The countdown is on for “music’s biggest night,” a.k.a. the 64th annual Grammys.
Taking place the first weekend in April, music stars from all over will be planning their outfits and potentially prepping their voices for the special occasion. One music exec who may not be, however, is J. Prince, the founder of Rap-A-Lot Records, who recently called for a boycott of sorts from some of hip-hop’s biggest artists in response to the Grammys’ recent decision to ban Kanye West from performing at this year’s ceremony.
“Hip-hop vs. the Grammys. I’ve been watching the Grammys control and dictate our culture to their benefit up close and personal for the past 30 years that I’ve been in the music business,” the music mogul began in a post on social media. “And all the artists, managers, and executives would do is complain. But never have the nuts to come together and do anything about it. Even though the latest episode deals with Trevor Noah and the canceling of Kanye, this racist act is so much bigger than them. Let’s just start with the mindset of the words “counsel” and “cancel” where the Grammys is concerned and compare them to rehabilitation and legal slavery where the penitentiary is concerned. If we begin with counsel and rehabilitation in the Grammys or the penitentiary, the truth is that they really don’t exist. They’re just fancy lies.”
He continued:
But on the other hand, if we look at the words cancel and legal slavery punishment: those words are true, real and exist today. For example, for those of you that never took the time to read the 13th amendment, it clearly says that slavery was abolished except for use as punishment for a crime you’ve been convicted of. So therefore, according to the 13th amendment of the Constitution, everyone in the prison system and those that are out of prison that have been convicted of a crime are considered slaves of the United States and it’s jurisdiction in 2022. Not only did they make slavery lawful by an amendment, they then created the laws by which people would be enslaved. They did that shit back then and they are still doing it today. This background is important to know because of the mentality of those that control both the Grammys and the prison system in the U.S. This is a ‘slave master punish a niggah mentality and act’ to remind us that no matter how much money we have—we are still niggahs in their eyes.
He concluded, “So they canceled Kanye, discriminated against Drake, The Weeknd, Nicki Minaj and many others over the years. This will only be broken by us uniting our powers to bring about change moving forward. How do we bring about change? I’m glad you all asked! I recommend that the artists that I’ve mentioned above and more come together in Las Vegas and perform at the same time as the Grammys on a special network and streaming platform to prove that ratings will change where the Grammys are concerned when the #1 selling genre in the music—hip-hop—comes together. Because there’s power in numbers. The powers that be will be mad at me about this one but FUCK EM! I love the culture! The seed is planted, let’s water it!”
Now, of course, whether Yeezy, Drizzy, Nicki and The Weeknd actually decide to move forward with J. Prince’s suggestions remains to be seen. But seeing as how the influential music icon was able to help Ye and Drake squash their beef and perform together for a free benefit concert just last year, I wouldn’t be too surprised if this concert ends up happening after all. I will say this though: I find it really interesting that the calls for divestment are coming now after all these years. But better late than never, I suppose?
The 64th annual Grammys, hosted by Trevor Noah, airs live at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.