Words by Oliver Schoening PZ ’27

The Grammy Awards, the biggest night of the year for fans and artists alike, are equally anticipated and subject to controversy. In fact, you may even have your own list of questionable wins and shocking snubs over the years. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few important snubs – Michael Jackson and Prince’s respective albums “Off The Wall” and “1999” failing to even earn nominations for Album of the Year despite their commercial success, Macklemore’s “The Heist” beating out “good kid, “m.A.A.d city” for Best Rap Album in 2014, or even Adele’s Album of the Year win for “25”, when she tearfully acknowledged Beyoncé during her 2017 acceptance speech, saying “I can’t possibly accept this award. And I’m very humbled, and I’m very grateful and gracious, but my artist of my life is Beyoncé.”

The Grammys have long been maligned due to accusations of racial bias at the expense of many Black artists. When examining famous snubs like the ones listed above, there is undoubtedly a common theme. From 2012 to 2020, Black artists represented 38% of all artists on the Billboard signature charts, and yet only received 26% of nominations. Additionally, since the beginning of the award show’s existence, only 12 Black artists have won Album of the Year, and only two “rap albums” have been awarded Album of the Year, Atlanta duo Outkast’s 2003 double album “Speakerboxx/The Love Below” and Lauryn Hill’s “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill”. However, both albums are not even true “rap albums” in the traditional sense, with “Miseducation” being primarily a neo-soul and R&B album and André 3000’s “The Love Below” eschewing the southern hip-hop themes of “Speakerboxx” for a more eclectic sound driven by influences from jazz and pop music. Industry and commercial success for Black artists often fails to translate to recognition in broad categories at the Grammys.

On February 7th, The Student Life published a music column titled “A closer look at the 67th Grammy Awards: Fair Race or Political Claim?” In the article, the author examines awards handed out this year, including decisions like Chappell Roan’s win for Best New Artist, saying, “The Academy got it right for the first time in years and the Grammy for Best New Artist went to Roan. Her breakout into the music scene was undeniable, making her the clear choice.”

I can’t say that I disagree with that, but it is what comes later in the article that reveals traps that people can often fall into in music discourse, especially when it comes to Black artists and their work. This year at the Grammys, Kendrick Lamar took home Record of the Year for his famous Drake diss track “Not Like Us,” which has been certified platinum six times and sold seven million units since debuting at No. 1 in May of 2024. The author described his surprise at Lamar taking home the award.

“While the song was catchy and popular, it seemed an unlikely choice for such prestigious awards, especially considering the competition it faced from songs like ‘Birds of a Feather,’ ‘Good Luck, Babe!’ and ‘Die With A Smile,’” they wrote. “It’s hard to believe a track with predominantly vulgar lyrics, backed by a sparse instrumental featuring finger snaps and repetitive synthesized strings, took home the win.”

The writer goes on to say that the Academy’s decision was “both a chance to recognize the genre and to signal their social consciousness.” 

While I understand the role of a music columnist and the right to opinion, I take issue with the assertion that a track that has remained in the cultural zeitgeist for much of the last year received an award solely because the Academy felt a need to virtue signal. Rappers have long faced criticism from people who are uncomfortable with the content of their “predominantly vulgar lyrics,” even though there is no shortage of explicit music in all genres. They often battle claims that rap is not on par with other genres like pop or rock music, but vulgarity in music only seems to be a concern when it comes from Black artists. After all, Chappell Roan’s “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess” is filled with sexually graphic lyrics. ‘Red Wine Supernova’ is perhaps the best example I can think of, where she sings “Let’s get freaky, get kinky, Let’s make this bed get squeaky”. Despite this, Chappell Roan is not subject to the same concerns about “predominantly vulgar lyrics” from the author.

It is valid to question the motives of the  Recording Academy,  but the accompanying criticism of the artistry of both performers creates a problem. Even though it can be hard to set aside our own opinions of who should win which award, by reducing the success of Black artists at the Grammys to a need for political correctness, we risk taking steps backward and falling into increasingly prevalent racist rhetoric. 

Simplicity has not and will not ever be a trait that detracts from the quality of a song, and “Not Like Us” is one of the most recognizable songs released in recent memory. The usage of words like ‘repetitive’ and ‘sparse’ makes for disingenuous criticism not typically levied against non-Black artists. For example, take “Birds of a Feather,” another incredibly popular song mentioned by the author; the instrumental is driven forward by a continuous drum and synth loop layered with guitar patterns, and yet it is not held to the same standard by the author. Eilish’s song is characterized by her soft and wistful lyricism, whereas “Not Like Us” is primarily focused on Lamar’s punchy delivery. Comparing an incendiary diss track to a hauntingly emotional song is by no means an apples-to-apples comparison, and forgoing similar criticism of Eilish’s song exemplifies one of the many double standards that Black artists are continually subjected to, whether intentionally or by accident.

