Tyla, Trevor Noah & Burna Boy Shine On a Significant Night For African Music at the Grammys

“Oh my gosh, guys. This is crazy,” South African singer Tyla exclaimed, beaming with pure joy while accepting the very first Grammy for Best African Music Performance. “I never thought I’d say I won a Grammy at 22-years old,” she added. During her terse and heart-warming speech, the Johannesburg-raised artist acknowledged the whirlwind effect of her viral, now historic single, “Water,” but also stated that she’s been working her way into burgeoning global superstardom for years.

“Water” is a bonafide smash hit, the kind that was everywhere, especially on social media. For several months, you couldn’t scroll through any platform for too long without the lines, “Make me sweat, make me water,” invading your ears. Tyla crafted an earworm, a sex-positive jam that wove bouncy log drums into a funky R&B soundscape. It’s a song that balances global pop appeal and a distinctly African feel, notable enough to earn Tyla her first Grammy.

Considering that this is the first time the Recording Academy is handing out this award, there are no definitive statements to make about the category, especially with a roll of nominated songs that each had their merits, but you could argue that the most forward-facing song won this year’s gramophone. “I just feel like people needed something new and fresh and different,” Tyla said to OkayAfrica on the Grammys red carpet. “I’m just happy that people were able to connect with it, because it’s a fun song.”

As expected, in a category where she was the only non-Nigerian, Tyla’s win hasn’t gone down well with many Nigerians, definitely the loudest demographic within African music. The sentiments that one of the four songs by Nigerian artists should have won are understandable, if annoying for the entitlement. Perhaps what made it an even tougher night is that no Nigerian won a Grammy, despite a record nomination of six Nigerian artists in one night.

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Tyla accepts the "African Music Performance" award for "Water" onstage during the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Peacock Theater on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.Photo: Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Both Davido and Burna Boy, nominated multiple times, didn’t win in the other two categories that make up the Global Music section. Burna, one of the two Nigerian artists attempting to win outside the section, also lost out in the Best Melodic Rap Performance category. Singer Tems, the other hopeful for her songwriting on Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up,” came up short for the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media. Even affiliate nods followed the same route, as the compilation album for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which featured six Nigerian artists and five South Africans, was beat out in the Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.

At the end of the premiere ceremony, it was already known that Tyla and “Water” producer, Ghanaian Sammy Soso, would be the main African Grammy winners of the night, joining K'naan who took home the Grammy for Social Change Award for his song "Refugee." That meant the main highlight for African music going into the main event at Crypto.com Arena was Burna Boy’s performance later into the night. For about two hours before Burna hit the stage, South African comedian Trevor Noah manned hosting duties for ‘Music’s Biggest Night’ for the fourth straight year, and he turned in his best performance yet.

Also nominated for Best Comedy Album, which he lost out on during the premiere show, Noah was effervescent as usual, and his quippy humour was a delight all through the night. During his opening monologue, he riffed on the coverage of Album of the Year winner Taylor Swift’s relationship, had a moment with the iconic actress Meryl Streep, weighed in on the dispute between Universal Music and TikTok, and even threw an eye-widening jab at Spotify. Noah also mentioned, during the quick awards

Trevor Noah hosts the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.Photo: Photo by JC Olivera/WireImage via Getty Images.

“You know people say Afrobeats is new and, personally growing up in South Africa, I would get Afrobeats all the time from my mom every time I came home past my curfew,” Noah joked before introducing Burna Boy. Opening his set in the middle of the guests, the Port Harcourt-raised singer was surrounded by four men in green traditional Yoruba wears, all banging on talking drums. A brief rendition of “On Form,” off last year’s I Told Them…, started off the medley, with Burna, his band and a stage packed with dancers briefly segueing into the hook of the Grammy-nominated hit song, “City Boys.”

In the latter half of his set, he was joined by American R&B icon Brandy, whose 1998 hit song, “Top of the World,” is central to Burna’s Melodic Rap-nominated single, “Sittin’ on Top of the World.” British-American rap artist 21 Savage joined the duo on stage to perform his feature verse and, at the end of the 3-minute set, Burna was all smiles, greeted with raucous applause for a groovy time and a well-executed performance.

On a night where African music got its most single night nominations yet, Burna’s excellence was a reminder of how much the music and the stars from the continent are consistently levelling up. Institutional recognition from the Grammys, up to the point of a dedicated category, is very deserving. “We are established already,” Nigerian singer Fireboy DML said to OkayAfrica at the Grammys. “This is just proof that we are here.”