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The Recording Academy has announced Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti as a Special Merit Awards honoree at the 2026 Grammy Awards, nearly three decades after his death.
Fela, who died on 2 August 1997, will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award alongside other legends, including Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Cher, and Paul Simon.
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The Special Merit Awards, many of which are posthumous, are scheduled to take place on 31 January 2026. This will be followed by the 68th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony on Sunday, 1 February 2026, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.
Special Merit Award
Announcing the awards in an Instagram Post on Friday, the Recording Academy stated that Fela is being honoured posthumously for his lifetime influence in shaping modern Nigerian Afrobeats and inspiring many global singers.
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Beyond music, the Grammy Awards organisers praised the late singer for the legacy he left behind, citing cultural monuments like the Kalakuta Museum and the New Afrika Shrine.
“An architect of Afrobeat, honoured for a lifetime of influence. Fela Kuti was a Nigerian musician, producer, arranger, political radical, activist, and the father of Afrobeat. In the 1960s, he pioneered the genre by blending funk, jazz, salsa, calypso, and traditional Nigerian rhythms.
“His influence spans generations, shaping modern Nigerian Afrobeats and inspiring global artists such as Beyoncé, Paul McCartney, and Thom Yorke. His legacy continues to live on not only through music but also through his family, the Kalakuta Museum, and the New Afrika Shrine.
“On January 31, 2026, we are honouring this year’s Special Merit Award recipients, including Fela Kuti, with a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award,” the statement read.
Fela Kuti
Although Fela did not receive Grammy Awards during his lifetime, the 2026 Grammy honour will be his second recognition by the Recording Academy within six months. In June, Fela’s 1976 socio-political album, ‘Zombie’, was inducted into the 2025 Grammy Hall of Fame.
Over the decades following his death, numerous awards have been bestowed in his name, with most of them being received by his sons, Femi Kuti and Seun Kuti.
READ ALSO: Afrobeat Rebellion: Art meets activism in Lagos exhibition honouring Fela Kuti
The ‘Zombie’ singer’s songs have also been sampled and referenced by some of the world’s top artistes, including Burna Boy, Wizkid, and Beyoncé.
Meanwhile, the recipients of the 2025 Special Merit Awards included Prince, The Clash, Frankie Beverly, Roxanne Shanté, Frankie Valli, Dr Bobby Jones, and Taj Mahal.
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