The artists who have called the Grammys over the years

For almost as long as the Grammys have been around, musicians have criticized the voting process, nominations, and winners.

Grammy disses have taken many forms over the years, but in the 21st century much of the commentary has focused on the history of the awards show excluding women and black performers from major categories. Since the inauguration ceremony in 1959, only 10 black artists have won the Album of the Year trophy.

As rap and hip-hop gain in esteem and popularity, fans and professionals alike are wondering why this list hasn’t grown. In 2018, for example, Kendrick Lamar‘s SLIM. became the first non-jazz or classical work to win a Pulitzer Prize for music, but it lost Album of the Year to Bruno Mars‘ Magic 24K, instead winning Best Rap Album.

Several years earlier, Lamar had lost the 2014 Best New Artist Trophy to Macklemore & Ryan lewis, causing an uproar among rap fans. Macklemore, who is white, texted rapper “Humble” to tell him he was “stolen”, adding that he deserved to win.

Lamar, for his part, has been gracious about the situation, saying the “Thrift Shop” singer is a “genuine” person who has deserved his success. Other artists, however, were not impressed, with Duck story Rolling stone back when Macklemore’s text was “wack as f-k”.

Critics have also questioned the Grammys’ track record with female performers, especially since categories that were previously divided by gender were merged into one. While there have been notable years for female nominees, the squeezed categories have often meant that few or no women receive nominations in the rock, R&B and pop categories, even when they are among the most popular musicians. in the world.

Prior to the 2022 ceremony, no female solo artist or girl group was nominated for Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, or Best Rock Album. The year before, the same had happened with the Best R&B Album category, in the lead. Teyana taylor to express his frustration with the show via social media.

“You better just say the best male R&B ALBUM because all I see is dk in that category,” she tweeted in November 2020.

Even artists who have won Grammys have criticized the institution for honoring commercially popular artists rather than lower-selling musicians who are not as well known. Trent Reznor, who won Grammys for his film scores as well as his work with Nine Inch Nails, was quick to say that he didn’t think awards mattered.

“Why don’t the Grammys matter? Because it looks rigged and cheap – like a popularity contest that the insider club decided, ”he said. Hollywood journalist in December 2011.

Keep scrolling to see which artists have criticized the Grammys over the years: