Tyler, the Creator won his first Grammy tonight β but when he hit the press room after accepting the award for Best Rap Album with Igor, he wasn't completely in celebration mode.
After taking the stage alongside his mom and delivering a moving speech about how he "never felt fully accepted in rap" and thanking his fans and Pharrell Williams for "opening up doors," Tyler addressed some issues with the Recording Academy.
tylerβs speech π₯Ί #GRAMMYs
When asked about the "recent news about the voting process" and "whether or not that's affected how he looks at his win," Tyler got candid.
"I'm half and half on it," he said. "On one side I'm very grateful that what I made could just be acknowledged in a world like this."
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"But also it sucks that whenever we β and I mean guys that look like me β do anything that's genre-bending or that's anything they always put it in a rap or urban category."
"I don't like that 'urban' word β it's just a politically correct way to say the n-word to me."
"So when I hear that, I'm just like, why can't we be in pop? Half of me feels like the rap nomination was just a backhanded compliment."
Tyler, The Creator calls out the #Grammys on their racism when it comes to music genres
"Like, my little cousin wants to play the game. Let's give him the unplugged controller so he can shut up and feel good about it β that's what it felt like a bit. But another part of me is very grateful that the art that I made could be acknowledged on a level like this when I don't do the radio stuff. I'm not played in Target. I'm in a whole different world than what a lot of people here listen to."
People on Twitter were quick to point out how right Tyler is.
@itsOddFuture I knew he was gonna drag them when he got the chance! They put Flowerboy in the rap category & that was not a rap album. The Grammys and the music industry in general like categorizing black artists in only 2 genres! Black musicians created rock, country, dance, House, Jazz & etc
@itsOddFuture Beautiful analogy with the controller!
@fromKellytoMe @itsOddFuture Pop means popular. However, they tend to only place black artists in βurbanβ categories when black artists are more than that. Black musicians created rock, country, dance and etc and they are never in those categories.
Props to Tyler for speaking up in the wake of his win.
