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People disagree about whether Black artists should care about Grammys, Oscars or any other markers of success given by majority-White institutions. Either way, though Beyoncé’s achievements as a musician and businesswoman are obvious, she remains an symbol of White limits on Black female success.
I’ve written before about these limits on Beyoncé, about how though her music carries the aesthetics of liberation and capitalistic success, and despite her silence on big issues, she remained underlauded. Last year, a group of anonymous Grammy voters said that Beyoncé got passed over for album of the year because she wins too much, and when “she does something new, it’s a big event and everyone’s supposed to quake in their shoes — it’s a little too portentous.”
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Does this bother her? Apparently so, as she has mentioned how tough it is to be a Black woman in the industry. And yet Beyoncé is usually silent about specifics.
Other Black female celebrities have lately been vocal about their mistreatment by the entertainment industry. Actor Taraji P. Henson went public, breaking down in tears as she described being paid much less than their peers and offered less roles. Viola Davis has also talked about having similar career trajectories as Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Sigourney Weaver, but being paid a fraction of what they are paid.
So, the question is: will Beyoncé herself ever say — or do — anything about it? It’s probably time, no?
Certainly, her husband didn’t hesitate on Sunday. Nor did Kanye West, during that famous moment at the 2009 Video Music Awards when he interrupted Swift and stated that Beyoncé deserved the award for best video by a female artist instead. West was roundly criticized at the time, accused of stealing Swift’s moment. It would be understandable if Beyoncé personally doesn’t want any of that smoke — especially from Swift’s powerful, mostly White fanbase.
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Maybe part of Brand Beyoncé is staying silent and gracious, while other men speak onstage in her defense. I get it, I suppose. But I can’t help but think it would be far more powerful if Beyoncé herself called out the industry, or boycotted the Grammys, as other Black artists have done.
Jay-Z boycotted the Grammys for a long time over its treatment of hip-hop music. In 1989, after winning the first-ever rap Grammy, Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff decided to boycott the show when they learned that their acceptance wouldn’t be broadcast live. “They said there wasn’t enough time to televise all of the categories,” Jazzy Jeff told the media at the time. “They televised 16 categories and, from record sales, from the Billboard charts, from the overall public’s view, there’s no way you can tell me that out of 16 categories, that rap isn’t in the top 16.”
This year, rapper Meek Mill took to social media to express his disappointment in the Grammys. “Grammys is not the play!” he said in a tweet. Other artists have charged that the academy has both ignored and exploited hip-hop for 50 years.
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“Always stay gracious/Best revenge is your paper” is the last line from a Beyoncé song titled “Formation.” Which I think is a clear signal that says she has the ticket sales, the cultural firepower and the bank accounts that serve as revenge of sorts. But when part of your brand and success is based on being personally silent about systemic injustice, she’s between a rock and a glass ceiling. Is that a good place to be?
I don’t think so. I’d argue that the idea that Black women have to stay gracious in face of blatant industry snubs is out of style. Beyoncé — and Black women in general — should no longer have to be the strong and silent types to be successful.
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On Sunday night, while onstage at the Grammy Awards to accept the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, Jay-Z took shots at the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for overlooking Black artists — most notably his wife, Beyoncé.
“I don’t wanna embarrass this young lady,” he said, referring to Queen B, who sat nearby in the audience. “But she has more Grammys than anyone, but never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that: the most Grammys, never won album of the year.”
Jay-Z’s remarks are a reminder that despite a blockbuster album and a six-month-long, 56-stop world tour, Beyoncé once again did not receive album of the year. She has been overlooked eight times for record of the year, and four times for album of the year. On Sunday, Taylor Swift took home the best album honor for the fourth time.
Beyoncé’s latest snub is also a painful reminder that despite Black women’s huge influence in music and culture, no Black woman has won album of the year since Lauryn Hill in 1999. That’s 25 years.
People disagree about whether Black artists should care about Grammys, Oscars or any other markers of success given by majority-White institutions. Either way, though Beyoncé’s achievements as a musician and businesswoman are obvious, she remains an symbol of White limits on Black female success.
I’ve written before about these limits on Beyoncé, about how though her music carries the aesthetics of liberation and capitalistic success, and despite her silence on big issues, she remained underlauded. Last year, a group of anonymous Grammy voters said that Beyoncé got passed over for album of the year because she wins too much, and when “she does something new, it’s a big event and everyone’s supposed to quake in their shoes — it’s a little too portentous.”
Does this bother her? Apparently so, as she has mentioned how tough it is to be a Black woman in the industry. And yet Beyoncé is usually silent about specifics.
Other Black female celebrities have lately been vocal about their mistreatment by the entertainment industry. Actor Taraji P. Henson went public, breaking down in tears as she described being paid much less than their peers and offered less roles. Viola Davis has also talked about having similar career trajectories as Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore and Sigourney Weaver, but being paid a fraction of what they are paid.
So, the question is: will Beyoncé herself ever say — or do — anything about it? It’s probably time, no?
Certainly, her husband didn’t hesitate on Sunday. Nor did Kanye West, during that famous moment at the 2009 Video Music Awards when he interrupted Swift and stated that Beyoncé deserved the award for best video by a female artist instead. West was roundly criticized at the time, accused of stealing Swift’s moment. It would be understandable if Beyoncé personally doesn’t want any of that smoke — especially from Swift’s powerful, mostly White fanbase.
Maybe part of Brand Beyoncé is staying silent and gracious, while other men speak onstage in her defense. I get it, I suppose. But I can’t help but think it would be far more powerful if Beyoncé herself called out the industry, or boycotted the Grammys, as other Black artists have done.
Jay-Z boycotted the Grammys for a long time over its treatment of hip-hop music. In 1989, after winning the first-ever rap Grammy, Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff decided to boycott the show when they learned that their acceptance wouldn’t be broadcast live. “They said there wasn’t enough time to televise all of the categories,” Jazzy Jeff told the media at the time. “They televised 16 categories and, from record sales, from the Billboard charts, from the overall public’s view, there’s no way you can tell me that out of 16 categories, that rap isn’t in the top 16.”
This year, rapper Meek Mill took to social media to express his disappointment in the Grammys. “Grammys is not the play!” he said in a tweet. Other artists have charged that the academy has both ignored and exploited hip-hop for 50 years.
“Always stay gracious/Best revenge is your paper” is the last line from a Beyoncé song titled “Formation.” Which I think is a clear signal that says she has the ticket sales, the cultural firepower and the bank accounts that serve as revenge of sorts. But when part of your brand and success is based on being personally silent about systemic injustice, she’s between a rock and a glass ceiling. Is that a good place to be?
I don’t think so. I’d argue that the idea that Black women have to stay gracious in face of blatant industry snubs is out of style. Beyoncé — and Black women in general — should no longer have to be the strong and silent types to be successful.
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