Photograph by Timothy Norris/FilmMagic
The Grammy Awards are an annual music occasion the place the American music trade celebrates achievements that have been made all year long, and 2023 was no completely different. In the event you paid consideration to the top of the present, you’d discover that Lizzo’s track “About Rattling Time” was used as the top credit.
Curiously sufficient, the sixty fifth Annual Grammy Awards have been stuffed with so many firsts and milestone-breaking moments that ultimately, it’s about rattling time that these artists get the popularity they deserve.
Black artists and their affect on the music scene
Let’s first speak about one other occasion that occurred concurrently with the Grammys — the fiftieth anniversary of hip-hop as a style. Previous to the musical medley, the Grammys introduced its first new award of the 12 months titled, the Dr. Dre World Impression Award. This award acknowledges artists and music producers who made an affect on hip-hop and uplifted black music tradition. Whereas it’s straightforward to chuckle at the truth that Dr. Dre received an award that’s named after himself, music followers want to recollect the affect and affect he’s delivered to the scene.
50-year anniversary of hip-hop efficiency on the #GRAMMYs by a few of the greats together with RunDMC, LL Cool J, Salt N Peppa, Ice T, Queen Latifah, Wu-Tang, Huge Boi, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, Nelly, Too Quick, GloRilla, The Roots, and extra… pic.twitter.com/HmGB0bvGZX
— Leon Carrington (@LeonCarrington) February 6, 2023
Then comes the hip-hop medley, the place music followers have been reminded of fantastic rap music, carried out by Black artists. A lot of the songs that have been carried out within the medley are ones which might be deemed classics, particularly to informal listeners of music.
When hip-hop and first discovered its footing within the music scene, critics are likely to have one thing detrimental to say as a result of they have been telling their tales by way of artwork. And it’s nonetheless taking place to today, with artists like Lil Nas X, who was criticized by conservatives after he launched music that overtly expressed his sexuality.
This 12 months’s Grammys reminded us that rap and hip-hop artists performed a task within the music trade that we all know and like to today, and it shouldn’t be forgotten.
Beyoncé’s milestones and her affect on youthful musicians
Lizzo’s Grammy acceptance speech was partially devoted to Beyoncé . She believed that the singer modified her life and that she wouldn’t be right here on stage, accepting the award if it wasn’t for her. She then described Beyoncé as “the artist of our lives,” how she skipped faculty simply to see her reside, and the way her music impressed her to write down her personal, simply so she may give again the emotions she felt when she listens to her.
We are actually in an period the place youthful musicians who grew up with these big names within the trade are actually standing alongside them on account of their affect. And Beyoncé has left a huge effect, not solely on Lizzo, however on different artists who aspire to be like her. Not solely is she nominated and profitable Grammys every time she produces new songs, she’s now the latest report holder after totaling 32 awards.
Sadly, the Grammys may have began one other first, giving Beyoncé Album of the 12 months after being nominated for the class 4 occasions (5 if you happen to embrace her contributions to Girl Gaga’s The Fame Monster). If she received that class, that makes her the primary lady of coloration artist to win the class because the 90s. However sadly, that wasn’t the case.
LGBTQ+ Recognition within the music trade
Subsequent enters Kim Petras and her first Grammy win with Sam Smith. It was actually good to see Smith give this chance for Petras to make it her second as she is now the primary transgender lady to win a Grammy for Greatest Pop Duo/Group Efficiency. She poured her coronary heart out throughout her acceptance speech, thanking each the LGBTQ+ group and the Recording Academy for paving the way in which to this very second.
We hardly ever hear queer artists have a say throughout awards reveals except it’s native or smaller occasions. The final identified trans particular person to be nominated for a Grammy was again in 2019. Jackie Shane is a trans soul singer that was nominated for Greatest Historic Album. Sadly, she misplaced that 12 months to Oscar Levant, however it confirmed that the Grammys is taking steps to acknowledge queer artists, even when it’s taking its candy time.
Having Petras win is just not solely an enormous deal for her. It’s additionally to different queer artists who aspire to grow to be musicians, proving to them that there’s room for them as effectively. Fingers crossed that she’d be nominated as soon as once more for her solo work.
Music that evokes social change
In the course of the 2022 Grammy Awards, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky gave a speech about how music is the alternative of the lethal silence of battle. And this 12 months was the beginning of a brand new Grammy class referred to as Greatest Track for Social Change, introduced by the First Girl, Jill Biden.
This award was devoted to musicians and artists whose songs performed a task in present social points and injustices on this planet. The primary recipient who obtained was Shervin Hajipour, an Iranian musician whose track turned the unofficial anthem for the 2022 Iranian protest for Mahsa Amini.
What’s nice about this award is that the Grammys is now not shying away or staying silent on the subject of present world points. It’s prefer it took Zelensky’s message to coronary heart and needed to unfold the message of different artists who’re documenting and telling tales of their nation’s injustices by way of music.
Musicians are lastly being acknowledged for his or her works and the way it performs a task in selling peace and preventing for change in a rustic whose chief restricts fundamental human rights. And hopefully, this continues in future Grammy occasions.
The 2023 Grammy Awards sparked a variety of first on this 12 months’s occasion. Musicians from completely different backgrounds are being acknowledged for his or her expertise. And sure, this 12 months isn’t good, particularly on account of how “tone deaf” Harry Types’ Album of the 12 months speech went. However there are child steps being taken to acknowledge different musicians and alter the way in which we view the music trade as a complete.
Ultimately, it’s about rattling time that the Grammys is now not about white musicians patting themselves on the again. Let’s acknowledge different proficient musicians from completely different backgrounds, who are actually making an affect on this ever-growing music scene.