A Nigerian did go home with a Grammy plaque on Sunday night.
While the attention of the country was focused on Seun Anikulapo Kuti, another Nigerian however emerged as winner of the prestigious music awards.
Nigerian-American producer, writer and filmmaker, Ibra Ake snagged his first Grammy Award at the 61st ceremony. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that he won the award for Best Music Video for producing Childish Gambino’s critically acclaimed visuals for ‘This is America’.
Reacting to the win, Ake excitedly tweeted @ibralikezebra
”I can’t believe I just won a Grammy. Where’s the catch? Royalty forever.”
Ake, who grew up in Nigeria and New Jersey, is also a writer for hit TV show, ‘Atlanta’ which also features Childish Gambino.
Childish Gambino’s ‘This is America’ won a total of four Grammy awards on Sunday night. Alongside its Best Music Video trophy, ‘This Is America’ was hailed as the Best Rap/Sung Performance, the Song of The Year and the Record of the Year.
Childish Gabino’s ‘This is America’ song’s accompanying music video was directed by Japanese-American filmmaker Hiro Murai, a frequent Gambino collaborator.According to RCA Records, the song is not the first single from Gambino’s upcoming studio album.”This Is America” became the 31st song to debut at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming both Gambino’s first number one and top ten single in the country.
It has also topped the charts in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The song won in all four of its nominated categories at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Rap/Sung Performance and Best Music Video. This made Gambino the first hip-hop artist to win Record of the Year and Song of the Year, and “This Is America” the first rap song to win the former.
We hope for more breakthrough for Africans at the Grammy awards.
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