The race for the 2027 Grammy Awards is beginning to take shape, with Nigerian music once again looking to make its mark on one of the world’s biggest music stages. Among the Nigerian artists seeking consideration this year are Afrobeats star Asake, Grammy winner Tems and Afrobeat veteran Seun Kuti.
Their submissions cover different sounds and Grammy categories, from African music and global music to R&B, dance-pop and the general field. But while the submissions have now been made, none of the three has secured a nomination yet.
The Recording Academy’s Online Entry Period for the 2027 Grammys ran from July 7 to August 21, 2026. After the entries were submitted, the Academy’s Awards Department and screening committees began reviewing them before the first round of voting.
Here is what Asake, Tems and Seun Kuti have submitted and where they stand in the race for the 2027 Grammys.
Asake: Four Submissions Across Major Categories
Asake enters the 2027 Grammy season with another opportunity to turn his growing international profile into a Grammy win. His label, Giran Republik, announced on October 8, 2026, that four of his works had been submitted for consideration.
His album M$NEY is being considered for Album of the Year and Best Global Music Album.
His song “Gratitude” has been entered in three categories: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best African Music Performance.
Asake’s collaboration with Wizkid, “Jogodo,” is also in contention for Best African Music Performance, while “Worship,” featuring French DJ and producer DJ Snake, has been submitted for Best Dance Pop Recording.
That gives Asake four submitted works across eight category placements. The submissions continue a Grammy journey that has already produced two nominations for the singer.
In 2024, he received his first Grammy nomination for “Amapiano,” his collaboration with Olamide, in the Best African Music Performance category. A year later, he earned another nomination for “MMS,”his collaboration with Wizkid.
Neither submission resulted in a win, but the nominations established Asake as one of the Nigerian artists increasingly recognised by the Recording Academy. The Academy’s official records list him with two Grammy nominations and no wins. His 2027 submissions therefore offer another chance to go one step further.
Tems: Building On A Grammy-Winning Run
For Tems, the 2027 Grammy race comes after several years of growing recognition from the Recording Academy. The singer has submitted her project Love Is a Kingdom for consideration in Album of the Year, Best Global Music Album, Best Album Cover and Best Engineered Album, according to reports on her 2027 submissions.
She has also submitted individual songs in other categories. “What You Need” is being considered in the R&B field, while “Raindance,” featuring British rapper Dave, has been submitted for Best African Music Performance.
Another collaboration, “Bunce Road Blues,” featuring J. Cole and Future, has been submitted for Best Melodic Rap Performance. The submissions add another chapter to what has already been a remarkable Grammy run for Tems.
She won her first Grammy in 2023 as a songwriter on Future’s “Wait for U,” which won Best Melodic Rap Performance. She followed that with another major victory at the 2025 Grammys, winning Best African Music Performance for “Love Me JeJe.”
Her album Born in the Wild was also nominated for Best Global Music Album in 2025, while she received a nomination for Best R&B Song for her work on “Burning.”
The 2027 submissions could therefore see Tems competing in several areas once again, reflecting how her music has increasingly moved across genre boundaries.
Seun Kuti: A Veteran Voice Returns To The Grammy Race
While Asake and Tems represent different sides of Nigeria’s modern global music movement, Seun Kuti brings a much longer Afrobeat tradition to the 2027 race.
The son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and leader of Egypt 80, Seun has submitted “Na Dem” and “Problems” for consideration in the Best African Music Performance category. Both songs carry the political and socially conscious character that has long defined his music.
“Na Dem,” featuring Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, became one of Seun’s prominent recent releases. The song grew from a live performance into a studio recording, with Seun using it to address what he described as the betrayal of African people by the continent’s elites.
Speaking about the song’s origins, Seun said his lyrics came from poetry and explained that the idea was rooted in the belief that African people could one day challenge those who had betrayed them.
“Problems,” meanwhile, features Jamaican reggae artist Kabaka Pyramid and was produced by Femi Koleoso. Released in July 2026, the song connects Afrobeat with reggae while addressing the everyday pressures and contradictions of modern life.
Seun’s Grammy history also gives the submission added significance. He received his first Grammy nomination in 2019 alongside Egypt 80 for the album Black Times, which was nominated in the Best World Music Album category. He did not win.
Now, several years later, he returns to the competition with two new songs and another opportunity to secure his first Grammy victory.
What Happens After The Submissions?
Being submitted does not mean an artist has been nominated. The Recording Academy explains that submissions first go through a screening process to ensure they meet eligibility requirements and are placed in the appropriate categories. Voting members then take part in the first round of voting, which determines the nominees.
For the 2027 Grammys, first-round voting runs from October 12 to October 22, 2026. The official nominations will be announced on November 16, 2026.
After the nominees are announced, final voting will run from December 10, 2026, to January 7, 2027. The winners will then be revealed at the 2027 Grammy Awards on February 7, 2027, in Los Angeles.
That means Asake, Tems and Seun Kuti still have another important stage to pass before they can officially be called Grammy nominees.
Three Artists, Different Paths To The Grammys
The submissions from Asake, Tems and Seun Kuti also show the range of Nigerian music competing for international recognition.
Asake is pushing his Afrobeats sound into the general and global music fields, while also seeking another Best African Music Performance nomination.
Tems is entering the race with a project and songs that span global music, R&B and rap, building on her status as one of Nigeria’s most successful Grammy-winning artists.
Seun Kuti, meanwhile, is taking Afrobeat’s politically conscious tradition back into the competition with two songs that connect African music to wider global struggles.
For now, all three remain at the submission stage. By November 16, however, the Recording Academy will reveal which of these entries have survived the first round and earned a place among the official nominees.
For Nigerian music, that announcement could mark the beginning of another significant Grammy chapter.
