Sean “Diddy” Combs had a lot to say about the Grammys at the Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala held the day before the televised awards show on Sunday. The man that goes by the name Love accepted the award for the 2020 Grammy Salute to Industry Icons before he made his speech and set a deadline for the age-old recording academy.
“I’m being honored by the industry that I love, the family that I love, but, there’s an elephant in the room and it’s not just about the Grammys,” Combs said. “There’s discrimination and injustice everywhere at an all time high. But, there’s something that I need to say to the Grammys — and I say this with love…Every year y’all be killing us.”
He continued, “I’m speaking for all the artists and executives, in the great words of Erykah Badu, ‘We are artists, and we are sensitive about our shit. For most of us, this is all we’ve got. This is our only hope. Truth be told, hip-hop has never been respected by the Grammys. Black music has never been respected by the Grammys.”
“So right now, with this current situation,” the mogul went on, “it’s not a revelation. This thing been going on, not just in music, but in film, sports, around the world and for years we’ve allowed institutions that have never had our best interests at heart to judge us and that stops right now.”
The Beverly Hilton hotel ballroom was filled with A-list talent, such as Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Lana Del Rey, John Legend, Cardi B, Offset, Timbaland, Wiz Khalifa, and more, who all gave Diddy a standing ovation.
“I’m officially starting the clock. You’ve got 365 days to get this shit together,” Combs said. “We need the artists to take back control. We need transparency. We need diversity. This is the room that has the power to make the change that needs to be made. They have to make the changes for us. They’re a nonprofit organization that is supposed to protect the welfare of the musical community. That’s what it says on the mission statement.”
Combs then proceeded to acknowledge all the music projects that were snubbed and ignored by the Grammys but made a major impact on culture, music and the world of entertainment. He dedicated his award to Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall, Beyoncé’s Lemonade, Nas’ Illmatic, Missy Elliott’s The Real World, Kanye West’s Graduation and Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle.
The Grammys continually make culturally clueless voting decisions that appear to be lazy and exclusive to their personal favorites. A lot of the voting seems to be impacted by politics and discrimination.
Hip Hop has long been put to the wayside in favor of pop music, which seems to be the dominating music genre for the awards show. As a result, artist such as Billie Eillish, Taylor Swift, Adele, and more, who are indeed talented, tend to sweep the awards, receiving all the important Grammys, such as Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year. Meanwhile, the Grammys continue to slight multi-talented artists like Beyoncé, Drake, Missy Elliott and Chris Brown, for instance.
In recent news, the CEO of the Grammys, Deborah Dugan, was placed on administrative leave after accusing the recording academy of using faulty and rigged practices to make voting decisions. Whether an investigation is in progress and if there will be a shakeup in the executive ranks has yet to be announced.
