In response to her sister Beyoncé’s loss at the 2017 Grammy Awards, Solange took to Twitter to criticize the awards show and the importance of Blacks creating their own institutions.
Beyoncé lost to Adele for Album of the Year and, like many fans, Solange was surprised. She tweeted that only two Black artists have won Album of the Year in the past 20 years. While technically she was incorrect, the fact is that only four Black artists have won Album of the Year in that time period. Herself a Grammy Award winner, the “Cranes In the Sky” singer pointed out that Black artists have performed over 200 times at the awards show, implying that we are good enough to entertain but not good enough to win the big awards. Solange then tweeted, “Create your own committees, build your own institutions, give your friends awards, award yourself, and be the gold you wanna hold, my g’s.”
This Atlanta Black Star video showcases Solange’s views on the Grammys and her encouragement of Black people to start their own award shows.
