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Nigerian Afrobeat star, Seun Kuti has declared that his nomination for the 2019 Grammy Awards ‘completely blew his mind’
Recall that Kuti and his Egypt 80 band were nominated in the best world music album category for ‘Black Times’.
Seun will compete with Fatoumata Diawara, Bombino, Soweto Gospel Choir, and Yiddish Glory for the award.
In a chat with BBC Minute, Kuti said: “It felt amazing. It was a highly expected great news, it completely blew my mind.”
He also described the ‘Black Times’ record which earned him the Grammy nomination as a “simply fantastic album”.
The album was released in March and it earned him his first ever entry on the Billboard music charts.
The musician, whose brother Femi Kuti is a multiple Grammy nominee, noted that music runs in his family, even before the reign of his father, Fela Kuti.
He said: “My great-grandfather was the first artiste in West Africa to be recorded, my grandfather was a composer of Anglican hymns. My family is highly musical, there is no escaping it.”
Seun was further asked to comment on the current state of music in Nigeria.
He said: “A lot of musicians are not encouraged to develop their art and themselves as artists, so everyone is stuck in this cycle of pop music.”
The highly anticipated Grammy Awards will take place on February 10, 2019, at Staples Center, Los Angeles.