FACEBOOK
GOOGLE
Kanye West, Frank Ocean & Drake Are Protesting GRAMMY Awards Over Lack Of Diversity
Kanye West, Frank Ocean & Drake Are Protesting GRAMMY Awards Over Lack Of Diversity
- Genre : Pop
- Type: News
- Author : Super Admin
- Date : Tue, 31 Jan 2017
It's reported Bieber and Drake are in agreement that the GRAMMY awards fail to represent black or younger artists. However, West has taken issue with his own past with the GRAMMYs and the times he believes he was 'snubbed'. "Let's put it this way. He's received 21 Grammys, but when he was head-to-head against a white singer, he never won," a source told TMZ.
Joining the atmosphere of dissent for a flagship night in the music industry calendar, Frank Ocean didn't submit his highly praised 2016 albums, Endless and Blonde, for the award panel's consideration. "That institution certainly has nostalgic importance," Ocean explained in an interview with The New York Times late last year. "It just doesn't seem to be representing very well for people who come from where I come from, and hold down what I hold down."
Of this year's many nominees, Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Drake are the only artists of color nominated for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, or Record of the Year.
White artists such as Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande, and Sia lead the individual pop categories, making them no more diverse than the other categories. Arguably the hip-hop/rap categories are heavy in black nominees, but they're primarily focused on mainstream artists such as Kanye West, Drake, and DJ Khaled. The only first-time hip-hop nominees are D.R.A.M. and Chance the Rapper.
Big-name artists such as Adele, John Legend, Metallica and Bruno Mars are apparently unaffected by the protests — they are all confirmed and will be performing during the ceremony.
The event takes place at Los Angeles' Staples Center and will be broadcast live on CBS.
—The ARTISTdirect Staff
01.31.17
RELATED NEWS
