The GRAMMYs may be the most esteemed music award ceremony in our culture, but the decisions of the past decade have revealed that the institution is largely irrelevant. Black artists systematically lose to white artists across the board and we just saw Adele win three major awards that even Adele herself believed Beyoncé and her album Lemonade deserved. It’s an upsetting problem in the music industry, and after some soul-searching, I’m choosing to blame it entirely on Taylor Swift.
You see, it’s important to understand that Adele herself isn’t at fault for winning Album of the Year; it’s the fault of the music industry machine that supports well intentioned white mediocrity over real talent. But most of all, it’s Taylor Swift, who is a monster and needs to be held accountable for this.
Most people would say that the exclusion of black artists from major categories and the tendency to erase rap and hip-hop awards from the main broadcast is the fault of the industry. But Taylor Swift does make up most of the industry, and I’m willing to bet that she’s somehow involved in all of this. Sure, she wasn’t even there last night, but who’s to say that she wasn’t just whispering in the ears of voters, reminding them to vote for Adele because she would totally do something shitty like that?
Again, this has nothing to do with Adele. Adele is perfect, but the industry she’s forced to work in is broken beyond repair and so is Taylor Swift.
Sure, Taylor Swift didn’t physically cast the votes, but that doesn’t mean I’m letting her off the hook for this egregious error. Remember last year when Nicki Minaj criticized the MTV Video Music Awards for celebrating white artists who actively coopted black culture? Taylor Swift thought it was a slight against her and personally called Minaj out. That sort of self-victimization in the face of much-needed criticism was hugely disappointing—and the fact that the industry listened to Swift instead of Minaj is something I’m just gonna go ahead and blame on T. Swift. Bad girl!
The music industry’s discomfort with the black musician’s power and influence is undeniable. They’re resistant to change, and no longer reflect what is popular or impressive in the world of music. And if Taylor Swift would send like, one tweet about all this, it probably would have helped a little bit. Or at least that is what I am choosing to believe as I put 100% of the blame squarely on Swift’s narrow shoulders. Enough is enough!
Adele was right to praise Lemonade and speak to how powerful and innovative an album it was, as well as its impact on black women worldwide. Now I’m just waiting for Taylor Swift to do what she never will do—which is take full responsibility for all the racist behavior of the music industry and then retire. I think we can all agree that it’s about time we blame a woman for this!
