Fela's Posthumous Award Is For World Peace - Family

In a moment that brought tears and joy to the Kuti family, the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2026 Special Merit Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday night, just before the main Grammys ceremony.

As the first African artist to receive this prestigious recognition from the Recording Academy, Fela joined an elite group including Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, Cher, and Paul Simon.

For his children who stepped onto the stage to accept it, the evening felt like a long-awaited embrace from the global music community through his revolutionary Afrobeat sound.

Femi Kuti, accepting on behalf of his father, said, “I would like to thank all the people carrying Afrobeat that are in this place tonight. DJs, the press, our label Partisan, our lawyers, and fans all over the world. Thank you for bringing our father here; it’s so important for Africa. It’s so important for world peace and struggle,” he said, as reported by family statements and event coverage.

Yeni Kuti, Fela's daughter, added her own warm reflection during the acceptance. “I want to thank the Recording Academy for this wonderful award. I’m sure my father is smiling down on us,” she expressed.

She also acknowledged absent family members, “I want to acknowledge my siblings who couldn’t be here tonight, Motunrayo and Seun, and my nephew who is carrying Afrobeat to another level, Made.”