Kenya’s music industry is poised for a historic moment as the nation gears to host The Grammy Awards next year.
The news broke earlier this evening, revealing that a whopping Kshs. 500,000,000 has been paid to host the Grammys in the +254.
Kenya has paid Sh500 milllion to host the grammys in Kenya
— Moe (@moneyacademyKE) December 9, 2024
This was through a clip that has since gone viral on the internet of President William Ruto’s Presidential Town Hall address where he addressed the creatives and dignitaries on the theme: “Jobs, Labor, Mobility and Entertainment”.
As part of drafting the Intellectual Property and Piracy Bill, hosting the Grammys is positioned as a strategic move to boost the creative economy. During the address, President Ruto highlighted his recent visit to Tyler Perry Studios as an initiative to empower Kenya’s film and creative industries further.
— Moe (@moneyacademyKE) December 9, 2024
Talks of bringing the prestigious musical awards to Kenya have been on for some time. Initial interest in hosting the Grammys was sparked when the Kenya Film Commission CEO Timothy Owase attended the 2024 Grammy Awards.
Discussions gained momentum when Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Youth Affairs, Arts, and Sports, Ababu Namwamba, visited the headquarters of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles, California. There, he met with Academy President Panos Panay and later announced the collaboration via X (formerly Twitter), stating:
“Good news for the Kenyan Music industry as we significantly progressed our partnership with the #GRAMMYs following my visit today to the headquarters of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences in LA, California hosted by the Academy President Panos Panay #TalantaHela.”
The Recording Academy is a U.S.-based organization comprising musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other music professionals. African artists such as French-Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo (five wins, 14 nominations) and Nigerian star Burna Boy (one win, six nominations) have frequently excelled in the Grammy’s world music categories.
The Kenyan music industry and Grammy relationship dates as back as 2021 when there was a proposition to have Octopizzo nominated in four categories: Best Global Album (Jungle Fever), Best Global Music Performance (Lela), Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, Best Rap Song (Pockets, Interlude), and Best Rap Performance. Despite not making the cut, he made it through the very first round of voting by the Academy members.
In June 2023, Kenyan boy band Sauti Sol received an invitation to join the Grammy Awards as voting members. This opportunity allows them to review submissions, cast votes, and influence the selection of nominees and winners across various categories.
This also comes hot off the heels of The Academy collaborating with the Ministries of Culture in Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Ghana and the Ivory Coast, Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism, the Rwanda Development Board, and South Africa’s Ministry of Sports, Arts and Culture. The Grammys also this year for the first time ever introduced a category for African music “Best African Music Performance”.
Finally, the news is out – Grammy Africa! 💃🏾🕺🏾🎶
— Lady Dentaa Amoateng MBE (@Dentaa_show) June 12, 2024
As a senior consultant to the President and CEO of the Recording Academy (Grammys), we have been working behind the scenes for this historic moment. Over the past year and a half, I have had the privilege of working with the… pic.twitter.com/QtP0HdveT6
Following Ababu-Namwamba’s meeting with the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ President, a Memorandum of Understanding to have Kenya host the Awards show was signed. Kshs. 500,000,000 (approximately USD 3,861,000 which is about UGX. 14,439,411,000) was released so as to make this event happen. This has however attracted an outburst from netizens (citizens of the internet/ internet users) citing why such a move would be taken by the government amidst the wide spread unemployment, an underfunded health system, and high costs of living.
Similarly, the Ugandan government through the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities signed a Memorandum of Understanding to host the 2020 MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA). The show was scheduled to take place February 2021 virtually. This saw UGX 13 billion be issued out to this cause. Unfortunately, the awards didn’t happen due to political unrest arising from the Ugandan national elections that were set to happen in the near future.
According to the Grammys website, the 2025 show will be held in Los Angeles at the Crypto.com Arena come Sunday, 2nd February, 2025; so we are left to wonder where this leaves Kenya or whether they will perhaps host the awards’ pre-show or get a specially curated Grammys Experience.
