Awarding Black Behavior: Acknowledging the Disconnect Between Hip Hop & the Grammys

Some people may not know this, but back in the day when I was a little girl, I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. My drawing skills received much praise from my family, teachers, and peers, so naturally I thought that I would win the “Most Artistic” award in my first grade class at the end of the year. However, to my surprise, I did not win “Most Artistic”. I actually won the “Funniest Girl” award while one of my classmates took home the award for best artist.

Let’s just say initially I was not amused. I was actually a little disappointed to be honest. First of all, I’m not entirely sure what I was doing in first grade to be considered so “funny”, but I WAS sure of my artistic ability and I wanted to be recognized for it.

This feeling is not uncommon in our society. Most people want to be rewarded for their hard work so we have things like scholarships in academics, trophies & medals in sports and award shows in entertainment, to recognize these accomplishments. Unfortunately, often times in the music business, these award shows completely miss the mark, especially as it pertains to Black art.

“We play an opinion-based sport, not a factual-based sport,” Drake said during his acceptance speech for Best Rap Song at the 61st Grammy Awards Sunday night. “This is a business where sometimes it’s up to a bunch of people that might not understand what a mixed race kid from Canada might have to say or a fly Spanish girl from New York.”

It seems like every year, black twitter comes together to watch the Grammys as one big happy family, only to be met with disappointment and confusion at the ending results. There’s obviously a huge disconnect between the Grammys and hip hop, and it’s mostly politics anyway, so why do we continue to give the academy that clearly lacks diversity so much power in determining who our winners are!? Of course it is an honor to be recognized by such a prestigious musical institution; however, I truly believe that not winning an award does not reflect the credibility of your work nor the talent you possess.

“If there’s people who have regular jobs who are coming out in the rain, in the snow, spending their hard earned money to buy tickets to come to your shows, you don’t need this right here, I promise you that. You already won,” Drake continued. Well said Champagne Papi!👏🏾

I think back to my first grade class award ceremony. Although I didn’t win the award I expected to win, I still considered myself a great artist and I continued to dazzle my family and peers with my beautiful artwork, just as these artists will continue to make music that undoubtedly impacts the world.

#keepdopealive