Drake- Grammys Pigeon-Holed Him As Black Artist
Rashidat Akashat with agency report
Versatile singer, rapper and 2016 best selling artiste, Drake, has vehemently rejected his latest Grammy awards, accusing the organizers of streamlining him as a rapper because he is black.
Drake was awarded Best Rap Song and Best Rap/ Sung Performance for “Hotline Bling” at the February 12, 2017 Grammy awards, aired irritation at the slide of his “One Dance,” song. which was acknowledged as the most streamed song was not passed for nominations.
Drake who rarely grants interviews said on his weekend show on Apple’s Beats 1 radio that for the Grammy’s,
“I’m a black artist, I’m apparently a rapper, even though ‘Hotline Bling’ is not a rap song,”
“The only category that they can manage to fit me in is in a rap category, maybe because I’ve rapped in the past or because I’m black,” he said in the form of an interview with Britain’s DJ Semtex.
Drake said his mega hits were “pop songs — but I never get any credit for that.”
“I want to be like Michael Jackson; I want to be like artists that I looked up to,” he said.
“I won two awards but I don’t even want them because it feels weird to me,” said Drake, who did not attend the Grammys event in Los Angeles, in part because he was touring Europe.
Drake In Contention For Grammy’s Album Of The Year
Drake was also in contention for the most prestigious Album of the Year Grammy for “Views.”
The award went to white English ballad singer Adele’s blockbuster “25” and not the other favorite, black artist Beyonce’s edgy “Lemonade.” It was the third time Beyonce was nominated and passed over for the prize, renewing charges in some circles that the awards have a racial bias.
Drake, who is of mixed ancestry and also is Jewish, voiced pride in being raised in the “cultural mosaic” of Toronto and said he never felt like an outsider until spending time in the United States.
“The first time I really experienced it was when I got famous and went to America,” he said.
“People would challenge me, like I don’t understand how it works, or like, ‘You’re Canadian, you’ll never understand the black American struggle.'”
Drake has rarely been political but recently made headlines when he staunchly attacked US President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policies from a London stage.
