• Kenyan Genge artistes have been accorded a fair chance to battle it out with others in the 2024 Grammy Awards
• The Recording Academy recently added three new Categories, namely: Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Pop Dance Recording
Genge music genre has finally gotten it’s long-awaited recognition after being included in the 2024 Grammy Awards.
For the longest now, African music, alternative jazz and dance pop have been on the GRAMMY’s ballot for decades.
Well, after a long wait the aforementioned genres were recently added to the Grammy Awards categories to battle it out with others from across the globe.
YEIYO.com.has learnt with great satisfaction that the Recording Academy recently added three new Categories, namely: Best African Music Performance, Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Pop Dance Recording.
Through its official site, the academy disclosed the new categories will be introduced at the 2024 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 66th GRAMMY Awards.
Kenya’s own Genge made the cut in a move that left many locals, especially music lovers very excited.
Below is a breakdown of one of the new GRAMMY Award Categories in which Genge made the cut:
Best African Music Performance
- A track and singles Category that recognizes recordings that utilize unique local expressions from across the African continent.
- Highlighting regional melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical traditions, the Category includes but is not limited to the Afrobeat, Afro-fusion, Afro Pop, Afrobeats, Alte, Amapiano, Bongo Flava, Genge, Kizomba, Chimurenga, High Life, Fuji, Kwassa, Ndombolo, Mapouka, Ghanaian Drill, Afro-House, South African Hip-Hop, and Ethio Jazz genres.
Information reaching YEIYO.com intimates that the Category additions and amendments were voted on and passed at the Recording Academy’s most recent semiannual Board of Trustees meeting held in May 2023.
“The Recording Academy is proud to announce these latest Category changes to our Awards process. These changes reflect our commitment to actively listen and respond to the feedback from our music community, accurately represent a diverse range of relevant musical genres, and stay aligned with the ever-evolving musical landscape,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. said.
“By introducing these three new categories, we are able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists – and relocating the Producer Of the Year and Songwriter Of The Year categories to the General Field ensures that all our voters can participate in recognizing excellence in these fields,” Mason continued.
“We are excited to honor and celebrate the creators and recordings in these categories, while also exposing a wider range of music to fans worldwide.” Harvey added.
The latest development was received well by many Kenyans who admitted that indeed Genge music genre is going international, and in leaps and bounds.
