“Black music has never been respected by the Grammys to the point that it should be.”
— Sean “Diddy” Combs, American rap artist; net worth $825 million (estimated, 2018)
American racism, it seemingly never ends. Are the Grammy Awards racist too? Let’s take a look…
On the list of artists for the most Grammy Awards received, 5 of the top 10 are… wait for it… black. And 2 of the top 3. Since blacks are only about 12% of the US population, this does indeed seem to indicate racism – against whites. I do not know a single person however – not a single one in this terribly racist country – who would deprive Quincy Jones or Stevie Wonder of their coveted spots at the top. They are extremely talented men.
I am not quite sure what Mr. Combs calls ‘Black music,’ or what exactly is his definition of respect. He is black, works in the ‘music’ industry, and his net worth approaches one billion dollars. I myself don’t consider rap or hip-hop to be music, no matter who excretes it, but 2 of the top 10 all-time Grammy winners are in this category. That’s 20 percent just in the top 10, despite the fact it’s not even music. Let’s continue…
Black artists gave us Rock and Roll, Rhythm and Blues, and Jazz (arguably the most noteworthy music to come along in a hundred years). Americans and the world embraced all these art forms and made them their own.
Maybe Sean Combs would do better to use his profanity laced rants to declare not racism, but the unfairness of ‘cultural appropriation.’ When the whole world imitates you, that seems to me to be the very definition of respect. Whether the culture should be embracing such parochial and mind-numbingly dumb forms of entertainment as rap or hip-hop is another story.
Notes from the Journal – originally posted to spacebook on 2020.01.28