By Wanique Block
Grammys considers adding an Afrobeats Category.
Speaking at the Global Citizen Festival in Ghana on Saturday, 24th September 2022, the Grammy Recording Academy CEO, has told Ghanaian journalists about the possibility of adding an Afrobeats category to the award ceremony’s genre list.
During the conversation, Harvey mentioned that he was in close talks with some of the world’s key players and pioneers in Afrobeats, thus placing emphasis on inclusivity and diversity at the Grammys.
“We just had a meeting literarily about six to seven days ago, with leaders of the Afrobeats community… We had a listening session where we heard from Afrobeats creators, we talked about the different sub-genres what are the needs, what are the desires, and my goal is to represent all genres of music including Afrobeats at the Grammys” Harvey shared.
He further revealed that despite a formal proposal required to be submitted by members, they have taken the first step to follow the right strategy.
“I don’t decide categories. The categories are decided by proposals by members. Members can say ‘Harvey, I want an Afrobeat category,’ they write a proposal for the category they talked about. So that process is started now. We did a listening session last week for the step towards that path”, Harvey said.
Adding Afrobeats as a category would not only solidify the genre as a whole, but it would also rightfully recognise the contributors and facilitators of the genre.
The Recording Academy is now considering an Afrobeats category at the annual Grammys ceremony 🏆
— TurnTable Charts (@TurntableCharts) September 26, 2022
Harvey Manson Jr., the CEO of The Academy, revealed in an interview with the press in Ghana over the weekendpic.twitter.com/kZuXpMoCJS
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