This year, Femi Kuti was nominated for 'Best Contemporary World Music Album' category at the 52nd Grammy Awards for 'Day by Day.' He lost to Bela Fleck. He also didn't go to the award ceremony in the first place.A lengthy press release from Femi Kuti that goes into quasi-philosophical reasons for not attending has recently made the rounds of Nigerian message boards and news sites.
While he initially blames the suspense of such a nomination (and the attending "high blood pressure") as impetus for not traveling to Los Angeles, he also claims a sort of powerlessness to make an impression on American culture, like the artists who were televised from past year's events, "the Madonna's, the Jay Z's and the Beyonce's of this world."
Perhaps most touching was Kuti's conclusion that like his father, Fela, he would no longer pay lip service to the Grammys, and perhaps any award ceremonies. Only time will tell how closely he sticks to those principles.
You can read the entire release after the jump.
Everybody was worried why I didn't go. I said I would not travel because it's not my thing. After the Kora Awards, I didn't like the feelings I got. I nearly suffered high blood pressure. 'And the winner is...' Everybody was apprehensive. And when they pronounced me the winner of West Africa, and they wanted to do the overall, I refused to come out. I didn't go into music because of that; not to go and sit in one hall and be pronounced a winner or not. I didn't want that.
I know how I started, I was playing for three people who were my friends. They used to laugh at me. I would play for five hours until I got a break in France, Switzerland and Germany, then I moved all over. I was in Spain, Italy and I conquered Europe and I then I entered America. It took me nearly ten years before I entered America. To be nominated, is it a small thing? Do you know how many artists we have in this world? Already I have drank champagne over it.
I'm not disappointed one bit about not winning. The resaon I did not win are technical reasons. It's not by the sale of the album. There are judges and they must have their reasons for picking whoever they picked. I was even shocked to have been nominated again, because the first time I went to the awards during my first nomination, I walked out in annoyance. First I thought we were going to be televised, but it wasn't. They only televised the Madonna's, the Jay Z's and the Beyonce's of this world. I was 41 then and everybody by my side was apprehensive to win and I could not stand it. I was upset.
When I arrived at the red carpet, nobody came for me, my record company didn't come, I felt stupid and so I knew I could not win. I sacked my manager, a French man, and they sacked me too. The journed back home was very long. I felt sad. Since then I vowed never to attend the Grammy Awards again. My father never went for any awards, and where they presented him an award, he didn't go personally and when they brought the award to him, he would send them back with the award. One day, I was at the World Music Awards and I brought the awards, he said did I send you? You better take it back. As I grew older, I understood what he was saying then.
