Sunday night’s Grammy ceremony may have been fantastic for some viewers, but for songstress India Arie, it was perhaps upsetting.
In a lengthy open letter on her Tumblr, Arie shared her thoughts on the lack of Black faces on stage and the artists snubbed by the recording academy.
“Thought it’s called ‘Music industries biggest night’ the #Grammys are not about the music, it’s a popularity contest,” wrote Arie. “The voting process allows people, to vote on name recognition alone—the music industry politics is a whole nuther conversation. Too much to go into here.”
Among the highlights for her was Kendrick Lamar‘s explosive performance with Imagine Dragon—only to be “robbed” after earning seven nominations.
In light of who won, Arie says she doesn’t get surprised by the telecast anymore. “…It still hits my sense of fairness, because I know many of the artists who are overlooked. I live in that world. We keep showing up and subjecting ourselves to the game, hoping maybe we’ll win. I was so happy to see @KendrickLamar take that stage—because it is a form of winning, at least, he was seen.”
She also made mention of this year’s lifetime achievement award given to the Isley Brothers, whom were largely overshadowed by a number of big names who took the stage. As she puts it, “This is why we need the Image Awards and BET Awards.”
Click here to read the entire entry.
