Grammys: Race Issue?

Beyonce fell victim to the grammy award racism issue. Adele won all five Grammys she was nominated for, including album of the year (for “25”), record of the year and song of the year (for “Hello”), besting Beyoncé in all three categories. “25” is Adele’s least impressive album, but its pomp-and-circumstance soul belting is the sort of classicism likely to appeal to the Recording Academy voting members, who tend to skew older and more traditional. Beyoncé’s album “Lemonade” (and the song “Formation,” nominated in the other two categories) is musically provocative and wide ranging, and rife with commentary about the meaning of blackness in the United States. At the end of the night, when Adele won album of the year, she deferred to Beyoncé: “The way that you make me and my friends feel, the way you make my black friends feel, is empowering,” Adele told her from the stage, while behind her, a huge gaggle of predominantly white male songwriters and producers clapped enthusiastically. In that moment, just a few feet separated Adele and Beyoncé, but the chasm between their treatment by the Grammys was huge, and potentially unbridgeable. It was #GrammysSoWhite come to life. The Grammys’ race problem is so pernicious that some white winners have chosen contrition over exuberance. Adele gave a speech to Beyonce after she received her award about how empowering she was and how her album sent a positive message to the world. Adele felt as if Beyonce deserved a grammy that night well.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/13/arts/music/grammys-adele-beyonce-black-artists-race.html