The Grammys are alienating an entire generation of talent with their conservatism

The New York Times

“The music industry is undergoing changes unlike any others in its history, and the Grammys, as an awards platform and also a telecast, have failed to keep up — it’s an unimaginative, risk-averse awards show masquerading as an unimaginative, risk-averse concert,” says NY Times music critic Jon Caramanica. He adds that you wouldn’t know of all the “vital shifts” to the pop charts last year, especially by hip-hop artists, by watching the Grammy ceremony. “None of these songs were featured, and none of these artists, apart from Cardi B, were granted a performance slot,” he says. “There are many root causes of this lack of representation: unsubtle racism and reverse ageism; a fundamental misreading of hip-hop’s power, reducing it to an accent piece when truly it is the main course; and presumably a fear that Grammy viewers would be more comfortable seeing Bono and Sting multiple times than any rapper apart from Kendrick Lamar, who delivered an imaginative and deeply invested show-opening performance.”

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