Every year, music fans across tons of genres gather around to watch the annual music awards show, the Grammys. The Grammy Awards are awards presented by the Recording Academy to recognize outstanding and talented musicians every year. They are considered the most prestigious and significant awards in the music industry worldwide. But what characteristics determine these awards? Is it the amount of streams, radio time, popularity, or genuine talent? Well according to rap fans everywhere, none of those factors were put into the choosing of the award recipients this year.
For all three rap categories, which were all not televised, the rapper by the name of Killer Mike won all three categories including Rap Album, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap Performance. All three awards came from his 2023 album titled “Micheal.” With only 4.3 million monthly streamers on Spotify, Killer Mike managed to achieve the most prestigious awards during this year’s Grammy awards. The Recording Academy’s decision on these awards not just shocked rap fans, but music connoisseurs around the world. The small artist from Atlanta, Georgia managed to sweep awards from popular artists such as Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Metro Boomin, and Travis Scott. Most music listeners, like myself, expected Travis Scott’s “Utopia” to achieve Best Rap Album of the Year, but even Travis himself was shocked and upset. During Scott’s performance at the Grammys, he proceeded to aggressively slam foldable chairs on his set and screamed, “they slept on me ten times,” referring to the Recording Academy offering Travis Scott ten nominations during his career, but not a single award. Rap listener Giana Mejia (11) stated, “In my opinion, I don’t think Killer Mike deserved the Grammys. I had no clue who he was, and like many others, I expected Travis Scott to win.”
Without a single fan in sight, Killer Mike was able to accomplish many goals that many other rappers could not. For Travis Scott, this was devastating, since this was not the first time that he was robbed from a Grammy. During the 61st annual award ceremony, Scott’s successful album “Astroworld” was robbed from victory by Cardi B’s “Invasion of Privacy.” After that, it was Scott’s goal to put out his best work, and the stream for his album “Utopia” showed that. However, Travis was robbed yet again which left him discouraged and furious. Although these incidents might seem small to some viewers, it contributes to a bigger problem that the Recording Academy has always had. Since their creation in 1957, the Recording Academy has had a history of not taking rap seriously and discriminating against black artists. Only 11 black artists have won album of the year in the history of the Grammys, the last one being 2004 to Outcast. As for rappers, it hasn’t been awarded since 1999 to Lauryn Hill, making it over two decades since a rapper has won album of the year. This statistic has enraged not only African American artists, but music lovers across the country.
Whether it is talent or streams, the public will never know what the true qualities an artist needs to have in order to win a Grammy.