The Recording Academy still has a lot of progress it needs to make in regards to respecting Black artists. It maintained an “Urban Contemporary” category until 2020, only changing to “Progressive R&B” after pressure from artists like Tyler Okonma, better known by his stage name Tyler, the Creator. Okonma won Best Rap Album for his album “IGOR” in 2020, a project that took influence from many different genres. While “IGOR” contains similar elements characteristic to traditional “rap” albums, it was certainly an outlier in the category. You would be hard pressed to draw many comparisons between “IGOR” and the albums that it competed against, including Meek Mill’s “Championships” and 21 Savage’s “I AM > I WAS”. It blends elements of hip-hop with genres like neo-soul, R&B, and pop. Take songs like ‘GONE, GONE/THANK YOU’ and ‘ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?’, where Okonma seamlessly switches between verses singing and rapping. It’s this blend of different musical elements that makes the album exceptional. The award was incredibly meaningful for both Okonma and his career, but probably did not belong in the category in the first place. 

“It sucks that whenever we, and I mean guys that look like me, do anything that’s genre bending they always put it in a rap or urban category,” Okonma said in an interview after accepting his award. “I don’t like that urban word. It’s just a politically correct way to say the n-word.”

Okonma brings up an important issue that plagues many Black artists, who are often pigeonholed into certain categories or have their creative accomplishments downplayed due to pervasive issues of racism that linger in the industry. The instrumental for “Not Like Us” was made in just 30 minutes, and although the instrumental seems simple, there are a lot of moving parts beneath the surface. The Los Angeles native producer DJ Mustard put the iconic string loop together by chopping a sample from saxophonist Monk Higgins’ rendition of Ray Charles’ song “I Believe To My Soul.” As someone who has been trying to improve my own music production, I recognize that getting from a simple sample loop to an instantly recognizable song in just half an hour is one of the most impressive feats a musician can accomplish. 

The author later brings up Beyoncé Knowles, who recently took home her first Album of the Year award for her country album Cowboy Carter after many fruitless nominations, writing:

“[Beyoncé]’s move to create a country album was impressive as it highlighted the genre’s roots in Black artists. That said, the album as a whole was not outstanding and it is a shame it has won against masterpieces like Billie’s “Hit Me Hard and Soft” and Chappell’s “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.”

The author goes on to claim that conspiracy theories involving Beyoncé and Diddy influenced her win, suggesting the Academy felt pressured to cleanse her reputation and recognize her cultural impact rather than the album’s quality.

It is not the author’s claim that Cowboy Carter is unexceptional that is the issue. Music critics are entitled to their own opinions. However, parroting dubious conspiracy theories about Knowles is inherently dangerous, and should be carefully considered before being published. Beyond that, asserting that both Lamar and Knowles were only given their awards in search of a political statement is unfair and plays into harmful political narratives, especially as the United States is in the midst of a right-wing upheaval against perceived “DEI,” a term which has recently been misappropriated by the American right-wing as, to echo Okonma, a “politically correct way to say the n-word.” Originally coined to describe policies meant to ensure equal opportunity, the term is now inherently racially charged, with Black and Brown people almost exclusively the ones finding themselves continuously subject to reductive scrutiny over their accomplishments. The author ends the article by questioning if the Academy is “genuinely honoring musical excellence or prioritizing political correctness over merit.” 

Beyond the social ramifications of detracting from the accomplishments of artists like Kendrick and Beyoncé, I believe that music is one of the best ways to express yourself, and the fact that there are endless ways to express creativity is one of the most amazing things about it. By hyperfixating on perceived slights towards our favorite artists in an award show voted on by a faceless group of industry professionals, we risk weaponizing their art to tear down their peers. Both Lamar and Knowles are at the forefront of their generation, and they deserve their accolades based on nothing more than the quality of their music and creativity.

We are lucky to live in a time in which we can listen to music from all the different artists the author mentions and more, including Lamar’s former labelmate and risen star Doechii. The artists that are alleged to have been snubbed in the name of diversity and political signaling, such as Billie Eilish and Chappell Roan, have won and will continue to get chances to win awards. In the meantime, we should enjoy the cultural moment that we are lucky enough to be around for. There is still much work to be done in ensuring that artists get the recognition they deserve, and music is by no means a zero-sum game.