The Recording Academy announced new categories for the 2024 Grammys this week which include, ‘ Best African Music Performance’.
Speaking exclusively with World Music Views® Gracey Mae, music journalist and executive in the U.K. explains the Grammy’s current focus on Africa, and says she is working with artists like Burna Boy, Bob Marley’s estate and Oxlade. She was also part of the committee that drafted the proposal for the Recording Academy to add “Best African Music Performance.”
“At the moment I am a member of the Grammys, The BRITS, The MOBOS and the BET Awards as a voting member and with the Grammys specifically I am a mentor with a focus on creating more African music executives to the academy,” Mae says.
Bob Marley‘s estate is leaning into the modern African music wave to inject even more life into the legend’s catalogue Mae says. The London born Nigerian is working closely with the estate and Island records on an upcoming Afrobeats project set to drop this summer.
“In January he (Bob Marley) dropped a song with Sarkodie which is a remake to Stir It Up, two weeks ago he dropped another remake with Tiwa Savage for Waiting In Vain and over the next couple of weeks and months you will see some more African collaborations with the view of dropping a project in the summer. I have heard the project, its amazing and its got all the Afrobeats artist you can imagine and tis a great way to merge the diaspora with the Caribbean meeting Africa, in a beautiful harmony, synergy, its a really great project so I can’t wait for everyone to hear it,” Mae told World Music Views®.
“We have representation from artist across the continent on the project, I can’t say more but I think everyone will be happy with the features that will be on the project,” Mae said.
“I am working with Island Records and his daughter Cedella for this roll out,” the energetic publicist added.
Bob Marley’s brand of reggae music has always had an interest in Africa, and the foresight for the project is to unite Africa under the banner of inclusivity.
“There is a single by Bob Marley called African Unite and it speaks to us being one people and the family had a keen interest to make this a reality, and the songs we are gonna hear over the next couple of months have bene five years in the making,” Mae told WMV.
“Its a beautiful time and African music is going global, its really a nod to how far we have come with the Estate and the family specifically saying we want to get in on the action and revive some of the classics we have come to know and love.
Afro-fusion music is currently miles ahead of reggae and dancehall sales but its predecessor Afrobeat which emerged during the 70s and 80s did not have the same fate and many music executives including Island Records co-founder believe Afrobeats did not take off because of the language barrier.
“For starters reggae is pretty much in English and a lot of the African artists didn’t speak English,” Blackwell told Yahoo Finance’s Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer last September.
As talk of the globalization of music continue, several international music labels have sent their A&R to the African continent to find talent amidst the success of acts like Burna Boy, Rema, Wizkid and Tems.
Statista projected that Nigeria’s music market grew from 26 million U.S. dollars in 2014 to 34 million U.S. dollars in 2018, and that by 2023 the revenue is expected to reach 44 million U.S. dollars.
