Tyler, The Creator calls out the Grammys for their racial bias in music.
At the 62nd Grammy Awards, Tyler, The Creator took home the award for Best Rap Album for his 2019 album “IGOR”. However, many artists including Tyler classify this album as a genre other than rap.
During the backstage press conference, Tyler expressed how winning was a bittersweet moment. “On one hand, I'm just grateful I can be acknowledged in a world like this. But, it also sucks that whenever we- and I mean guys that look like me do anything that’s genre- bending or anything, they also put it in the rap or urban category.”
Tyler then explains how the word urban is just a “politically correct way to say the n-word,” meaning that is just a way to explain anything black artists do into one category instead of giving them the proper categorization.
“To me, when I hear that, I'm like, ‘why can’t we just be put in pop?’ Half of me feels like the rap nomination was a backhanded compliment… But another half of me is very grateful that art that I made could be acknowledged on a level like this,” he said.
The award show received backlash in the past for this same bias toward black artists. Black artists who have worked in a range of genres including country, gospel and pop never received the proper recognition they deserve. Black artists are confined to the rap or R&B category.
Hip hop mogul, Diddy also spoke out against the Grammys for the lack of diversity.
“Black music has never been respected by the Grammys to the point that it should be,” Diddy said.
The Grammys, aka music's biggest night has become a night full of criticism and backhanded compliments. For far too long they have neglected and alienated black artists to one specific genre and the artist are having no more of it.
Comment below ways the award show can be more inclusive
Check out Tyler’s speech here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=j5a42MwoYsw