth and final year. It will be broadcast live on CBS and streamed on Paramount+, where the institution will honour artistic achievements across the global music industry in the previous year, with tributes to legendary musicians in the past. The nominations are voted on by the Recording Academy, dedicated to recognizing a broader spectrum of artistic craft and honouring the evolving ways music is created and experienced.

Nigeria on the Grammy Stage

All eyes are on Nigeria as this year’s nominations reflect the country’s deepening footprint on the global music stage. Since Burna Boy’s historic win in 2020 for the Global Music Album category and the Best African Music Performance category created in 2024, Afrobeats and contemporary African music have continued to garner attention, even from the Recording Academy.

Nigerian Nominations to Watch Out For 

While mixed reactions still remain with the exclusion of Rema, Shallipopi, and Moliy from the nomination lists, here are the Nigerian acts and collaborations that were nominated in the major categories:

Best African Music Performance:

“Love” – Burna Boy

“With You” – Davido & Omah Lay

“Gimme Dat” – Ayra Starr & Wizkid

These artists are competing with South African star Tyla and Uganda’s Eddy Kenzo.

Best Global Music Album

Grammy Award winner Burna Boy has also been nominated for his album No Sign of Weakness, making him one of the most Grammy-recognised artists.

These nominations highlight how Afrobeats and Global Music categories now regularly feature Nigerian artists — not just as recognisable faces, but as contenders with global chart and cultural impact.

Fela Kuti’s Historic Grammy Honour

One of the defining moments of the 2026 Grammys was the global recognition of legendary African musicians.

Nearly three decades after his demise, Fela Anikulapo Kuti is finally being posthumously honoured by the Grammys with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The Afrobeat pioneer, who died in 1997 at the age of 58, becomes the first African in history to receive the honour, an award first presented to actor and singer Bing Crosby in 1963.

This award, granted by the Recording Academy’s National Trustees, celebrates artists who have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance. While the award arrives late, its significance goes beyond honour but represents a cultural moment for Nigerian music and Africa at large.

Rikki Stein, Fela’s long-time friend and manager, believes the recognition by the Grammys is better late than never.

In a response to the BBC, he says, “Africa hasn’t in the past rated very highly in their interests. I think that’s changing quite a bit of late.”

Why Does It Matter Now?

Fela Kuti’s influence spans decades and genres from jazz and funk to political protest music and can be regarded as the foundation of today’s Afrobeats. So it’s only right that this recognition has finally been acknowledged.

Pansa Pansa! When the great FELA shut down Berlin in 1978! 🎷 pic.twitter.com/8ML0QfbCrc

— BOUNCE (@bouncenetworks) May 12, 2021

Fela’s son, Seun Kuti, also acknowledged his recognition as a victory. “Fela has been in the hearts of the people for such a long time. Now the Grammys have acknowledged it, and it’s a double victory,” he tells the BBC.

This posthumous recognition is not just about a trophy but about enshrining a legacy that long influenced global sounds before they were institutionally recognised. Following the global success of Afrobeats, a genre inspired by Fela’s sound, the Grammys introduced the Best African Performance category in 2024. A category dominated by Nigerian artists.

Fela Kuti’s family is expected to attend the Grammys to receive his posthumous award.

Other musicians who will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award this year include Mexican-American guitarist Carlos Santana, Chaka Khan, the American singer known as the Queen of Funk, and Paul Simon.

Global Artists & Highlights to Watch

Outside of the spectrum of African artists, the 2026 Grammys are expected to showcase a diverse range of global performers and nominees, including:

Kendrick Lamar, who leads with the most nominations, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, with four nominations, and Sabrina Carpenter, and eight other new artists across diverse genres.

There’s no doubt that this year’s Grammy Awards feel personal for Nigerians, especially as Afrobeats and contemporary African music receive global attention as they always have demanded for the longest. Perhaps the course of history will take full effect, where African music is no longer struggling for global legacy as it joins other genres at the global stage.