The Japan Times - Nigeria's Tems wins Grammy in field dominated by afrobeats

The song, which beat four others by star afrobeats performers, has notched up some 20 million views on YouTube.

In her acceptance speech at the 67th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles late Sunday, Tems -- whose real name is Temilade Openiyi -- paid tribute to her mother.

"Wow, dear God. Thank you so much for putting me on this stage and bringing me this team. Tomorrow is my mum’s birthday... I just want to thank you ma because she has really done a lot for me and my brother," she said.

Her song beat "Higher" by Burna Boy, "MMS" by Asake and Wizkid and "Tomorrow" by Yemi Alade.

The fifth song on the list was Chris Brown's "Sensational", on which the American artist is accompanied by Nigerian performers Davido and Lojay.

Tems and Drake won a Grammy in 2023 with "Wait for U".

This year she was also nominated for "Best International Album" and "Best R&B Song".

Nigerian producer, sound engineer and artist George Irabor, alias SirBastien, who was nominated for a Grammy last year, said the awards were a valuable recognition of his country's music scene.

"These Grammy awards are important because they reinforce Nigeria’s reputation as a leading force in music," he told AFP.

"This recognition attracts more investors and global interest."

Afrobeats has its roots in the afrobeat pioneered by Nigerian megastar Fela Kuti in 1970s Lagos and has been influenced by international hip-hop and rhythm and blues.

Exported to the West African diaspora in Britain and the United States, the genre is breaking through into the international mainstream and music awards circuit.

"From now, most of the biggest stars in the world want to collaborate with our artists and/or producers," Titilope Adesanya, director of operations for Africa at the American record label, Empire, said.

Last year was the first time the "Best African Musical Performance" category was awarded and it went to South Africa's Tyla for her son "Water".

T.Ikeda--JT