The MTV Video Music Awards have discontinued the Best Afrobeats category for the 2026 edition of the ceremony, removing a category that had become an important platform for African music on one of the world’s biggest music award shows.
The category was introduced in 2023, with Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down” becoming its inaugural winner. It returned in 2024 and 2025, with South African star Tyla winning the award in both years.
The decision comes as MTV unveiled the nominations for the 2026 VMAs, with the Best Afrobeats category notably absent from the list. Best Rock was also omitted this year, suggesting the VMAs have made broader changes to their genre-category structure.
The removal is particularly notable given how much African music has grown internationally since the category was introduced. Previous nominees included some of Africa’s biggest stars, including Burna Boy, Davido, Ayra Starr, Asake, Tems, Rema, Wizkid and Tyla. In 2025, the category featured Asake and Travis Scott, Burna Boy and Travis Scott, Moliy, Rema, Tems and Asake, Tyla, and Wizkid and Brent Faiyaz.
The category’s creation in 2023 was widely viewed as recognition of Afrobeats’ growing influence in the global music industry. Billboard reported at the time that the VMAs were adding Best Afrobeats alongside the Grammys’ introduction of a dedicated African music category.
Its removal in 2026 therefore raises questions about how African music will be represented at the ceremony going forward. African artists can still receive nominations in other categories, meaning the absence of Best Afrobeats does not prevent African acts from competing for major VMA awards.
The 2026 nominations themselves feature several major African connections. Shakira and Burna Boy received recognition for their collaboration, while the overall nominations are led by Madonna with 11, followed by Taylor Swift with nine.
For Afrobeats, however, the disappearance of its dedicated category marks the end of a short but significant chapter in VMA history.
From Rema and Selena Gomez’s inaugural victory in 2023 to Tyla’s back-to-back wins in 2024 and 2025, Best Afrobeats helped bring African music into the spotlight at the VMAs.
Now, after three editions, the category is no longer part of the 2026 MTV VMAs.
