Nigerian musician and respected Afrobeat singer Femi Kuti has been nominated at the 54th edition of the prestigious Grammy Awards.
Femi picked up his third ever nomination in the World Music Category for his ‘Africa for Africa‘ album last night Wednesday, November 30, 2011 when the list was unveiled at the ‘Grammy Nominations Concert Live!‘ in Los Angeles, US.
In 2003, Femi, eldest son of late Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo Kuti picked up his first ever Grammy Award nomination but lost out to Panamanian salsa singer Rubén Blades.
He similarly lost in 2010 when he was nominated in the same category. US banjo player Bela Fleck walked away with the award.
His recent nomination sees him up against Latin/Roots music band AfroCubism, South African male choral group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Malian band Tinariwen.
‘We’re extremely happy, and hoping they give him this time around‘ Femi’s elder sister and Positive band veteran Yeni Kuti told us this morning over the phone. ‘It’s his third time and he has really worked hard‘. Femi Kuti himself, currently touring Europe, is unreachable for now. ‘I can’t say if he’ll attend or not, but I hope he will. He did not attend last year,” Yeni says.
US rapper Kanye West leads the pack with seven nods, making it the second year in a row a Hip-hop artiste has reached that feat. (Eminem topped the nominees list in 2010, with 10nods. He walked away with two wins).
Kanye is closely followed by UK singer Adele who is tied with Foo Fighters and Bruno Mars with six nods each. But the controversial rapper-producer was, surprisingly missing on the biggest award category ‘Album of the Year’.
Other notable acts that missed out on the big prize are Taylor Swift and veteran singer Tony Bennett.
The awards ceremony is billed to hold on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
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