Tobias Sylvester
Beninese legendary singer, Angelique Kidjo has beaten Nigerian Afrobeats star, Burna Boy, to win Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album.
KanyiDaily had reported that Burna Boy was nominated in the category for his acclaimed album ‘African Giant’.
Although Burna Boy was up against seasoned Angelique Kidjo, Nathalie Joachim with Spektral Quartet, Bokanté & Metropole Orkest Conducted By Jules Buckley and, Altin Gün, many fans were certain this would be his year.
But the Recording Academy handed Angelique Kidjo the award for Best Contemporary World Music Album for her album “Celia”.
Congrats Best World Music Album winner – 'Celia' @angeliquekidjo
WATCH: https://t.co/iPjts7zMCt #GRAMMYPremiere #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/RaVI2IjaBm
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) January 26, 2020
This year’s win marks her fourth win in the category and fourth GRAMMY win overall.
Kidjo who sings in more than five languages and whose career has spanned almost four decades was gracious in receiving the award and dedicated it to Burna Boy.
“The new generation of artists coming from Africa are going to take you by storm and the time has come.
“This is for Burna Boy, [he] is among those young artists [who] came from Africa [who] are changing the way our continent is perceived, and the way African music has been the bed rock for every [type] of music,” she remarked.
We will take this.
Thank you @angeliquekidjo https://t.co/W1XHHBszcf
— Ibe (@maziibe_) January 26, 2020
Though the World Music category remains a dubious one, Burna Boy’s nomination was a major milestone for contemporary African music and the significance was not lost on Kidjo.
