54, 80 & 170 on the Billboard Top 200 albums, typifying the current level of recognition that African music is garnering on a global scale. In the year after Burna Boy’s widely discussed Grammy nod and the Coachella fiasco, currently, Nigerian albums such as Burna Boy’s ‘Twice As Tall‘, Wizkid’s ‘Made in Lagos’ and Davido’s ‘A Better Time’ rank respectively at nos. This year also, the cross-Atlantic collaborations have only multiplied with standouts including Pop Smoke and Burna Boy, Nicki Minaj and Davido, Burna Boy and Naughty by Nature, Tiwa Savage and Sam Smith, Nasty C and T.I Tems, Davido and Khalid and so many more. Tiwa Savage and Sauti Sol are currently signed to Universal Music Group, while Nasty C recently penned a deal with Def Jam Records, Adekunle Gold with UK’s Virgin EMI Records and even younger, less mainstream acts such as Cruel Santino have bagged a joint venture deals with LVRN giving them higher chances of a cultural impact on a worldwide scale. Many of the afropop’s current frontrunners have been positioning themselves for recognition on this scale for quite some time, and with big wig label signings, have increased chances of global recognition. Since he was nominated last year, conversation surrounding the Grammy’s have mostly been about him, however, he’s not the only one gunning for the glory. Last year, Burna Boy was nominated for the former Best World Music Album category for his 2019 album, ‘African Giant‘, though he missed out on bringing the golden gramophone to Nigeria, this year the self-proclaimed African Giant returns with his third major-label release ‘Twice As Tall’, an undoubtably Grammy contender. There’s no denying that the world has turned its focus on Africa and the wealth of talent that exists across the creative arts, upping the stakes for many African artists and fostering an environment where they can attain global cultural relevance. Over in these parts, this year has been cosmic for African music on the global scene. Cardi B and Megan thee Stallion’s “WAP” also broke the US record for the most first-week streams for a song and riled up misogynists in one clean sweep landing them the Best Hip-Hop/Rap song at the AMA’s yesterday. And black women stole the show with Megan thee Stallion’s standout single “Savage” taking over the quarantine, and populating social media platforms from Twitter to TikTok before landing a Queen Bey stamp of approval with the “Savage Remix”. The Weeknd’s ‘After Hours’ spent 34 weeks in the #1 spot on the Billboard R&B album charts and Summer Walker’s ‘Over It’ spent 58 weeks in the charts. Both artists are a definite shoo-in for even more accolades 63rd Grammy Awards having already bagged similar awards at previous shows this year such as the MTV EMAs, the AMA’s, and the BET Hip-Hop Awards. In addition, Roddy also joined Lil Baby as the only two rappers this year to go double platinum this year with the release of his single “My Turn” back in February. Roddy Ricch’s “The Box” remained at number one for over 10 weeks, and also racked up over 68.2 million weekly streams, which became the highest nonseasonal stream total since Lil Nas X’s almighty “ Old Town Road” last summer. So far this year, the rookies seem to be dominating conversation, and seem to have been preparing for this pivotal moment. However, come COVID-19 vaccine or not, the prestigious night is set to take place next January, celebrating the best of the fold for their achievements and contributions to music and wider pop culture this past year. Ironically, before the pandemic The Grammys were one of the last awards shows held in person, and other award shows throughout the year have become a virtual event, in efforts to remain socially distanced. Luckily, we’re near the end with only 5 weeks left, and are looking ahead into next year, with one of the music world’s biggest nights, The Grammy Awards looming. From battling a global pandemic with seismic effects on the global economy and life as we once knew it, to rallying together in strong opposition against police brutality, racism, and years of corruption and violence in several parts of the world it has been a strife-filled year. Let’s be honest, 2020 has been a shit show.
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