Wizkid Wins the Inaugural Afrobeats Award at the AMAs

Celebrated Nigerian superstar Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid recently won in the inaugural Favorite Afrobeats Artists category at the 2022 American Music Awards.

The AMAs started its flagship Afrobeats category this year. Other nominees for the award included Burna Boy, CKay, Tems, and Fireboy DML, with Wizkid ultimately taking home the price. Many of the nominated artists had enjoyed massive commercial success in the United States prior to the award show, and the increasing dominance of Afrobeats has made the genre well known in other parts of the world outside of Nigeria.

The "Bad To Me" singer also won the Favorite R&B Song award for the remix to his smash hit "Essence," which featured Tems and Justin Bieber. This was monumental for the night because the song was competing with other hit songs, including Beyonce's "Break My Soul."

Tems also made quite the impression at the award show. In addition to winning an award alongside Wizkkid for the "Essence" remix, she also won in the Favorite Hip Hop Song category for her contribution to Future's "Wait For U," a record that quickly became a fan-favorite with fans for its unique sonic output.

Both Tems and Wizkid have been soaring in their careers following the release of their celebrated song "Essence." Recently, Tems was a co-writer on the Rihanna-led song "Lift Me Up" for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever sound track. Last week, Wizkid headlined a show at New York City's renowned music venue Madison Square Garden, a major feat for Afrobeats as a whole.

View the complete list of nominees and winners for the award show here.