The Grammys have said they will specially honour the works of African artistes in a bid to accurately represent a diverse range of relevant musical genres, and stay aligned with the ever-evolving musical landscape.
In a statement on its official website, Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason said three new categories would be added to its 2024 edition, namely Best African Music Performance, Best Pop Dance Recording and Best Alternative Jazz Album.
These additions were voted on and passed at the academy’s most recent semiannual Board of Trustees meeting held in May 2023.
Mason said, “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.”
According to them, the African category will include a track and singles that recognise recordings that utilise unique local expressions from across the African continent, highlighting regional melodic, harmonic and rhythmic musical traditions.
It further revealed that this class would include but not be limited to “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”.
For Best Pop Dance Recording, the class will aim to recognize tracks and singles that feature up-tempo, danceable music that follows a pop arrangement.
Eligible Pop Dance recordings also feature strong rhythmic beats and significant electronic-based instruments with an emphasis on the vocal performance, melody and hooks. Dance remixes are eligible in the Best Remixed Recording category only and may not be entered in Best Pop Dance Recording.
It will include blending, what it described as an “envelope-pushing hybrid that mixes jazz (improvisation, interaction, harmony, rhythm, arrangements, composition, and style) with other genres, including R&B, Hip-Hop, Classical, Contemporary Improvisation, Experimental, Pop, Rap, Electronic/Dance music, and/or Spoken Word. It may also include the contemporary production techniques/instrumentation associated with other genres.”
