Tammy Moyo Earns Zimbabwe’s First Homegrown Grammy Consideration
Story By Staff Reporter
Zimbabwean music has reached a new international milestone. Tammy Moyo’s team submitted her song “Away,” from the album Royalty, for the Best African Music Performance category at the 69th annual Grammy Awards. Moyo says she is the first homegrown Zimbabwean artist to earn a Grammy consideration.
A Consideration Is Not a Nomination
Moyo explains that a consideration differs from an official nomination. Artists from Asia, Europe, America and Africa all submit their work. Reviewers then screen the entries and place each song in the category they think fits best. Later, a board narrows the field and picks the nominees.
The screening covers millions of submissions, so Moyo describes a consideration as recognition at the highest level. Her team handled the research and the submission.
What It Means for the Industry
Moyo says the consideration could benefit more than one artist. If “Away” earns a nomination, everyone who worked on the project would share the honour. She named producers Rodney Beats, Delroy Shewa and Levels, plus the mixing and mastering engineers, songwriters, stylists and videographers.
Other Zimbabweans already work in Grammy-level spaces. Producer Brian Soko is one, and Dr Chai and Bantu have worked on Grammy-winning productions. Tinashe earned a nomination. However, Moyo says she is the first artist to receive consideration straight from Zimbabwe.
She also hopes the moment will open the door to more international exchange programmes. In her view, Zimbabwe needs more artists and cultural ambassadors on global platforms.
Advice for Other Artists
Moyo believes other Zimbabwean artists can follow the same path. First, she urges them to attend workshops that the National Arts Council organises. Next, she advises them to learn about publishing, streaming and distribution. Views and streams matter, she says, but industry knowledge matters just as much.
A Rising International Profile
Moyo has performed since the age of seven. Recently, she played the Jacaranda Music Festival and shared a stage with Jason Derulo at the Stanbic Music Festival in Lusaka. She also won Outstanding Female Musician at the 2025 NAMA Awards. These experiences showed her that audiences outside Zimbabwe are watching.
Her range extends across genres. For example, she collaborated with sungura star Mark Ngwazi on “Husiku Hwese” and worked with dancehall artists. Sungura, she says, leans on melody, while dancehall leans on beat and groove. As a result, she insists nobody can box her into one sound.
Billboard also featured the Grammy consideration in a post. Moyo calls the milestone a win for Zimbabwe as a whole.
