Nigerian musician Timaya, whose real name is Inetimi Alfred Timaya Odon, has stated that there is no authenticity to Nigerian prizes.
Following the Recording Academy’s rejection of every Nigerian nominee for the 66th Grammy Awards—Tyla being the only non-Nigerian nominee in the inaugural Best African Music Performance category—some Nigerians reportedly accused the Grammy organizers of collusion.
Timaya responded in a recent interview with The Beat 99.9 FM in Lagos, saying that the legitimacy of Nigerian honors is much worse than that of the Grammys.
The host asked, “What is your take on a lot of people saying the Grammy used Afrobeats and we need to come back home and grow?”
Timaya replied, “We don’t need to come back home. Even our own, which credible awards? Is it the Hip-hop awards, Hip TV awards [The Headies]? I don’t even know. They are not credible either. They are even worse than the Grammys.
“If we have a homegrown award that is credible, people would gravitate towards it. But for now, whether you like it or not, Grammy is still Grammy. We don’t have to back down [because Nigerian artists lost this year]. We are going again.”
