List of South African Grammy Award winners and nominees
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
South African artists have collectively won a total of 34 Grammy Awards from 114 nominations. South African recording artist Miriam Makeba is widely reported as having been the first African Grammy winner when she won Best Folk Recording for An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba in 1966 at the 8th Annual Grammy Awards,[1] although Phil Ramone, who was born in South Africa and moved to the United States as a child, won a Grammy a year earlier. Makeba won her award while fighting the apartheid regime in South Africa during an exile from the country which lasted from 1960 until 1990.[2]
South Africa has produced thirteen Grammy Award winners.[a] Ramone, a sound engineer,[4] is the most honoured with fourteen accolades, followed by Ladysmith Black Mambazo with five and the Soweto Gospel Choir with three.[5] In 2022, Black Coffee won the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album for Subconsciously at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, making him the first African to win the category for an original work.[2] Nomcebo Zikode won her first Grammy in 2023, alongside Wouter Kellerman and Zakes Bantwini for "Bayethe".[6] In 2024, Tyla was named the youngest African soloist to win a Grammy after receiving the inaugural Best African Music Performance award for "Water" at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.[7][8] Nominated artists include Hugh Masekela and Trevor Noah.[9]
1960s and 1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
| Year[b] | Category | Nominee(s) | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Best Comedy Album | Trevor Noah | Son of Patracia | Nominated | [25] |
| 2022 | Best Dance/Electronic Album | Black Coffee | Subconsciously | Won | [26] |
| Best New Age Album | Wouter Kellerman | Pangaea | Nominated | [22] | |
| 2023 | Best Global Music Performance | Wouter Kellerman, Zakes Bantwini and Nomcebo Zikode | "Bayethe" | Won | [c] |
| 2024 | Best African Music Performance | Tyla | "Water" | Won | [29] |
| Musa Keys | "Unavailable" | Nominated | [30] | ||
| Best Comedy Album | Trevor Noah | I Wish You Would | Nominated | [25] | |
| 2025 | Best New Age, Ambient, or Chant Album | Wouter Kellerman | Triveni | Won | [22] |
| Best Comedy Album | Trevor Noah | Where Was I | Nominated | [25] | |
| Best Global Music Performance | Soweto Gospel Choir | "Sunlight to My Soul" | Nominated | [21] | |
| 2026 | Best African Music Performance | Tyla | "Push 2 Start" | Won | [29] |
| Best Audio Book, Narration and Storytelling Recording | Trevor Noah | Into the Uncut Grass | Nominated | [25] |
Footnotes
- Including Herbert Kretzmer, who was born and raised in Kroonstad, Free State, South Africa and moved to London, England in the early 1950s[3]
- Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.
- References for Grammy Awards history of Zakes Bantwini,[27] Nomcebo Zikode,[28] and Wouter Kellerman[22]