The Recording Academy has added a new music category for African music; Best African Music Performance ahead of the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. The category additions and amendments were voted on and passed at the Recording Academy’s most recent Board of Trustees meeting, which was held last month.
It also announced the addition of two other categories: Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Pop Dance Recording.
Already existing categories of producer of the year, non-classical, and songwriter of the year, non-classical will be moved to the general field.
Harvey Mason Jr., the Chief Executive Officer of the Recording Academy, said in a statement on Tuesday that the news categories represent the diverse range of relevant musical genres.
“The Recording Academy is proud to announce these latest category changes to our award 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,” Mason said
The addition of an award category for Africa is a recognition of recordings that utilize unique local expressions from across the African continent.
The category includes 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.