Grammy Awards, a high-octane event which brings together top-notch artistes, producers and a host of others in the global music industry, had Tems, a Nigerian artist, ushered into its Hall of Fame at the 2025 edition after decades of trying; KEHINDE OSASONA recalls with nostalgia.
Historical
TheGrammyAwards can be traced to the Hollywood Walk of Fame project in, which began in the 1950s.The first ceremony of the presentation of the awards was held on May 4, 1959, at some locations in Beverly Hills and New York City and was hosted by Mort Sahl and Meredith Willson.
Although the Nigerian music industry has continued its domination in Africa and has given the Grammy Awards a hot chase many times, the relief that came a few weeks ago when a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer, Tems, won the 67th Grammy Awards for Best African Music Performance was a pointer to what to come.
The 29-year-old Temilade Openiyi haul will mark her second Grammy win as she won in the Best Melodic Rap Performance category for her contribution to the hit song ‘Wait for U’ with Future and Drake in 2023.
At the ceremonies which took place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Tems clinched the award with her love song, Love Me Jeje.
She defeated “Tomorrow” by Yemi Alade, MMS by Asake featuring Wizkid; Sensational by Chris Brown featuring Davido and Lojay, and Higher by Burna Boy.
The chase
In the 2024 edition of the Grammy Awards, Burna Boy received four nominations this year: Best Melodic Rap Performance (Sittin’ on Top of the World with 21 Savage); Best Global Music Performance (Alone); Best African Music Performance (City Boys) and Best Global Music Album (I Told Them).
The Nigerian music star also made history as the first Afrobeat musician to perform at the 2024 Grammys, but failed to clinch any award.
Like his compatriot, Davido also got his first nominations for Best Global Music Album (Timeless); Best African Music Performance (Unavailable featuring Musa Keys), and Best Global Music Performance (Feel), failed to win any Grammy award.
Although both Asake and Olamide’s Amapiano song did not make it to the winning list, it was nominated in the Best African Music performance category.
In the same vein, Ayra Starr, another new sensation’s song Rush was nominated for the inaugural Best Music Performance category.
To further demonstrate that she has an array of talents and was poised to take its pride of place in Africa and in the globe, Nigerian artistes in the Diaspora either as citizens of other countries or resident outside it had either clinched or been nominated to grace the global festival of music at one time or another.
For instance, the Nigeria-born British singer and songwriter, Helen Folasade Adu, popularly known as Sade Adu, opened the door for Nigerians with the first win of the award in 1986.
Sade, one of the most successful British female artists in history, is regarded as an influence on contemporary music. Her hit Sweetest Taboo hit the music scene like a thunderbolt and till today, many are yet to recover from the effects that her back to back hot tracks threw them.
Her Best New Artist won the award in 1986. It was followed by another big win in 1994 with No Ordinary Love for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals.
Her Lovers Rock in the Best Pop Vocal Album fetched her the third and in 2011, she won the fourth with Soldier of Love for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals.
In 1994, another Nigerian, Henry Olusegun Adeola Samuel, popularly known as Seal also won a Grammy award.
Seal was nominated 14 times for the award, but he won four. While his song, Kiss from a Rose, fetched him three Grammy awards in 1996 and in 2011, his song Imagine won the fourth.
The Nigerian-British singer and songwriter sold over 20 million records worldwide with hit songs Crazy and Killer. One of his finest hits was the 1994 song, Kiss from a Rose.
At the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu, popularly known as Burnaboy’s Twice as Tall album won the Best World Music Album.
Burnaboy, who came to the limelight in 2012 after releasing Like to Party, has continued to enjoy nominations at the Grammy.
Another Nigerian sensational artiste, Ayodeji Balogun, aka Wizkid, also won a Grammy award after featuring in Beyoncé’s Brown Skin Girl Video after he was nominated four times for a Grammy.
Nigerian-American rapper, Hakeem Temidayo Seriki, known as Chamillionaire, won the Grammy award in 2007.
His song, Riddin, emerged the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. The Lagos-born jazz percussionist and musician started playing the conga at an early age.
In the same vein, another percussionist and recording artist, Adepoju, known for playing a variety of instruments and styles, won the award twice in 1991 and 1999.
He first won a Grammy in 1991 as a part of Mickey Hart’s group Planet Drum, whose Mickey Hart’s group Planet Drum, his title album, won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album in 1991.
Tem’s moment
With her latest haul, Tems, 29, now has more Grammy awards than any other Nigerian artiste. The 2025 award marks her second Grammy win.
Tems, Blueprint Weekend recalled, had in 2023 won the Best Melodic Rap Performance for the song Wait For U with American hip-hop stars Future and Drake.
Earlier, she has collaborated with the likes of Drake and Rihanna in 2024 and fully stepped into her spotlight with the release of her long-awaited debut album, Born in the Wild.
A standout from the project, Love Me JeJe – which interpolates Seyi Sodimu’s beloved 1997 hit – became an instant success, reaching No. 1 on the UK Afrobeats Chart and No. 3 on Billboard’s US Afrobeat Songs.
Tems debuted the track during her 2024 Coachella set, strategically bridging past African pop icons with contemporary global sounds. The gamble paid off – her ability to blend nostalgia with modern R&B and Afrobeat resonated widely, earning Love Me JeJe a Grammy nomination for Best African Music Performance.
Beyond this, Tems’ artistry is being recognised on a larger scale. Her album Born in the Wild is in contention for Best Global Music Album, facing off against international stars like Matt B and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Tems won the hearts of a broad audience when she became the first African act to top the Billboard Hot 100 with the song Wait For U
Music buffs speak
Despite the successes recorded by Nigerian artistes at home and abroad, music buffs are not satisfied with Nigeria’s standing at the global music arena including Grammy, claiming Nigerian music has influenced the world and have elevated the game and as such should have recorded more hauls at the festival.
Speaking exclusively to this reporter, a music buff, known as Peekay, attributed faint rather than deep messages in the tracks being churned out to Africa and global audiences and listeners alike as the reason behind Nigerian artists not picking much Grammy Award.
Peekay said, “Beats or beatings are not just enough to win a Grammy award; your music must carry a touching message that goes down with a lot of meanings. But unfortunately today, most Nigerian singers are good at singing off points.”
Another keen follower disagreed, saying Nigeria’s outing at the global event has not been disgraceful as some people made us to believe.
Mitchell Abudu who spoke to this medium said, “I wonder why we don’t take time out to take stock before condemning or apportion blame.
“Grammy is not for the lily-livered and you must worth your while before being nominated in the first place not to now talk of winning. For crying out loud, what do we really want our artistes to do in order to win that they have not done. I think they can only improve and continue to compete with others. They have my flowers if you must know.”
Going forward, while many are of the view that Davido, Asake, Yemi Alade, Tiwa Savage, Wizkid and Burna Boy deserve better, others think snubbing the Nigerians was heart-breaking, despite their innovations, contributions and presence in the 02 Arena, global festivals and their status on Spotify.