Two of Nigeria’s biggest music exports made the cut at the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards. The category built to recognize the genre they helped define did not.
Burna Boy picked up two nominations for “Dai Dai,” his FIFA World Cup collaboration with Shakira, competing in Best Collaboration and Best Latin. Tems earned one nomination, for “Raindance” featuring British rapper Dave, in the Best R&B category. Both nominations were confirmed in the full nominee list MTV released this week.
What is missing from that list is Best Afrobeats. MTV discontinued the category after three years, and the network has offered no public explanation for the decision. Rema and Selena Gomez won the inaugural award in 2023 for “Calm Down.” Tyla then won it twice in a row, first in 2024 for “Water” and again in 2025 for “Push 2 Start.”
