Tems and Burna Boy Lead Nigeria’s 2026 MTV VMA Nominations
When the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards nominations dropped, the Nigerian presence came through two artists whose careers have moved in distinct but complementary directions.
Tems is up for Best R&B with “Raindance” alongside Dave.
Burna Boy is nominated for Best Collaboration and Best Latin with Shakira on “Dai Dai.”
They are the only Nigerian artists named across the full list. The awards air September 27 from Los Angeles on CBS, MTV and Paramount+.
Tems continues her move beyond Afrobeats
Tems has steadily claimed space in R&B and alternative conversations that sit outside the usual Afrobeats framing.
Her nomination arrives after she became the first Nigerian to collect two Grammys—one for the melodic-rap feature on “Wait for U” with Future and Drake, the other for “Love Me JeJe.”
Earlier VMA nods came for “Wait for U” in 2022 and for her own tracks in the Afrobeats category in subsequent years.
The Best R&B placement this time underscores how her work has travelled into broader American R&B playlists and awards consideration.
Burna Boy takes Afrofusion to a bigger global stage
Burna Boy’s recognition for “Dai Dai” sits in a different lane.
The track was an official 2026 FIFA World Cup song; he and Shakira performed it at the opening ceremony and the tournament’s first final halftime show.
The dual nominations in Collaboration and Latin categories reflect the scale of that crossover moment, following years of him pushing Afrofusion onto major international stages and previous VMA appearances that included a 2025 Video for Good win for “Higher.”
Two artists, two routes to global recognition
Together the nominations illustrate something straightforward about the current reach of Nigerian music: one artist operating comfortably in global R&B spaces, the other carrying African-rooted sounds into stadium-scale collaborations and Latin categories.
The VMAs are recognising both paths on the same night.
