Legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti is set to make history as the first African artist to receive a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, nearly three decades after his death. The Recording Academy said, “Fela’s influence and catalog of music have been widely celebrated and explored, including the podcast series Fela Kuti: Fear No Man (the New Yorker’s No. Seun Kuti has recently been in the spotlight following a heated public exchange with fellow Nigerian star Wizkid over debates surrounding musical greatness and legacy. Fela joins a distinguished list of 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, including Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana, Chaka Khan, Cher and Paul Simon. The honour follows the 2025 induction of Fela’s 1976 album Zombie into the Grammy Hall of Fame, further cementing his enduring influence.