Black Artists Deserve to Shine At The Grammys
There is hopeful anticipation moments before any Big Four category is announced, especially in the space between recalling the nominees and naming the winner. Unlike the feelings at the beginning of Grammy day, which are filled with an anxious hope, Grammy night delves into a brew of hot contestion. A realization of what has been at stake falls through.
The 2023 Grammys left fans, viewers and critics confounded. Once again, it seemed that Black artists had been sidelined. Grammy Awards in the 2010s had multiple similar instances. Among the snubs were SZA losing Best New Artist, Frank Ocean’s “Channel Orange,” Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly” and Beyonce’s “Lemonade” losing Album of the Year (AOTY), The Weeknd not receiving any nominations related to “After Hours” and a couple more. While not every nominee’s great body of music can win, there has been a distinct pattern of overlooking Black artists that has been ingrained in the Recording Academy. Coming off Beyonce’s AOTY loss in 2023, there will be a heavy focus on how the Grammy Awards pan out.
This year the Grammy general field is representative of various Black artists with three Black artists nominated for AOTY. AOTY is a category in which Black artists and their work has been historically slighted. For the 2024 Grammys, the nominees for this category have been reduced from ten to eight nominees. Out of the eight nominees, three of the albums are by Black artists: “The Age of Pleasure” by Janelle Monae, “SOS” by SZA and “World Music Radio” by Jon Batiste. However, based on past AOTY nominations, a higher number of Black nominees doesn’t necessitate a win, but means that Black artists’ music projects are being recognized by The Recording Academy. In the Record of the Year category, Victoria Monet’s “On My Mama,” SZA’s “Kill Bill” and Jon Batiste’s “Worship” are nominated. Songwriter Sam Dew has a Song of the Year nomination for co-writing Lana Del Rey’s “A&W.” In the same category, Batiste’s “Butterfly” is also nominated alongside SZA. Previous Grammy winner D’Mile is up for a Producer of the Year nomination. He’s won Song and Record of the Year in the past and is looking to win another general field category for his work as a producer. Coming off of a year where his production soundtracked summer blockbuster “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” Metro Boomin received his second and third Grammy nominations, including Producer of the Year. Hit-Boy has his second Producer of the Year nomination. In its second year, Theron Thomas is nominated for Songwriter of the Year category which includes writing hits “All My Life” by Lil Durk and Jungkook’s debut single “Seven.”
For the 2024 Grammys, the most nominated artists are Black women. SZA has a total of nine nominations (the most nominations of any artist this year) and Victoria Monet has seven nominations. The two singers are positioned as front-runners in winning on Grammy Night. Jon Batiste is vying for a second AOTY win with his album “World Music Radio.” At the 2019 Grammy Awards, Janelle Monae received her first AOTY nomination as a lead artist for “Dirty Computer.” “The Age of Pleasure” marked a sonic and thematic shift that Monae has been building towards in their discography. Monae’s undaunted creative versatility led to their second AOTY nomination for her 2023 album. Victoria Monet’s breakout year was met with a Record of the Year (“On My Mama”) and Best New Artist nominations. Along with SZA, Monet was highly nominated in the R&B category. Unsurprisingly, “SOS” received an AOTY nomination and nominations for Song of the Year and Record of the Year (“Kill Bill”). She’s projected to win AOTY as her album met critical acclaim and has been designated as the artist that should win AOTY.
The range of Black nominees at the 2024 Grammys helped define music in 2023. “SOS” stayed at the top of the public’s music rotation throughout the year as it drew vulnerability and relatability between the singer and her audience. SZA utilized music listeners to express their emotions in a variety of methods through differing sonic emotional landscapes in her album. In her transition from songwriter to mainstream star, Victoria Monet captured the attention of the public after “On My Mama” went viral on social media, drawing demand for her music. Monet’s mix of choreography, songwriting and production differentiated her as 2023’s breakout artist. Metro Boomin pushed his musical repertoire into the film world, expanding his production. In a year where hip-hop may have waned, Theron Thomas co-wrote one of the genre’s biggest hits of 2023. The changing landscape of music has been met with adaptability by Black artists dedicated to creating new work. Through nominations, the Recording Academy has recognized this attribute and hopefully this recognition will translate into major wins.