Grammys rename Best World Music Album category due to 'connotations of colonialism'
The award will now be known as the Best Global Music Album. The Recording Academy, which runs and hosts The Grammy Awards, says the decision was a result of “[continuing] to embrace a truly global mindset.”
“Over the summer we held discussions with artists, ethnomusicologists, and linguists from around the world who determined that there was an opportunity to update the World Music Album category toward a more relevant, modern, and inclusive term,” the Academy’s statement reads.
“The change symbolizes a departure from the connotations of colonialism, folk, and ‘non-American’ that the former term embodied while adapting to current listening trends and cultural evolution among the diverse communities it may represent.”
The award most recently went to Benin artist (and three-time recipient) Angélique Kidjo, with other recent winners including Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Yo-Yo Ma, Ravi Shankar and Tinariwen.
Last year, the Recording Academy also removed the word “urban” from its award categories and communications.
