Sean “Diddy” Combs” has taken the Grammy’s to task for its woeful diversity record and under-appreciation of hip hop.
The remarks came during Diddy’s 40-minute speech at the Recording Academy’s Gala on the eve of this year’s Grammys.
“Truth be told, hip-hop has never been respected by the Grammys,” he said while accepting the Salute to Industry Icons Award. “Black music has never been respected by the Grammys to the point that it should be.”
Diddy said he was conflicted to accept the award in the first place, despite regarding many of his music industry colleagues as family. But he made clear he was speaking from a place of love.
He prefaced his remarks by pointing out that issues of injustice and discrimination went much deeper than the Grammys. “It’s not just going on in music. It’s going on in film, going on in sports and going on around the world,” he said.
But Diddy wasn’t about to back down. “You’ve got 365 days to get this shit together,” he said. “We need the artists to take back control, we need transparency, we need diversity.
“For years we’ve allowed institutions that have never had our best interests at heart to judge us. And that stops right now.”
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Watch: Diddy Demands More Respect For Black Music
Diddy pointed out that the Recording Academy is a a non-profit organisation. The Academy’s founding statement includes a commitment to protect the welfare of the music community. “I’m standing here today not to just bash you all because as I said, you’re a non-profit organisation. We just need to get it right. And I’m here for the artists,” said Diddy.
Diddy’s speech concluded with a shout-out to a number of glaring omissions from Grammy awards history. “I want to dedicate this award to Michael Jackson for Off the Wall, Prince for 1999, Beyoncé for Lemonade, Missy Elliott for The Real World, Snoop Dogg for Doggystyle, Kanye West for Graduation and Nas for Illmatic.”
