The 24-year-old artist, who triumphed over Nigerian star Davido to secure the Best African Music Performance award, encountered significant backlash, particularly from Nigerian fans who believed their artists were more worthy of recognition.<\/p>\n
In a video addressing the ongoing debate, Somizi expressed his concerns about the unjust nature of the criticism and its implications for African solidarity within the music scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m gonna speak about this as calmly and as politely as I can. The level of entitlement. The sense of entitlement. Grammys are not your mother\u2019s jumping castle party. Grammys are not Nigerian music awards. The level of entitlement thinking that only Nigerians who are nominated are qualified to win,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He also pointed out that the critique was especially painful given that Tyla is a woman.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat hurts the most is that it\u2019s a woman, and not a Nigerian woman. It\u2019s a South African woman who was nominated alongside three Nigerians, if I\u2019m right. Now it feels like we\u2019re being made a laughing stock to the world. People look at us and say, look at these Africans, we give them a chance, and now they\u2019re fighting over it. The Grammys don\u2019t care about anyone\u2019s feelings. It\u2019s all about the facts, and when it comes to that song, the numbers don\u2019t lie.\u201d<\/p>\n
Somizi urged those criticizing to acknowledge the accomplishments of all artists involved, rather than centering solely on Davido.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop acting like only Davido deserved to win and ignoring the achievements of the other nominated artists.<\/p>\n
Every artist there earned their place and deserved to win. Also, let me remind you, that category wasn\u2019t for Afrobeats. It was for the best African performance. And stop saying Tyla\u2019s music isn\u2019t African. She\u2019s South African, and we, as South Africans, enjoy and connect with her music.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop thinking you are the gods of music. Nigerian music is beautiful, but you\u2019re taking away the beauty of African music,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n