Unfair representation: Where the Grammy Awards went wrong
Drake wins Best Rap Song with “God’s Plan”
On Sunday, Feb. 10, the 61st annual Grammy awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Grammy’s are some of the most prestigious awards among the music industry. Awards are up for grabs for every genre, but many young viewers are going to have their eyes set on the hip-hop category.
2018 was a great year for hip-hop; fans received albums from rappers including J Cole, Pusha T, Nas, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Denzel Curry and many more. Lots of rap music came out this past year, and many fans were excited to see how the Grammys reflected such a great year in the hip-hop industry.
Nominees in the rap category consisted of Travis Scott, Cardi B, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Anderson .Paak, Mac Miller and a few others. These artists added either a great album or a series of songs to their respected resume.
I asked local rap artist and sophomore Garry Aun about the awards and the hip-hop culture. “I think Drake had the best year so far, because of his song, ‘God’s Plan’ and what he did for the community and everything. He made a positive difference for everybody” Aun said. Drake was nominated for five awards this year. Does this mean that the Grammy’s get everything right? Not necessarily.
Although there are a lot of artists who deserve to be nominated, and competition is high, some people had amazing years and did not even get nominated. For example, in 2018 Kanye fully produced albums for Nas, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, and Teyana Taylor. West also released a solo album and collaboration with Kid Cudi. All of this music was produced out of the Good Music Label, with Ye calling all of the shots, and he did not receive any recognition from the Grammys based off of the nominations. Kanye is merely one of many examples of artists not being fairly represented.
“There’s a lot of good artists out there. But I’d say like the younger generation,” Aun said in reference to the artists that he felt should have been nominated. “I’d say that they should really get props from their older influences.” Aun mentioned that artists such as Trippie Redd, Tory Lanez, and Soulja Boy should receive more recognition than they do.
I believe that it is fair to say that the Grammy awards value popular music over quality music. Many radio heavy artists with merely above average albums are being nominated over artists with great albums but a slightly smaller fan base. Is this fair? Or, is this acceptable for a widely watched, mainstream award show?
Not only did the Grammys exclude some very deserving candidates from the award show, but the winners inside of the rap category are very questionable. Cardi B walked away with another award, for her “Invasion of Privacy” effort. Other albums in this category like “Astroworld” by Travis Scott and “Daytona” by Pusha T were fan favorites and were expected to win. “Astroworld,” which pushed over one million copies in two weeks, outsold Cardi B’s album and was better received by the public. Scott also landed a performing spot in the Super Bowl halftime show with one of the hits off of the album, “Sicko Mode.”
Nevertheless, fans were still upset with many of the winners at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. Not only were many artists with a credible 2018 resume left out, but many of the winners were controversial. Inside of the Rap category, the Grammys continue to let down fans. It is hard to determine where the Grammys place their value in music when the results are so varied. If the Grammys care the most about the numbers, why didn’t an album which sold more copies win? If the Grammys truly care about the art, why didn’t a perfectly structured album like “Daytona” take the cake?
Your donation will support the student journalists of Chapman High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.
