NEW YORK: The Grammys — often derided as a tone-deaf music industry love-fest — will take on new relevance this year, as hip-hop artists for the first time are leading the pack.
But after a tumultuous 2017 marked by racial strife and a nationwide reckoning about sexual harassment, the Grammys also must face up to a glaring hole — only one woman is in contention in the two most closely watched categories.
Rap mogul Jay-Z leads the nominations for the music industry’s biggest night, which is taking place Sunday in New York — the first time in 15 years that the ceremony is back in the Big Apple.
For the first time, no white male has been nominated for the top prize of Album of the Year with Jay-Z’s “4:44” up against works by fellow rappers Kendrick Lamar and Childish Gambino, funk revivalist Bruno Mars and the only woman, New Zealand pop prodigy Lorde.
The awards come after several years in which the Recording Academy, the group of 13,000 music professionals, has been accused of snubbing hip-hop.
Only two rap albums have won Album of the Year and one of the most acclaimed young figures in hip-hop, Frank Ocean, has gone so far as to refuse to submit work for Grammy consideration.
This year’s shift may partially show structural reforms at the Recording Academy, which switched to online voting — meaning that itinerant artists, not just industry veterans checking their home mailboxes, have a voice.
But the nominations also reflect a year in which racial divisions have come into stark focus in America with the election of President Donald Trump.
Jay-Z and Lamar have both delved extensively into race relations. Rap also dominates the second most-watched category of Record of the Year, which recognizes best song, with other nominees including Spanish-language viral hit “Despacito.”
Pop culture has always provided distraction and in some ways has echoed what’s going on in the world,” said Akil Houston, an associate professor of cultural and media states at Ohio University.
But Houston also said that hip-hop — initially a rebellious, outsider movement — has become more intertwined with broader US culture with its presence in fashion, cinema and other musical genres.
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