The televised Grammy awards—music’s most highly coveted indicator of acknowledged excellence in music—opened last Sunday with Kendrick Lamar’s performance of a ballad from his new album DAMN. The performance included cameos from Bono and “The Edge” of U2, and Dave Chappelle, a stand-up comedian and creator of “Chappelle’s Show” which airs on comedy central.
The performance compiled various songs from his new album including “DNA,” “XXX,” a sample from “LUST,” and repeated comedic interjections from Chappelle, narrating Lamar’s performance for the audience. His first comment, which came after Lamar paused and the words “This is a satire by Kendrick Lamar,” appeared on screen, Chappelle stopped everything and said, “The only thing more frightening than watching a black man be honest in America is being an honest black man in America.”
The performance was a moving representation of Lamar’s inner struggle with his vices, following the theme of his album released in April, but even more prominently, the performance emulated the struggle of being an African-American man in America. Lamar’s music has always been focused on race relations and his own identity as an African-American man; his performance at the Grammys was a moving expression of the voice Lamar has developed over four studio albums.
DAMN. was up for Album of the Year, along with Lorde’s Melodrama, Jay-Z’s 4:44, Awaken, My Love by Childish Gambino, and 24K Magic by Bruno Mars. After two previous snubs for album of the year and DAMN sitting at the top of Billboard 200 albums at the end of 2017, it felt like this was Lamar’s year to win.
The Grammy, however, went to Bruno Mars’ record 24K Magic.
The Grammys have always seemed to value popularity over critical prestige; however, Lamar’s DAMN was far from outside the realm of the popular. At the end of 2017, DAMN was number one on Billboard’s top 200 records, while Mars’ 24K Magic sat second. Similarly, Lamar’s hit “HUMBLE” was the fourth most popular song of 2017, while Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic” was third, according to CBS.com. DAMN and 24K Magic were comparable in terms of popularity, and DAMN was much more critically successful, scoring a 95 on Metacritic against a mere 70 from 24K Magic, yet Mars took home the Grammy robbing Lamar of his third straight Album of the Year (AOY) award.
Lamar wasn’t the only one robbed at the Grammys. Lorde and Jay-Z were both not given a single award, and Vince Staples and A Tribe Called Quest were not nominated for a single Grammy after their critically acclaimed 2016-2017 releases (for a really funny, interesting, and VERY good article from NPR that discusses Vince Staples’ criticism of many aspects of the Grammys, click here).
Women were again egregiously underrepresented at this year’s Grammys. In the past six years, only ten percent of all Grammy nominations have been women, and this year Alessia Cara was the only woman to win a major Grammy, taking “Best New Artist.” There are countless others who weren’t recognized, but the purpose of this blog post isn’t to discuss every single Grammy miss.
Bruno Mars was the only artist up for Album of the Year who is relatively uncontroversial. Lamar is a renowned critic of Trump and sampled Fox News anchor Geraldo Rivera twice on DAMN; Lorde refused to sing in a Tom Petty tribute because she was the only female AOY nominee and the only AOY nominee who was denied the opportunity to perform a solo act for the Grammys; Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) is the writer and co-star of the show “Atlanta” which airs on FX and emphasizes the work of African-Americans and race relations; Jay-Z recently criticized Trump’s lack of care for the well-being of African-Americans in an interview with CNN. To my knowledge, Bruno Mars has not done more than refuse to play at Trump’s presidential inauguration. “The Onion,” a satirical magazine, ossified the reputation of the Grammys as anti-political, headlining an article: “Bruno Mars Takes Home Coveted ‘Least Threatening Artist’ Award At 2018 Grammys.”
The Grammys president reinforced the criticisms of the Grammys by saying—in response to the lack of female nominations and wins at this year’s Grammys (and in the Grammys historically)—that females should “Step it up.”
This year, the Grammy nominations gave me hope that the path the Grammys have gone down so many times had diverted to a more racially inclusive, less sexist, less generally prejudiced end. Countless artists were still snubbed, but the fact that albums from politically active people with political themes in their music (save Bruno Mars) were nominated for many Grammys, was uplifting.
