The Grammys are considering adding an Afrobeats category to the Best Album category. The Recording Academy and R&B star will represent the Caribbean region when the Grammy Awards air on CBS Feb. 10.
The Grammy Awards, which will honor the best music of the year, announced the Afrobeats category on March 30.
The category, which would have to include a performance by an artist from the Caribbean region, was being considered by the Recording Academy. The academy did not comment on the subject. R&B legend Michael Jackson played a Caribbean song on the 2006 Grammys, but he was not eligible to compete in the Afrobeats category.
R&B artist and Afrobeat hero Fuse performed “Rude Boy” during Jackson’s performance.
The Recording Academy said in February that it was looking to add the Afrobeats category to the Best Album category, which is voted on by the public.
The Recording Academy, which has a category for the African-American music category, said last month that the Afrobeats category “will be a great honor for the music category… and a great opportunity to introduce Afro-American artists to the world.”
The category would include artists for the whole Caribbean region, from the North of Haiti to the South of Trinidad to the West Coast of West Africa.
The Grammy Awards will be broadcast live by CBS. They will air on CBS, at 8 p.m. Sunday (Jan. 26) and will be taped Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. EST and 9 a.m. PST, a CBS spokesperson confirmed.
The awards are presented by the Recording Academy, which has sponsored the Grammys since 1974. They are handed out annually at Madison Square Garden in New York and are also broadcast live on television.
“This year, we are excited to bring attention to the unique and important music of the Caribbean, especially as artists are becoming more aware of how they can contribute both to culture and the world at large,” said Academy president Neil Portnow. “This category represents a great opportunity for music-makers from the Caribbean and African diasporas to be recognized in a meaningful way for their work and contributions.”
“The Recording Academy is honored to be part of this effort to celebrate the music of these areas of the world,” said Academy president/