Long crowned by his legion of fans as the king of Afrobeat, the late Fela Kuti is finally being recognized by the global music industry.
The Nigerian star will posthumously receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys - almost three decades after his death at the age of 58.
Fela has been in the hearts of the people for such a long time. Now the Grammys have acknowledged it, and it's a double victory, his musician son Seun Kuti tells the BBC.
It's bringing balance to a Fela story, he adds.
Rikki Stein, a long-time friend and manager of the late musician, says the recognition by the Grammys is better late than never.
Africa hasn't in the past rated very highly in their interests. I think that's changing quite a bit of late, Stein tells the BBC.
Following the global success of Afrobeats, a genre inspired by Fela's sound, the Grammys introduced the category of Best African Performance in 2024.
This year, Nigerian superstar Burna Boy also has a nomination in the Best Global Music Album category.
But Fela Kuti will be the first African to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award, albeit posthumously. The award was first presented in 1963 to American singer and actor Bing Crosby.
Other musicians who will receive the award this year include Mexican-American guitarist Carlos Santana, Chaka Khan, the American singer known as the Queen of Funk, and Paul Simon.
Fela Kuti's family, as well as friends and colleagues, will be attending the Grammys to receive his award.
The global human tapestry needs this, not just because it's my father, Seun Kuti tells the BBC.
Stein says it is important to recognize Fela as a man who championed the cause of people who had drawn life's short straw, adding that he castigated any form of social injustice, corruption [and] mismanagement in government.
For Fela Anikulapo Kuti was not simply a musician, but also a cultural theorist, political agitator and the undisputed architect of Afrobeat - which is distinct from, but ultimately led to, the modern sound of Afrobeats.
He pioneered the Afrobeat genre alongside drummer Tony Allen, blending West African rhythms, jazz, funk, highlife, extended improvisation, call-and-response vocals and politically charged lyricism.
Across a career spanning roughly three decades until his death in 1997, Fela Kuti released more than 50 albums and built a body of work that fused music with ideology, rhythm with resistance, and performance with protest.
Fela Kuti's visual identity was shaped in part by artist and designer Lemi Ghariokwu, who created 26 of his album covers between 1974 and 1993. Fela has been an ancestor for 28 years. His legacy is growing by the day. This is immortality, Ghariokwu tells the BBC, welcoming the posthumous award.
Fela Kuti's music is still popular with millions around the world, and his influence is audible in modern artists such as Burna Boy, Kendrick Lamar, and Sir Idris Elba.
