The global music community has paid tribute to one of Africa’s greatest cultural icons as Fela Anikulapo Kuti is honoured with the Recording Academy of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Fela was far more than a musician. He was a fearless voice of the oppressed, a philosopher of freedom, and a revolutionary whose sound and message confronted injustice, challenged authority, and reshaped global music. Through his courage, creativity, and unwavering conviction, he defined a generation and carved a legacy that continues to inspire the world.
In the spiritual imagination of Yoruba mythology, Fela has transcended mortality and ascended to a higher plane—an Orisa—eternal and undying. Though he has passed on, his spirit, message, and music remain alive.
With this historic honour, Fela Anikulapo Kuti becomes the first African to receive the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award, albeit posthumously. The award stands as a powerful affirmation of his enduring global influence and his foundational role in shaping modern music, as well as Africa’s indelible impact on the world’s cultural soundscape.
Fela pioneered and defined Afrobeat, a genre that fused music with activism and truth-telling. Today, his influence resonates clearly across generations of Nigerian musicians and is evident in Afrobeats and contemporary global music movements.
Fela lives on—in sound, in spirit, and in the unending struggle for truth and justice.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR
President, Federal Republic of Nigeria