The Grammys might be the weakest of the mainstream award shows, but they’re still a pretty big deal. So it’s also a pretty big deal that a piece of videogame music has been nominated for a Grammy award this year for the first time ever. Christopher Tin’s Baba Yetu, which was composed for the game Civilization IV and is its opening theme, has gotten a nod in the “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists” category. It will compete against Roger Treece’s “Baby”, Vince Mendoza’s “Based On A Thousand True Stories”, Geoffrey Keezer’s “Don’t Explain”, and Herbie Hancock and Larry Klein’s “Imagine.”
The piece has grown well beyond its gaming roots, as anyone who has heard it can easily understand, and become popular with choirs across the country along with being a staple of Video Games Live. It’s actually quite striking and while I doubt the Grammys will play up the videogame connection as the piece is also the first track on Tin’s debut, Grammy-nominated album Calling All Dawns it’s awesome to see gaming music finally get some dues on a very major stage.
Grammys Nominates First Video Game Theme, Civ IV Music [Gamasutra]