The results of the Grammys and the comments from the president have shown that the unfortunate truth of the Grammy awards is that though some of these artists who are not necessarily “safe” are acknowledged in nominations, they are on the outside looking in at the awards themselves. We need to recognize that when the Grammys picked 24K Magic as the album of the year over an album like DAMN., which received much better critical reception and was at least comparable in popularity (according to Billboards 200), they are continuing to purport a version of enablement against discourse about issues relevant to the current social climate of the United States.
When Kendrick arrived on stage on Sunday he had the intention of stirring the pot and starting a conversation about something. I can’t be sure of exactly what because I am not Kendrick Lamar, but what I can be sure of is that when I watch and listen to his performance I ask questions about race, inner brokenness, and the elements thematically prominent in DAMN as well as more that his performance emphasized. When the Grammys refuse to fully acknowledge Lamar by robbing him of the AOY Grammy three consecutive times, or refuse to acknowledge the significance of Lorde’s Melodrama by not offering her a spot to perform a solo act, or by saying that women need to “Step it up,” thereby ignoring the breadth and importance of music released by women, the Grammys suppress and fail to continue the conversations these artists aim to start.
I have no answers for how to mend what’s been rifted, but we need to talk about it nonetheless. Art is a platform where personally I have found some of the most interesting social dialogue, and as people engaged in the world and art we need to recognize where exterior recognition falls short. I would go as far as to say that it is our Christian obligation to at least address and talk about these things, regardless of the conclusion you might come to. My position is hopefully obvious, but there are countless other voices all with opinions that differ from mine.
Kendrick walked away with five Grammys on Sunday, including Best Rap Album. He didn’t get what he probably hoped for, and what maybe should have been, but he didn’t walk away empty-handed. The Grammys recognized him as the greatest rapper in the world for a third time, though that consolation is not enough. We cannot forget what the Grammys decide in moments like this because the things we do in recreation, like the Grammy awards, that are celebratory, the things that are “Just for fun,” may be some of the best indicators of where our society stands in its broader ideals.
The performance compiled various songs from his new album including “DNA,” “XXX,” a sample from “LUST,” and repeated comedic interjections from Chappelle, narrating Lamar’s performance for the audience. His first comment, which came after Lamar paused and the words “This is a satire by Kendrick Lamar,” appeared on screen, Chappelle stopped everything and said, “The only thing more frightening than watching a black man be honest in America is being an honest black man in America.”
The performance was a moving representation of Lamar’s inner struggle with his vices, following the theme of his album released in April, but even more prominently, the performance emulated the struggle of being an African-American man in America. Lamar’s music has always been focused on race relations and his own identity as an African-American man; his performance at the Grammys was a moving expression of the voice Lamar has developed over four studio albums.
DAMN. was up for Album of the Year, along with Lorde’s Melodrama, Jay-Z’s 4:44, Awaken, My Love by Childish Gambino, and 24K Magic by Bruno Mars. After two previous snubs for album of the year and DAMN sitting at the top of Billboard 200 albums at the end of 2017, it felt like this was Lamar’s year to win.
The Grammy, however, went to Bruno Mars’ record 24K Magic.
The Grammys have always seemed to value popularity over critical prestige; however, Lamar’s DAMN was far from outside the realm of the popular. At the end of 2017, DAMN was number one on Billboard’s top 200 records, while Mars’ 24K Magic sat second. Similarly, Lamar’s hit “HUMBLE” was the fourth most popular song of 2017, while Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic” was third, according to CBS.com. DAMN and 24K Magic were comparable in terms of popularity, and DAMN was much more critically successful, scoring a 95 on Metacritic against a mere 70 from 24K Magic, yet Mars took home the Grammy robbing Lamar of his third straight Album of the Year (AOY) award.
