On Beyoncé and The Grammy Awards Race Problem

On Beyoncé’s third snub in seven years by the Recording Academy, we’re looking at how The Grammys are designed to protect music from women like her.

The history of rock and roll is the history of racism in latter 20th century America. Most histories of the genre start off acknowledging in some form or another that the original music thoughts of as “rock and roll” began as black music. And then was appropriated by white artists. From Elvis to Bill Haley, the “birth of rock and roll” was really the wresting away of music from people of color. Most of the time women of color. “Hound Dog” for instance was originally performed by Big Mama Thorton. But it was presented with a white male face for the general public to consume.

We noted yesterday that the concept of the Grammys as “Music’s Big Night”, and all the respectability trappings that come with an awards show of this magnitude was at odds with “rock and roll.” After all, this is an art form that has never been quite made respectable. And that’s because it’s the one white people never fully wrested from the black community.

The Start of the Grammys

The Grammys began in 1959, just as rock and roll took over popular culture. The irony, of course, is that it has never been comfortable with the popular music is claims to exalt. Whatever the music of the zeitgeist is, we can be sure the Grammys will be massively out of touch with it, and giving awards out to people who are not in touch with it at all, as if, by bestowing an award shaped to resemble a musical delivery format that’s been defunct for a century, they can impose their will as to what music is and is not considered “appropriate.”

And what is appropriate, magically, never seems to be black artists. Even as far back as 1959, Ella Fitzgerald was losing to Henry Mancini, or Henry Belafonte was losing to Bob Newhart. At the height of The Supremes and the British invasion, the Grammys were giving Album of the Year to safety picks like Vaughn Meader and Stan Getz. This has not improved over the decades either. The last black artist to win Album of the Year was Herbie Hancock, in 2008. The last woman of color to win was Lauryn Hill, in 1999. The only hip hop or rap album to ever win in the entire history of the awards was Outkast for Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. (Hill’s The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill album was classified as “Neo-Soul”).

Beyoncé’s Snubs

Which of course, brings us to last night. Beyoncé was once again relegated to “Urban Contemporary” and “Music Video”, while a white artist was given the top honors. To be clear, Beyoncé’s work is groundbreaking. It is not only of the zeitgeist, but in fact helping form it, as great art is supposed to do. Her music is pushing along the conversations around feminism, racism, sexism and how they intersect and inform the experiences of women of color.

This is the third time Beyoncé has been snubbed. The first time, in 2010, her I Am….Sasha Fierce lost to Taylor Swift. No, it wasn’t the famous Kanye interruption loss (that was MTV the year before), but it was also early days yet, and perhaps not the most noticeable. Her loss to Beck in 2015, for her first groundbreaking album, the eponymous Beyoncé, was far more obvious a snub, especially since Beck hadn’t been relevant since 1994.

Last night though, was beyond a noticeable snub. It was a downright embarrassment. Adele, whose 25 is a decent album, took home all the top prizes over Lemonade. But unlike Swift and Beck, who both seemed a little startled, but ultimately unwilling to think about why they won over a more deserving artists, Adele was openly embarrassed on behalf of the entire Recording Academy that this was happening. She outright apologized to Beyoncé from the stage, as if somehow she could, by sheer force of will, change the outcome. (Adele also broke her Grammy in half and handed it to Beyoncé to share, and told the press that she as a member, voted for Lemonade.)

Can the Grammys Change?

Will this actually make any changes to the Grammys? Unfortunately, probably not. The Grammys are not like the Oscars. They were forced into it by a running series of snubs that culminated in two years of the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag. Nor are they like the Emmys. They made their own changes after the first year of said hashtag. As if they knew Twitter would be coming to drag them next. The Grammys have always been all but openly racist. An institution to declare what is and isn’t appropriate music. To force the opinions of old white men to reign supreme on the artform.

Every year, people quietly side eye the winner. They note how more deserving artists have once again been passed over. Or never nominated for the top prizes in the first place. Perhaps the outcry on Twitter, and Adele’s open rebellion, will force some changes. But I wouldn’t bet on it.

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Instead, I would bet that a few years down the road, when Beyoncé, in her golden years, makes an album that is utterly safe and conventional, it will be showered with all the prizes the Grammys can think of. Along with a lifetime achievement touting how amazing Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé and Lemonade were when they came out. Meanwhile, they’ll be snubbing the next woman of color coming up behind her, pushing those boundaries.