Each year, the Emmy Awards recognize excellence in the television industry, the Grammy Awards recognize greatness in music, the Tony Awards recognize the best on Broadway and the Oscars goes to creatives who have mastered the art of film.

Earlier this month, multi-talented artist John Legend became the first black man to win at least one of each of these awards, achieving the heralded “EGOT” status. Response to his win was tremendous, with fans and celebrities alike reaching out to share their congratulations on social media.

While some black milestones came earlier than others — such as Sidney Poitier’s 1964 Academy Award win for Best Actor for his role in “Lilies of the Field” — instances like Kendrick Lamar winning a Pulitzer Prize for his album “DAMN.,” Marvel’s “Black Panther” breaking box office records and Legend becoming an “EGOT” show that black “firsts” continue to be made today.

Talia Trackim | Senior Design Editor

Milestones often symbolize a larger cultural shift and are usually met with praise and approval. But the presence of contemporary “firsts” are a testament to a basic truth: While poised as an authority, traditional award institutions have systematically failed to acknowledge comparable excellence in black artistic forms.

Outkast’s “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” was the first true-rap album to win Album of the Year in 2004. Since then, no rap albums have claimed the top honor — not “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” not “To Pimp a Butterfly” and not “Channel Orange.”

While awards are undeniable accolades, voices have long challenged the true validity and lasting impact of these awards.

In 1989, the Grammy Awards created an inaugural category for Hip Hop Song of the Year. Nominees included” Parents Just Don’t Understand” (DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince), “Push It” (Salt-N-Pepa), “Supersonic” (J.J. Fad) and “Going Back to Cali” (LL Cool J). Ultimately, each artist who was nominated boycotted the event when the Grammy organization refused to televise the ceremony.

In 2014, Macklemore beat rising superstar Kendrick Lamar in categories including Best New Artist and Rap Album of the Year. The decision was met with massive backlash, serving as another example of the institution being out of touch and overlooking black artists. Macklemore himself acknowledged the injustice, later texting Lamar, “You got robbed, I wanted you to win. You should have.”

With a long process that includes the legal filing of an application, a mysterious vetting process and exclusive prerequisites to become a voter in the first place, the award process often

disenfranchises artists without much machine or industry savvy. The disenfranchised artists tend to be young, female and/or people of color.

Despite these obstacles, some think this systematic ignorance may be coming to an end.

In 2017, the hip hop and rap music industry accounted for more than $10 billion in worldwide revenue. The ten highest paid rappers cumulatively made more than $400 million dollars, compared to $304 million for the top country artists and $260 million for top electronic dance music DJs.

There’s a correlation between monetary value and recognition. The recent trend of black artists winning mainstream awards and getting widespread attention correlates with their industries making more money than ever before.

This symmetry, paired with complicit fans, belies the fundamental problem with award shows. Despite the clear personal biases, political motives and financial incentives that go into award decisions, many people continue to see these awards as the ultimate validation. Ultimately, these awards have little intrinsic meaning — music should be valued by how it touches hearts, instead of the number of hearts it touches.

Validation after the fact is not any good. Mainstream awards have done little to help aid, advance or evolve black musical forms. As 21-time Grammy Award winner Jay-Z put it: “Bob Marley is going to be Bob Marley, whether he’s nominated for a Grammy or not. Tupac is going to be Tupac, Biggie is going to be Biggie.”

While Legend’s “EGOT” is an important and impressive accomplishment, the true value of his work comes from the effect it has on his fans. The satisfaction people feel when witnessing milestones is one of the biggest combatants to pleas made for equal recognition for all black artists. That said, it is imperative that fans see this award not only as a milestone, but as a stepping stone in creating more change.

Jalen Nash is a junior political science major. His music column appears weekly in Pulp. You can email him at janash@syr.edu or follow him on Twitter @ja_nash3.

Published on September 25, 2018 at 10:14 am