There is another sector of society where blacks will feel the pinch as the Grammys will eliminate three major musical categories that they usually compete for in 2012.
Before you storm the Recording Academy’s headquarters in a quest for racial redress, the world’s most prestigious musical awards program will drop 30 categories overall next year. As part of the biggest overhaul in the Grammy’s 53-year history, male and female R&B artists will now compete head-to-head instead of having their own fields. Also, rap solo artists will also go up against rap duos and groups, and the category for traditional gospel has been eliminated altogether.
Recording Academy President and CEO Neil Portnow attempts to rationalize the comprehensive Grammy facelift.
“It ups the game in terms of what it takes to receive a Grammy and preserves the great esteem of which it’s held in the creative community, which is the most important element,” Neil Portnow, Recording Academy president and CEO, said in a telephone interview, according to the Miami Herald.
The biggest change will come in the number of categories, down from 109 to 78. Awards will no longer be given in such categories as rap performance by a duo or group; some of the instrumental categories in pop, rock and country; traditional gospel; children’s spoken-word album; Zydeco or Cajun music album; and best classical crossover album.
Portnow said the changes will make the awards process more rigorous.
“That’s appropriate. We are talking about the most prestigious, coveted award and it should be a high bar in terms of the measurement of receiving that,” he said.
Separate male and female vocal categories in fields like pop, R&B and country are among those being dropped. Men and women will now compete in each overall field. That is already the case in the field of rock, which does not have male and female vocal categories.
“A great singer is a great singer is a great singer, and somebody who has a gift in terms of their voice, and is at the top of their game in terms of their delivery and emotion, really isn’t necessarily defined by gender,” Portnow said.
–terry shropshire