Lamar wasn’t the only one robbed at the Grammys. Lorde and Jay-Z were both not given a single award, and Vince Staples and A Tribe Called Quest were not nominated for a single Grammy after their critically acclaimed 2016-2017 releases (for a really funny, interesting, and VERY good article from NPR that discusses Vince Staples’ criticism of many aspects of the Grammys, click here).
Women were again egregiously underrepresented at this year’s Grammys. In the past six years, only ten percent of all Grammy nominations have been women, and this year Alessia Cara was the only woman to win a major Grammy, taking “Best New Artist.” There are countless others who weren’t recognized, but the purpose of this blog post isn’t to discuss every single Grammy miss.
Bruno Mars was the only artist up for Album of the Year who is relatively uncontroversial. Lamar is a renowned critic of Trump and sampled Fox News anchor Geraldo Rivera twice on DAMN; Lorde refused to sing in a Tom Petty tribute because she was the only female AOY nominee and the only AOY nominee who was denied the opportunity to perform a solo act for the Grammys; Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) is the writer and co-star of the show “Atlanta” which airs on FX and emphasizes the work of African-Americans and race relations; Jay-Z recently criticized Trump’s lack of care for the well-being of African-Americans in an interview with CNN. To my knowledge, Bruno Mars has not done more than refuse to play at Trump’s presidential inauguration. “The Onion,” a satirical magazine, ossified the reputation of the Grammys as anti-political, headlining an article: “Bruno Mars Takes Home Coveted ‘Least Threatening Artist’ Award At 2018 Grammys.”
The Grammys president reinforced the criticisms of the Grammys by saying—in response to the lack of female nominations and wins at this year’s Grammys (and in the Grammys historically)—that females should “Step it up.”
This year, the Grammy nominations gave me hope that the path the Grammys have gone down so many times had diverted to a more racially inclusive, less sexist, less generally prejudiced end. Countless artists were still snubbed, but the fact that albums from politically active people with political themes in their music (save Bruno Mars) were nominated for many Grammys, was uplifting.
The results of the Grammys and the comments from the president have shown that the unfortunate truth of the Grammy awards is that though some of these artists who are not necessarily “safe” are acknowledged in nominations, they are on the outside looking in at the awards themselves. We need to recognize that when the Grammys picked 24K Magic as the album of the year over an album like DAMN., which received much better critical reception and was at least comparable in popularity (according to Billboards 200), they are continuing to purport a version of enablement against discourse about issues relevant to the current social climate of the United States.
When Kendrick arrived on stage on Sunday he had the intention of stirring the pot and starting a conversation about something. I can’t be sure of exactly what because I am not Kendrick Lamar, but what I can be sure of is that when I watch and listen to his performance I ask questions about race, inner brokenness, and the elements thematically prominent in DAMN as well as more that his performance emphasized. When the Grammys refuse to fully acknowledge Lamar by robbing him of the AOY Grammy three consecutive times, or refuse to acknowledge the significance of Lorde’s Melodrama by not offering her a spot to perform a solo act, or by saying that women need to “Step it up,” thereby ignoring the breadth and importance of music released by women, the Grammys suppress and fail to continue the conversations these artists aim to start.
I have no answers for how to mend what’s been rifted, but we need to talk about it nonetheless. Art is a platform where personally I have found some of the most interesting social dialogue, and as people engaged in the world and art we need to recognize where exterior recognition falls short. I would go as far as to say that it is our Christian obligation to at least address and talk about these things, regardless of the conclusion you might come to. My position is hopefully obvious, but there are countless other voices all with opinions that differ from mine.
Kendrick walked away with five Grammys on Sunday, including Best Rap Album. He didn’t get what he probably hoped for, and what maybe should have been, but he didn’t walk away empty-handed. The Grammys recognized him as the greatest rapper in the world for a third time, though that consolation is not enough. We cannot forget what the Grammys decide in moments like this because the things we do in recreation, like the Grammy awards, that are celebratory, the things that are “Just for fun,” may be some of the best indicators of where our society stands in its broader ideals.
Patrick Jonker
Staff Member