At the 63rd Grammy Award ceremony in February 2021, the word "urban" will no longer exist in the various categories. The term was banned by those responsible from the vocabulary of the most important music award ceremony after continuing criticism by black artists. As reported by "Variety", the Grammy Awards are responding to an open letter from the Black Music Coalition to leading music companies to exchange the term "Urban Music" with "Black Music". "I am pleased to announce our latest changes as we continue to develop our award process and ensure that the award is comprehensive and that we reflect the current situation in the music industry," said Grammys CEO Harvey Mason Jr., the industry portal.
Musicians with criticism of the prevailing conditions
Only at the last Grammy Awards in 2020 was there sometimes violent criticism of the existing conditions. "I don't like the word 'urban' – for me it's just a politically correct way of saying the N-word," said Tyler, the creator, who won a Grammy for the best rap album. "It's annoying that they put us in a rap or urban category whenever we – and I mean guys who look like me – do something that is genre-bending." Pop superstar Billie Eilish (18) also said that an artist should not be categorized according to his clothing or appearance.
No episode of "Black Lives Matter"
However, the changes would not have anything to do directly with the "Black Lives Matter" movement and the ongoing protests in the United States on the subject. According to "Variety", the possible innovations were discussed last month. "The timeframe of our process is that the proposals will be submitted by March, discussed in May, and now we're going to talk publicly about it. So those are things that have been underway for six months," said CEO Mason Jr.