Grammy for the Best African Music Performance is one of three new categories introduced to the Grammy's this year. The two other new categories are Best Alternative Jazz Album and Best Pop Dance Recording.

Out of five nominees to the Grammy for Best African Music Performance, four are artists from Nigeria.

Moreover, two of the Nigerian artists - Burna Boy and Davido - also scooped nods in other categories of Grammy's 2024, bringing the total number of Nigerian nominations to six.

The Nigerian nominees are Amapiano by artists Asake and Olamide; City Boys by singer and songwriter Burna Boy; Unavailable by Nigerian singer Davido featuring South African producer Musa Keys; and Rush by Ayra Starr.

The fifth nominee is a song titled Water by Tyla, a South African singer and songwriter.

Many eyes are on Burna Boy and Davido, both of whom have achieved massive success in Nigeria as well as internationally, and who have been also nominated for Grammy's in other categories. 

Burna Boy's album African Giant earned him his first Grammy nomination for Best World Music Album in 2020. His subsequent album Twice as Tall won him a Grammy for Best Global Music Album in 2021, followed by a 2023 nomination to Best Global Music Performance for his song Last Last.

This year, Burna Boy scooped a total of four Grammy nominations.

Besides being nominated to the inaugural Best African Music Performance, he is also nominated to the Best Melodic Rap Performance category (awarded for a solo or collaborative performance containing both elements of R&B melodies and Rap) for his song Sittin' On Top Of The World, which features British-American rapper 21 Savage. He is also nominated in the Best Global Music Performance category for his song Alone, while his album I Told Them... scooped the Best Global Music Album nod.

Davido is making a strong first showing at the renowned awards ceremony with three nominations. 

The music video for his song Unavailable was released on YouTube in April 2023 and scored 90 million views to date.

Meanwhile, Davido's album Timeless is nominated for Best Global Music Album with Timeless, and his song Feel for Best Global Music Performance.

Both Burna Boy and Davido have taken the international scene by storm. Together with yet another highly popular Nigerian artist, Wizkid, they have played a crucial role in popularizing Afrobeats on the global stage.

While Nigerian artists are dominating the new award category, they are joined by Tyla from South Africa for her song Water.

The 22-year-old singer and songwriter from Johannesburg released her highly successful debut album Getting Late in 2019.

Water is her first composition to climb high in the international charts, reaching the top 10 in many, and becoming #1 in New Zealand and US Afro charts.

The music video for Water was released in October 2023 on YouTube and scored more than 115 million views to date.

The Best African Music Performance will be presented for the first time during the 66th Annual Grammy Awards on 4 February.

According to The Recording Academy in charge of the awards, the introduction of the category came in response to "criticism that its award picks are not inclusive and don't reflect evolutions in the music industry."

The awards ceremony will take place at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, featuring dozens of nominees in a total of 94 categories.

The Best African Music Performance is a sister category to the Best Global Music Performance, which was put in place in 2022.