Following the Recording Academy’s announcement that Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti will get a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 Grammy Awards, social media users have responded with delight.
Reactions have been pouring in on social media since the announcement made on their website on Friday. Many Nigerians and music enthusiasts around the world have described the honor as “well deserved,” “long overdue,” and a fitting homage to Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s continuing global influence.
“On January 31, 2026, we are honoring this year’s Special Merit Award recipients, including Fela Kuti with a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award,” the Recording Academy stated in a statement posted on its website.
Global music legends Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Cher, Paul Simon, and Carlos Santana will also be honored with Fela, who passed away in 1997, for their lifetime accomplishments and cultural influence.
The Academy states that performers who “have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording” during their lifetime are eligible to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, which is chosen by the Academy’s National Trustees.
“An architect of Afrobeat, honored for a lifetime of influence,” the Academy said of Fela.
Nigerian musician, producer, arranger, activist, and political radical Fela Kuti combined jazz, salsa, calypso, funk, and native Nigerian rhythms to create Afrobeat in the 1960s.
He clashed with successive Nigerian military administrations because to his revolutionary music and sociopolitical activities, which also influenced contemporary Nigerian Afrobeats and inspired musicians like Thom Yorke, Paul McCartney, and Beyoncé.
“His family, the Kalakuta Museum, and the New Afrika Shrine all carry on his legacy.”
While netizens filled X, Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms with tributes framing the Grammy recognition as long overdue acknowledgment of Fela’s impact, Fela’s son, Femi Anikulapo-Kuti, also hailed the honor by repeating the announcement on his social media pages.
@EstherOfGrace said, “A legend finally getting global acknowledgement,” in response to the news on X. Fela existed before Afrobeats became a global phenomenon.
Another user, @contactsummah, said, “This is what we call work now and enjoy later,” characterizing the honor as a lesson in patience. Best wishes to the family.
Others emphasized Fela’s ongoing significance; @bodyof_africa wrote, “Daddy will forever be a living icon in Afrobeat and to the world.”
Fela’s music brought him “closer to the motherland than I ever imagined,” Voltages_king posted on Instagram, adding, “Kalakuta President for a reason.”
Afrobeat is “more than hypnotic polyrhythms, it is a philosophy,” according to @ime.writes, who also referred to Fela as “one of the greatest thought leaders in human history.”
@drsim7, another Instagram user, commented, “Completely justified and long overdue! We are happy with it.
Fela was “an award in life and death,” according to Facebook user Felix Odigie, who also shared how the late musician’s song “Mr Follow Follow” helped him recover from a personal betrayal.
“Baba Fela deserves the award,” stated Prince Ajibulu. Congratulations to his family, Nigerian and international admirers, and Nigeria as a whole.
“Fela is the greatest musician of all time from Africa,” Gabriel Adeyemo continued. Baba is deserving of every honor.
Fela Kuti’s Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, given almost thirty years after his death, not only solidifies his place as a world music icon but also attests to the lasting influence of his advocacy and groundbreaking sound.
The acknowledgment, which is being celebrated by fans and netizens, is a reminder that his music, philosophy, and struggle for justice are timeless, influencing both Afrobeat musicians and audiences throughout the world.
