Nigerian singer and instrumentalist, Seun Kuti, has lamented that the media is unduly crediting Afrobeats superstar, Burna Boy with records set by him and others in the music industry. Seun Kuti said there was a time Burna Boy was widely reported as the first artiste to play at the Coachella in 2020, but it was false as he (Seun) had performed at the festival in 2012. The Grammy nominated artiste talked about how the ‘Last Last’ crooner earned his first Grammy nomination for Best World Music Album, a category which his elder brother, Femi Kuti had received multiple nominations. Speaking in a recent interview with The Public Republic, Seun Kuti also mentioned that his album ‘Black Times’ was nominated for Best World Music Album years ago but no African award organiser considered it for a nomination.
The controversial singer stated that despite earning another Grammy nomination for his contributions to Janelle Monae’s ‘Age of Pleasure,’ which was nominated in the Album of the Year category at the 2024 Grammys, the media didn’t mention him among the Nigerian artistes nominated for the 66th Grammys.
Seun Kuti lamented;
“My brother [Femi Kuti] has been nominated at the Grammys multiple times. They’ve nominated me, I was also nominated in the last edition. It was only my name that they [Nigerian media] didn’t mention among the Nigerian artistes who were nominated for the 66th Grammys.
That’s what they do every time as if I’m from Togo. That’s how they said Burna boy was the first Nigerian artiste to play in Coachella in 2020 where me I’ve played in 2012 as if I’m from Togo”.
