Sean Combs calls out Record Academy for 'never respecting black music at the Grammys'
January 26, 2020
Hip-hop biggie Sean “Diddy” Combs stirred up a storm at Clive Davis’s annual pre-Grammy gala with his moving speech that dropped major truth bombs about the discrimination rampant in the Grammy Awards.
During his 45-minute long speech, the rapper took a jibe at the Grammys for not being diverse enough while also sending a direct threat to the Record Academy – that administer the award show – to tackle the issues.
“The last few days I’ve been conflicted. I'm being honored by the industry that I love, the family that I love, but there’s an elephant in the room, and it's not just about the Grammys. There’s discrimination and injustice everywhere all the time,” he said.
“But there's something I need to say to the Grammys. … I say this with love to the Grammys, because you really need to know this. Every year, y’all be killing us, man. I'm talking about the pain. I'm speaking for all the artists here, producers, executives. The amount of time that it takes to make these records, to pour your heart out into it — and you just want an even playing field. In the great words of Erykah Badu: ‘We are artists, and we are sensitive about our [expletive]’ We are passionate. For most of us, this is all we got. This is our only hope,” he continued.
“Truth be told, hip-hop has never been respected by the Grammys. Black music has never been respected by the Grammys — to the point that it should be. So right now with this current [Dugan] situation, it’s not a revelation; this thing’s been going on. And it’s not just going on in music; it’s going on in films, it’s going on in sports, it’s going on around the world,” he went on.
“And for years, we have allowed institutions that have never had our best interests at heart to judge us. And that stops right now. I’m officially starting the clock. You’ve got 365 days to get this [expletive] together,” he added.
The powerful monologue was followed by standing ovation from A-listers including Jay-Z, Berry Gordy, John Legend, Wiz Khalifa, Cardi B, Smokey Robinson, Usher, Nancy Pelosi, Janet Jackson and many others.
