The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards aired March 14 on CBS. It started out innocent enough. Host Trevor Noah noted that the partially outdoor venue was the “biggest outdoor event besides the storming of the Capitol”, which, surprisingly, was about as political as the dyed in the wool lefty got. Black Lives Matter politics intruded a little more by some of the artists and an obscene musical performance brought applause from those in attendance.
The Song of the Year, “I Can’t Breathe”, went to the artist H.E.R. The song was inspired by the death of George Floyd. She credited her fear and pain for turning into change. She encouraged others to keep up the fight, “We are the change we wish to see and that fight that we had in us, the summer of 2020, keep that same energy.” Ah, yes, the Summer of Love that brought all those “peaceful protests”. The reality of BLM riots, destruction of property, and death and injuries to innocent people was not mentioned.
Female rappers Cardi B. and Megan Thee Stallion performed their song “WAP” the explicit lyrics of which are too nasty to describe here. Their obscene act wasn't much better. The women were dressed in scanty outfits, with the background dancers showing most of their butt cheeks. There was lots of twerking and graphically simulated sexual moves, including between the two women, to the titillation of the audience. It was more appropriate for a paid cable network than CBS.
Turning to the woke portion of the program, Harvey Mason Jr., the Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of The Recording Academy, lectured about elevating marginalized voices in creative communities.
Mason: Music requires listening. You hear the vocals. The drums. The rhythm guitar. You listen more closely and you will hear so much more. Listen to a singer-songwriter trying to make their way to the big city, a kid, listen hope, and heartbreak. To late nights in the studio to months on the road, the silent uncertainty the next day. Listen to the voices of your generation, those that came before you, and those who are next. Listen to the signature sound of a great producer, the backup singers who sing along whose names you may never know. Listen to love. To dedication put into every song, every album. To the years of hard work that go into every overnight success. Listen to the work life's work of people who dedicate their lives to this work. The Recording Academy's job isn't just to hand out awards, it is to listen to the mug music and to hear the voices of all those who make it. And we are listening like never before. We hear the cries for diversity, the pleas for representation and demands for transparency. I first joined the Academy 20 years ago so I could vote for myself. But what I quickly found, what led me to become a trustee and now chair of the board is that the Recording Academy is so much more than awards, more than individual artists or even who is chair. Tonight I'm here to ask the entire music community to join in, work with us, not against us, as we build a new recording academy that we can all be proud of. One that will continue to do the work and serve everyone in the industry. And we might not get it right 100 percent of the time and we certainly won't be able to make everybody happy but we will provide support in times of need. We will preserve music and educate the next generation. We will advocate for the rights of all creators to make sure they can continue to earn a fair living making music. And we will stand up for what is right and fight for greater diversity and more equal representation.
Soon after, a graphic appeared at a commercial break reiterating the condemnation of "all forms of racism, sexism, violence, anti-Semitism and hate:"
That's funny, considering rapper Lil Baby performed an anti-cop song, complete with the inclusion of a rant from anti-Semitic BLM activist Tamika Mallory.
Now that there is a new president in office, the partisan political rants during award shows are less frequent. But the virtue-signaling from our betters in the entertainment industry has not stopped. It is rewarded with shiny trophies.
