Zahra Gordon

This part of Steve Stoute’s letter is where I really started shaking my head: “how is it that Justin Beiber, an artist that defines what it means to be a modern artist, did not win Best New Artist?” In his New York Times full page ad, where he takes the NARAS to task for not being “in touch” with pop culture, Stoute slams the Grammys for understanding the “imapct”  and “cultural relevance” of people like Justin Bieber and Kanye West enough to use his name in the billing to boost ratings, but not enough to give them awards. I’ll start with a positive response; the woman who won Best New Artist, Esperanza Spalding, is good (with a black American emphasis hinting that good is a gross understatement to her talent and artistry). 

Stoute is saying that the Grammys uses “hip-hop” artistes only to boost ratings while they are “snubbed” award wise. The thing is, isn’t that what (mainstream) “hip-hop” has become? The “people” behind the Grammys understand that these artistes are products created to make money. So they use them for advertising and to boost ratings. Just saying. Congratulations to Ms. Spalding!