NPR ARTICLE 📄: Jay-Z called out the Grammys. What if Black artists said enough is enough?

[Swirv]

"The Academy," as it's known, used to be called the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences — NARAS for short. It operates a number of 501 (c)(3) nonprofits. It's made up of 22,000 members ... musicians, singers, songwriters, producers and others in the industry. They pay $125 a year to belong, and, if they have enough credits on recordings, to vote in the Grammys.

President Neil Portnow says the Academy is a not-for-profit organization that gets donations and corporate sponsorship from the likes of AEG, Ford, Best Buy, Converse and Microsoft to run charities like MusiCares, which spends three and a half million dollars a year to help struggling musicians.

Sometimes you have to create your own table instead of waiting for a seat. But I guess since the Grammy Awards has been around so long, it’s televised, and people dress up it’s seen as illustrious.

 

[Tommy Gibbs]

the thing I don't understand about black folks and these award shows is that as long as they are winning, everything is good. As soon as they are not winning, it's a problem. Only 1 person can win a category each year. Just stop showing up to the shows and have them pull your name from the categories. sinead o'connor refused her grammy. Marlon Brando refused his oscar. These are cheap trinkets worth absolutely NOTHING because now they have contracts that you can't sell them. Arstists want you to believe they are pro black, but at the same time value the opinion of kkkrakkers on a grammy/oscar panel. Doesn't make sense to me. We have our own award shows and none of these mfers complaining about grammys show up. I just can't believe millionaires argue every year over a $14 trinket

 

[Piff Perkins]

Beyonce's self titled was more successful than the Sam Smith and the Ed Sheeran albums:

Beyonce- Certified 2X platinum July 2014

Ed Sheeran's X- certified Platinum January 26, 2015

Sam Smith's In The Lonely Hour- certified Platinum November 25, 2014

^^^ by the time the Grammy nominations even came down for 2015, Beyonce's album was more successful

My source: RIAA.com

Where are you getting your information from?

Regardless, Beyonce's self titled was a surprise album. Completely changed the rollout of albums. Sam Smith nor Ed Sheeran were doing that.

RIAA certs are submitted/paid for by labels and include shipped units as sold. Beyonce's album sold around 880k in 2014, Sam Smith sold over a million copies that year in the US alone.

Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ Beats ‘Frozen’ As Top Selling Album of 2014

It came down to the wire, but in the final week of 2014, Taylor Swift’s '1989' finishes 2014 as the year’s top selling album.

www.billboard.com

If you look at the global sales for 2014:

List of best-selling albums of 2014 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Mike the Executioner]

The vast majority of those awards though were in what are essentially the Black categories though. This was moreso about how she has all these Grammys, but never took home the big award. Out of the times she was nominated for it, she was definitely robbed in 2015.

I looked it up and apparently, Beyonce has only won in the major categories once (2010). More Grammys than anyone in history and only one win in the Big Three (AOTY/ROTY/SOTY).

I get that Beyonce is a polarizing figure here, but it should be acknowledged what's been happening her entire career. I guess she didn't deserve SOTY or ROTY either, right? What are the reasons she hasn't been winning those?

 

[JustCKing]

RIAA certs are submitted/paid for by labels and include shipped units as sold. Beyonce's album sold around 880k in 2014, Sam Smith sold over a million copies that year in the US alone.

Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ Beats ‘Frozen’ As Top Selling Album of 2014

It came down to the wire, but in the final week of 2014, Taylor Swift’s '1989' finishes 2014 as the year’s top selling album.

www.billboard.com

If you look at the global sales for 2014:

List of best-selling albums of 2014 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Breh, Beyonce's album dropped December 2013. So what if labels have to pay for the certs. Labels also submit nominees to the Academy. Members of the Academy are industry people. Her album still sold more by the time the nominees were announced.

And LOL at worldwide sales. This is a domestic award. They aren't going to look at who sold more globally.

 

[nieman]

So, I'm looking at the list, and what year should she have won Record of the Year or Song of the Year, since people are saying 2015 was her award to lose.

 

[Stick Up Kid]

Jay & Beyonce bought a $220M mansion in Bel Air last year, if only the lord would finally bless them and stop the pain in their lives by giving Beyoncé a Grammy

 

[Surreal]

Can't simply tell her to make an AOTY worthy album?

We as a people sure do go about complaining about the wrong shyt

 

[beenz]

it's 2024. I'm not watching ANY awards show. and I especially don't watch them to validate my own musical taste. I don't care if jay/beyonce create their own show, I'm not watching that either. I'm over award shows. they are pretentious anyways.

 

[Champagne Kudo]

I hope one day people stop falling for jay z and beyonces fake radical bullshyt

 

[ORDER_66]

I mean how many years have we been saying the grammy's been shytting on ALOT of great black music in favor of mediocre white music over the years... Jay isnt wrong... let's keep it 100... we know the grammy's electorate is bullshyt and biased...

 

[RennisDeynolds]

Jay and these other millionaire billionaires invoke social issues for their personal gain.

We see it all the time. Byron Allen was trying to buy some channel or network a few years. Went up to the breakfast club talking civil rights this and that. Haven't heard a peep about that from Jim before or since

 

[Lhark]

The vast majority of those awards though were in what are essentially the Black categories though. This was moreso about how she has all these Grammys, but never took home the big award. Out of the times she was nominated for it, she was definitely robbed in 2015.

Idk how this point keeps getting missed, the speech was a specific award, not the amount she has.

 

[Space Cowboy]

The only album that Beyonce has that could possibly sniff at being Album of the Year was Lemonade, which it was nominated for. 24k Magic won AOTY that year instead. Tough competition.

 

[Surreal]

I mean how many years have we been saying the grammy's been shytting on ALOT of great black music in favor of mediocre white music over the years... Jay isnt wrong... let's keep it 100... we know the grammy's electorate is bullshyt and biased...

Why does she have the most Grammys in history then?