Music is a global force, it has the power to bring people from all parts of the world together and change the world. It is a universal language such that you don’t need to understand or speak it, all you need to do is to follow the rhythm and let it take control over you. It has the drive to connect us, unite, guide, lead, make and create that utopia the human race desperately seeks to achieve.
Music, if used as a tool for the right purposes, could be a force to reckon with now and in the not too distant future, recent happenings and testimonies in various music industries across all borders, like Wizkid’s “Essence” featuring Tems and Justin Bieber, have shown that it has the power to draw people from different backgrounds to create sounds so unique that it transcends all barriers of colour, race, gender, ethnicity, religion, class, intellectual heights and among others, and it flows to whatever rhythm you are on or whatever rhythm you want to attain.
Music is powerful, it frees your mind, body and soul, it gives you a sense of belonging, the feeling of freedom, the passion to thrive for more and to let go of every problem you have when the music is on nothing else matters, you migrate to another dimension, it becomes your religion, your way of life, your culture and your language. No wonder the Grammys is what it is today; it is music’s biggest award night where the best of the best of musicians are gathered in one setting to make great musical moments, history, deliver life-changing performances and recognize outstanding musicians who have been great ambassadors of music to the world.
Recently, our very own Big Wiz garnered two nominations at the 2022 Grammy Awards for best global music album and global music performance and the Nigerian digital space went into a frenzy as all and sundry got intoxicated by the bliss of Star Boy. To make matters spectacular, his fellow comrades Tems, Burna Boy, Femi Kuti and Made Kuti also got nominated in the global music categories.
As we dine in the dishes of greatness. There is a need to understand the Grammy awards, their history and what makes this award so special. The Grammy Award is an award presented by the Recording Academy to recognize achievement in the music industry of the United States.
The Grammy is considered one of the four major annual American entertainment awards, along with the Academy Awards for film achievements, the Emmy Awards for television achievements, and the Tony Awards for theatre and Broadway achievements. The annual award ceremony features performances by prominent artists and presentations of awards that showcase achievements made by industry recording artists. The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held on May 4, 1959, to honour the musical accomplishments of performers for the year 1958.
The Grammys is now a festival for all up and coming musicians who always aspire to perform on its stage – it is like the Holy Grail for musicians – famous musicians across the globe look forward to this event yearly. You may want to ask why this award is so special, well, it is because of music. It has created a platform for everyone to express themselves freely through this dynamic medium called music and it has become a way of life and a never-ending culture. Music is now a weapon for great power.
We now speak it, we breathe it, we live it and we love it, music has the ability to alter your moods, your personality, your thoughts and your way of life, that is why you should be careful about the kind of music you listen to, the kind of musicians you admire because, in the long run, these things will slowly begin to affect your line of thoughts, your personalities, your way of life and how you as an individual relate with those around you.
The efforts of our great forerunners and horsemen are finally yielding fruits and this shows that African music is now perfectly placed on the global scale. It’s such an amazing time to be African. All the glass ceilings preventing the spread of the gospel of Afrobeat(s) have now been broken and it’s time for many African acts to seize the opportunity and dare for glory.
