The Grammys are considering adding an Afrobeats category, a report in Billboard today said.
The news follows the announcement last week that RCA Records will be presenting a R&B performance by Fefe Dobson at the Grammys, which will be broadcast on CBS on January 27, 2006.
The news also is being accompanied by an accompanying picture from a Billboard article that lists Afrobeats as “upcoming.”
While no further details about the category or its voting were given, it’s also possible that the Grammys will be considering adding additional African-related categories.
In addition, the Grammys had considered adding some rap categories in the past. In 2003, the Grammy committee added rap songs with the intention of having them compete amongst rap categories. According to Billboard, the Grammy committee considered adding hip-hop, R&B and rap categories to the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2004.
As Billboard also reported, the RCA/New West label, which has a roster that includes the likes of Lauryn Hill, Jennifer Hudson and D’Angelo, has indicated it will be presenting at the January 27 broadcast.
As Billboard also reported, the RCA/New West label, which has a roster that includes the likes of Lauryn Hill, Jennifer Hudson and D’Angelo, has indicated it will be presenting at the January 27 broadcast.
With his first album as a solo artist, “Crazy Love,” now released, R&B superstar R. Kelly is still making inroads in the rap arena. The Grammy-nominated rapper has been signed to the rap label Universal, which recently revealed that it had plans for more hip-hop releases.
It’s a departure from Universal Music Group’s strategy in the past. Before the release of “Crazy Love,” Universal put out several albums by hip-hop acts without R&B singles. Since then, it has been releasing many more rap albums with “R Kelly’s” material, and some of them had no R&B singles at all.
In its annual report to shareholders today, RCA records shares slid in early reporting due to a decrease in music revenues. The report said that total music revenue dropped 1.3 percent in 2005 to $10.3 billion. RCA records’ music revenues include music licensing and royalties.
The company said that total music licensing revenue dipped 3.
