Amaarae has argued that the new Best African Music Performance category introduced for 2024’s Grammy awards is “reductive”.
The singer-songwriter was hosted on Accra-based Metro TV’s Entertainment Review show.
“The idea of an African category is great in practice but I think it’s reductive,” she said.
She believes “there are way too many genres” in Africa to box all into a category called African music.
The Afro-Fusion artiste cited that songs like Rema’s Calm Down Remix with Selena Gomez, Burna Boy’s Last Last and her own Sad Girlz Luv Money “didn’t just do well in Africa but did well globally and had humongous global impact,” and contended that the said songs are pop or popular enough to compete in the main Pop, Hiphop, R&B categories at the Grammys.
She bemoaned that, rather, they have been “relegated to just African [music]”.
“That’s reductive of the things people have done to break boundaries,” she added.
The recognition and celebration of African music is “great but it has to be way more expansive than that,” the Ghanaian-American born Ama Serwah Genfi asserted.
The Recording Academy in an official statement has explained the newly introduced Best African Music Performance as a track and singles category that recognises recordings that utilise unique local expressions from across the African continent. Highlighting regional melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical traditions, the category includes but is not limited to the Afrobeat, Afro-fusion, Afro Pop, Afrobeats, Alte, Amapiano, Bongo Flava, Genge, Kizomba, Chimurenga, High Life, Fuji, Kwassa, Ndombolo, Mapouka, Ghanaian Drill, Afro-House, South African Hip-Hop, and Ethio Jazz genres.
Two other new categories for the 66th Grammys are: Best Pop Dance Recording and Best Alternative Jazz Album.
According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Recording Academy, Harvey Mason Jr, the category additions prove that the academy has its ears to the ground and is in step with the times and trends of the music community worldwide.
“The Recording Academy is proud to announce these latest category changes to our Awards process. These changes reflect our commitment to actively listen and respond to the feedback from our music community, accurately represent a diverse range of relevant musical genres, and stay aligned with the ever-evolving musical landscape,” he remarked.
He noted also the implications of the new category additions.
“By introducing these three new categories, we are able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists – and relocating the producer of the year and songwriter of the year categories to the general field ensures that all our voters can participate in recognising excellence in these fields. We are excited to honour and celebrate the creators and recordings in these categories, while also exposing a wider range of music to fans worldwide,” he said.
Source: classfmonline.com
