The Grammys Struggle To Honor Black Artists

We lost a lot of great talent over the last year. On Monday, it was announced that Lady Gaga would be performing an 8-minute tribute to the late David Bowie, Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp will be performing a tribute for Lemmy from Motörhead and Jackson Browne will honor Glenn Frey. Natalie Cole, who passed on December 31, and Maurice White, who died on February 4, will be included in the video montage of other celebrities who have passed away this year. While it still serves as recognition, many wonder why they did not receive a performance, especially Maurice White, whose group Earth Wind & Fire was beyond influential to modern music today.

“Over the last week or so, since Maurice White passed away, there has been back and forth with the producers and the academy about some kind of representation of him during the show. The tributes they’ve confirmed are all white. As of yesterday, there was no tribute at all for Maurice because Grammy producers said they didn’t have time,” an insider tells Page Six. 

Another source says that The Grammy’s are still trying to make something meaningful happen for Maurice White. “Maurice White and the group he founded had unprecedented impact on pop culture. After a lot of pressure, producers are trying to figure out how to properly pay tribute to him. It’s still in limbo.”

If that wasn’t bad enough, according to Page Six, although Run DMC is set to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award this year, it allegedly won’t be televised.  “People are afraid to speak on it because it’s the Grammys. But there’s a history of them not acknowledging black artists,” the first source added.

I certainly hope The Grammy’s get it together by Monday’s broadcast. 

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