R&B singer Victoria Monét shared why she didn't perform at the MTV Video Music Awards, and her fans (including myself) were upset.
So, the MTV VMAs took place on Sept. 12 in Newark, NJ, and everyone was in attendance, from Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez to a brief reunion of NSYNC, if you can believe it.
Recently, Victoria's latest single, "On My Mama," went viral and brought new attention to the singer, who is anything but a newcomer to the game.
While the 30-year-old singer's Jaguar II album could be considered her debut, it's far from her first project. In 2014, Victoria released the EP Nightmares & Lullabies: Act 1, followed by Act 2 in 2015. In 2018, she released Life After Love, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2. Finally, she released her debut album's predecessor Jaguar in 2020.
And the "Coastin" singer's credits don't stop there. Victoria is a songwriter with an impressive background, writing for artists like BLACKPINK, Chloe X Halle, Fifth Harmony, T.I., Chris Brown, and Ariana Grande.
Victoria's work with Ariana includes songs like "Honeymoon Avenue," "Alright," "34+35," and the Grammy-nominated hits "Thank U, Next" and "7 Rings."
After the ongoing support, Victoria explained why she didn't perform, which didn't sit well with the fans, or me, for good reason.
"I'm grateful for YOU for my tour starting this Friday and for the ability to see some of my favorite people perform tonight and receive the love they so deserve!!! For me, it's part of the story…and in God's time."
The fans were not pleased to hear her team was told it's "too early" in her story, many taking the opportunity to call out the hypocrisy of the awards show's alleged decision.
30-year-old Kelsea Ballerini released her debut album, The First Time, in 2014.
In 2014, 24-year-old Sabrina Carpenter released her debut EP, Can't Blame a Girl for Trying, followed by her full-length album, Eyes Wide Open.
20-year-old Olivia Rodrigo only released her first single, "Drivers License," in 2020 and her debut album, Sour, in 2021.
23-year-old rapper Kaliii performed at the VMAs after gaining popularity from a song on TikTok, and the release of her debut mixtape This Why They Mad Now in 2021.
And, 23-year-old Reneé Rapp just released her debut EP Everything to Everyone in 2022, and her full-length album Snow Angel this year — so it's fair to say Victoria's talented peers are "early" in their stories as well when it comes to music.
I think Victoria didn't get to perform with these other women because of the lack of inclusion. Based on the VMA shows over the years, there's a particular narrative MTV is trying to convey, and it doesn't include soulful rhythm and blues music (save Beyoncé). Instead, it's saturated with overtly sexual and provocative performances from women of color.
For years, music genres like rap, hip-hop, and R&B have been separated from the mainstream categories of pop despite their popularity based solely on the fact that it was deemed "urban music."
This moniker was used to segregate American music created by Black artists because it was believed it wouldn't be received in the same regard as music by white artists. Internationally successful artists like Beyoncé, The Weeknd, Lizzo, and Rihanna have all been pigeonholed into this category.
It wasn't until 2020, when Tyler, the Creator called out the Grammys for this "urban" categorization, that these problematic origins were finally addressed.
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"It sucks that whenever we – and I mean guys that look like me – do anything that's genre-bending...they always put it in a 'rap' or 'urban' category," Tyler told the reporters at the Grammys. "I don't like that 'urban' word. To me, it's just a politically correct way to say the N-word. Why can't we just be in pop?"
While awards shows like the Grammys, Billboard, and the American Music Awards attempted to rectify the problems by including more R&B artists on the main stage, MTV has relied solely on Black Entertainment Television (BET) to pick up the slack.
I asked the question: if we're working to move away from problematic classifications of "urban" music being labeled unsuitable for the general population, what is the distinction between Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift versus H.E.R. and Jazmine Sullivan? Why can't Black music be represented beyond the rap genre at the VMAs?
And if somebody leaped to the excuse of the VMAs only allowing the top artists to perform, I didn't see Morgan Wallen or Zach Bryan on that stage. I believe Victoria's exclusion wasn't personal. It's a reflection of a narrative long overdue for change.
If awards shows are intended to celebrate all genres of music, let's include everybody you might only see on networks like BET.
Then maybe R&B artists like Victoria can have a chance to be on the stage regardless of how "early" or "urban" her journey may appear.
