Renowned Nigerian musician and producer, Cobhams Asuquo, has criticised the Grammy Awards following the outcome of its 68th edition, held in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Speaking in a video shared on his Instagram page on Tuesday, Asuquo questioned why no Nigerian artiste emerged as a winner at the ceremony, despite the country’s strong presence among the nominees.
He accused the Grammy Awards of leveraging Nigerian artistes to boost the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Los Angeles, while offering only temporary recognition in return.
“I think the Grammys are using Nigerians to boost the GDP of Los Angeles. It feels like a carrot is being dangled in front of us, and then it’s taken away,” he said.
Cobhams further argued that the repeated pattern of nominations without wins for Nigerian artistes highlights what he described as a flawed global validation system. According to him, the Nigerian music industry often places too much emphasis on foreign accolades instead of investing in strong local institutions and platforms.
“I think we need to build something that truly belongs to us,” Asuquo said, adding that major global events like the Super Bowl are primarily designed to celebrate and promote American culture.
At the 2026 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, South African singer Tyla won the Best African Music Performance category with her song Push 2 Start, beating several Nigerian nominees.
Nigerian entries in the category included With You by Davido featuring Omah Lay, Love by Burna Boy, and Gimme Dat by Ayra Starr and Wizkid, among others.
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