Afrobeats musician Joseph Akinwale, better known by his stage as Joeboy, has urged fellow musicians to back African award shows.
The 26-year-old singer contended that, despite its international acclaim, the Grammy Awards are an American awards ceremony when he spoke on The Big Convo programme.
Additionally, he urged Afrobeats musicians to support African award ceremonies instead of watching the Grammys.
“I think we should unapologetically be ourselves and also empower our institutions here in Africa,” he said.
“Grammys is a great award but it is still an American award. It is just seen as a global award because of its positioning.
“But we make it look like that it is the biggest award an African artiste can ever get. Why don’t we show up for our awards and plan it properly?
“If they did not show up for their awards, it won’t be as great as it is now. I know there is money to be made there but we need to return home and invest.
“At the end of the day, we will all have to come back. So it is all about making sure our infrastructure and institutions are growing.”
The Recording Academy unveiled the “Best African Music Performance” category in June of last year.
This marks the first time that an award category has been devoted to African music in the award’s history.
Joeboy rose to fame through Mr. Eazi’s musical label, emPawa Africa.
In 2019, he won the ‘Best Artiste in African Pop’ prize at the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA).
The singer also bagged the ‘Best Pop’ category at the Soundcity MVP Awards Festival in 2020.
