Why Beyoncé's Loss at the 2017 Grammys Matters

If you've been anywhere on the internet following last night's annual Grammy award ceremony, you will probably have heard the discourse around the Album of the Year award. 
Out of the nominees, it was assumed that the main contenders for the award were Adele's 25, and Beyoncé with Lemonade. Many people(myself included) predicted Beyoncé as the winner of the award, due to Lemonade's critical and fan acclaim, artful depiction of the (black) female experience - from pain and heartbreak, to redemption and empowerment. However, the Grammy electorate chose to give the award to 25, making it Adele's second time receiving the honour, and yet again snubbing Beyoncé of the award she rightfully deserved.  But despite being it just being the wrong choice, Beyoncé being snubbed for this award goes deeper than the Grammy's. It says something about black art and its value in society. 

Objectively, Adele's 25 is a good album. Adele herself is a wonderful woman with a beautiful voice and songwriting talent that has managed to affect so many. No one is denying this. However, 25 was not the Album of the Year. 25 wasn't even the best Adele album - 21, which was released in 2o11 and won AOTY  at the 2012 Grammys, was a much more cohesive body of work. 25 rode the coattails of 21's success, and while it is a great album (maybe worthy of its AOTY nomination), it did not achieve the same as Beyoncé's Lemonade.  Lemonade maybe didn't sell as many copies as 25, but what it did, and what Beyoncé has continuously done, demonstrates true artistry. Beyoncé managed to redefine what an album is in this decade, selling both Lemonade and her Self titled album back in 2013,with (little to) no promotion, on the basis of her name and proven talent, in a digital age where albums are placed second to singles and EP's. To accompany this, every song on the album had it's own music video, making the album a visual experience. This accomplishment went unrewarded in 2015, where Beyoncé (Self - Titled) lost out to Beck's Morning Phase - an album and artist that was virtually unknown by the majority. Maybe this album was brilliant (I've never listened to it ), but as an album, did not have the same influence or impact that Self Titled did.  
History repeated itself this year, where the album that was masterfully written and performed, told a story of heartbreak, redemption & black female empowerment through it's music and visuals, changed the musical landscape and dominated conversation immediately following and months after its release, lost out to the album that was well written and performed, but ultimately did not achieve anything on the same level. 

It's this fact - the mediocrity of white artists being heralded over the excellence of black artists, that has sparked outrage. For years, the Grammys and other awards shows like it have thrived off of black artists providing the entertainment whilst the white artists collect the awards. For many more years, the music industry has thrived off of black artists providing the music and creativity, whilst white artists take the music, put a palatable face to it, and marketise it until it loses it's original value. This isn't an active, conscious act - but the ignorance and dismissive attitude towards it stings a little more. Adele's music takes heavy inspiration from black music, the jazz influences on her first album to the soul inspired songs on 21 and 25. She has stated that she taught herself how to sing by listening to black female artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James and Roberta Flack . It's the imitation of these artists that makes Adele and others like her so popular, a white girl singing soul music is unexpected, and is used as a selling point. And yes, it's clear that Adele acknowledges and respects the black music and artists that have inspired her, but the fact that she can win countless awards for replicating soul and jazz, whilst Beyoncé and other Black artists are revolutionising genres, sends a clear message. It's the same message that was sent when Taylor Swift's 1989 won AOTY over Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly , when Nicki Minaj's Anaconda music video failed to be nominated for the Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards. The Anaconda music video created a conversation - whether or not people liked it, they were discussing it, and yet it didn't even receive a nomination. 1989 was a well written and well produced pop album, and one of the better albums in Taylor Swift's discography  but it didn't have the same impact or relevance as To Pimp A Butterfly - an album that covered issues of police brutality, racism, and mental health, whilst exploring a multitude of genres. 25 is a great album and Adele is a great performer,but Beyoncé ,who has produced albums that have set the standard for other artists to follow, who has defined a period of music or a time in society with her music, who has produced Lemonade - an album that both visually and musically encapsulates the experience of heartbreak, of redemption, of women, of black women, of black people - deserved to be recognised. 

Beyoncé's loss at the Grammy's this year again sends a message to black creatives, artists, musicians, children, teenagers etc. that says that they have to be excellent, just to be considered against a white person's mediocrity. Even when they outshine their peers, even when the work they produce is innovative or revolutionary - if a white peer can successfully imitate them,they will reap the benefits of a black artists hard work.