The people answered for Kendrick Lamar when he did not walk on stage to collect the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. India.Arie decided that she needed to address the Grammy misfires herself with an open letter.
The two-time Grammy Award winner questioned the value of “the music industry’s biggest night” when the judges of hip-hop and R&B do not have adequate perspective on the genres. “If the hip-hop community voted on hip-hop – r&b COMMUNITY the same – same for each category – we’d see winners that reflect the MUSIC ITSELF. We all know that’s just not the way it goes,” India.Arie stated.
She continued to point out the lack of support of Black music by the industry. “The first time the #Grammys has had a show all but excluding young black America and black artists in general, although we set the worlds musical trends.
“I don’t even get surprised any more, but, it still hits my sense of fairness, because I KNOW many of the artists who are overlooked. I LIVE in that world. We keep showing up and subjecting ourselves to the game, hoping MAYBE we’ll win. I was so HAPPY to see @Kendricklamar take that stage – because it is a FORM of winning, at LEAST, he was SEEN.”
Before she concluded her blast of the Grammy Awards, the soul singer eluded that the production is just for business rather than music. “The #Grammys is a television show, and in THAT world ratings reign supreme. So, in general, bigger names take the stage, and sadly the biggest names often times ARE BIGGER drawn along racial lines from the release of an album.”
Source: singersroom.com
