The Recording Academy has announced that Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti will be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 Grammy Awards, recognising his enduring impact on global music and culture.
Kuti will be recognised alongside fellow honourees Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Cher and Paul Simon. The award will be presented at the Special Merit Awards Ceremony, held on the eve of Grammy Sunday.
In a statement, Recording Academy chief executive Harvey Mason Jr described the recipients as “an extraordinary group whose influence spans generations, genres, and the very foundation of modern music”.
Although Kuti did not receive a Grammy during his lifetime, his work has continued to earn international recognition posthumously. In 2025, his 1976 album Zombie was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The honour was accepted by his sons, musicians Femi and Seun Kuti.
Responding to the Hall of Fame recognition at the time, Femi Kuti wrote on social media: “Our father’s legacy lives on. We are honoured to accept this Grammy Hall of Fame award on behalf of Fela Anikulapo Kuti. His music continues to inspire and unite people across the world.”
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According to the Recording Academy, the Lifetime Achievement Award is conferred by its National Trustees and is presented to “performers who, during their lifetime, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording”.
Fela Kuti is widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most influential and politically outspoken artists. His music fused elements of West African traditions, including Ghanaian highlife, with American funk, jazz and soul, giving rise to the Afrobeat genre. Beyond its musical innovation, his work was closely tied to activism, often addressing themes of political oppression, corruption and social justice.
His influence continues to be felt across contemporary music, with elements of his sound referenced and sampled by artists such as Beyoncé, Burna Boy, Wizkid and Kelly Rowland. His legacy has also extended into literature, fashion and visual art, as well as ongoing conversations around political consciousness and Black liberation.
More recently, the Nigerian exhibition Afrobeat Rebellion examined Kuti’s contribution both as a pioneering musician and as a cultural and political figure.
The Lifetime Achievement Award adds to a series of posthumous honours that have reaffirmed Fela Kuti’s position as a foundational figure in modern African and global music history.