Genge a genre of music that was born in Kenya has made its way to the list of a new category under the Grammy Awards. The Recording Academy has added three new categories to the 66th annual Grammy Awards which will be held in February next year. They are best alternative jazz album, best African music performance, and best pop dance recording.
The Kenyan genre that originated from California area in Nairobi is listed under the best African music performance categories together with genres like, Bongp flava from Tanzania, Amapiano from South Africa, Ndombolo from Congo amoung others.
A statement released yesterday indicates that the changes in categories were voted on and passed at the Recording Academy’s most recent semiannual Board of Trustees meeting, held last month.
Harvey Mason jr. CEO of the Recording Academy said these latest Category changes reflect our commitment to actively listen and respond to the feedback from the music community, accurately represent a diverse range of relevant musical genres and stay aligned with the ever-evolving musical landscape. They also wanted to be able to acknowledge and appreciate a broader array of artists.
The producer of the year and songwriter of the year categories were also moved to the general field in a move aimed at enabling voters to participate in recognizing excellence in those fields.
