Artist News: "The 2014 Grammy’s: Open Letter from @IndiaArie" (India.Arie)

India.Arie is no stranger to a Grammy shutout having been shutout at the 2002 GRAMMY Awards where she was nominated for seven awards including all four of the major awards (Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist). Just like Kendrick Lamar who was robbed during this past Sunday's telecast of the 2014 GRAMMY Awards, India.Arie understands the feeling that he was inevitably going through throughout and after the ceremony finished at the Staples Center.

With that said, she penned an open letter on her Tumblr a few days ago and while Kendrick's shutout is still a hot topic of discussion, I thought it would be appropriate to read over her thoughtful words below.

@Kendricklamar WAS robbed, BUT he was not the only one who was robbed. Personally, I was pleased he was able to perform and they KILLED! IT! One of the FEW moving moments of the night for ME. 

Though it’s called “Music industries biggest night” the #Grammys are NOT about the music, it’s a popularity contest. The voting process allows people, to vote on name recognition alone - the music industry politics is a whole NUTHER conversation. Too much to go into here. 

The American Music Awards is a show that awards sales and popularity - the #Grammys are SAID to be about the music. 

If the hip hop community voted on hip hop - r&b COMMUNITY the same - same for each category - we’d see winners that reflect the MUSIC ITSELF. We all know that’s just not the way it goes.

NOW the BIGGER losers, are ALL of black music. Where was the black music community represented in last nights #Grammy show? Performers and Winners (or not) … Where were the black artists? 

And this isn’t the first time the #Grammy’s has had a show all but excluding young black America and black artists in general, although we set the worlds musical trends. Why NOT televise the lifetime achievement awards of the Isley Brothers? SURELY they deserved to be on televised stage LAST NIGHT! While other artists were on stage TWICE? 

The truth is in a perfect world diversity would matter, and respect would be rampant, but the TRUTH is, The #Grammys is a television show, and in THAT world ratings reign supreme. So, in general, bigger names take the stage, and sadly the biggest names often times ARE BIGGER drawn along racial lines from the release of an album. i.e. marketing dollars, and just general support. It’s unfortunate. 

I don’t even get surprised any more, but, it still hits my sense of fairness, because I KNOW many of the artists who are overlooked. I LIVE in that world. We keep showing up and subjecting ourselves to the game, hoping MAYBE we’ll win. I was so HAPPY to see @Kendricklamar take that stage - because it is a FORM of winning, at LEAST, he was SEEN. 

Speaking of diversity, congratulations to my PERSONAL favorite albums of the year - @I_GregoryPorter #LiquidSpirit @Realsnarkypuppy and @lalahhathaway on your win and THANK YOU! @pharrell for acting RIGHT in the presence of the greatness that is @Nilerodgers and #StevieWonder 

Love to all #SoulBirdsWorldWide
@IndiaArie 

P.S. No mention of Nelson Mandela at ALL? … and THIS is why we NEED the Image Awards AND the BET awards.

While I India ends on an uplifting note about why we need the NAACP Image Awards and the BET Awards, I hope that she and other artists will push for these award shows to be better than they have been in the past. I for one am still shocked at the nominations of Robin Thicke (song about rape and litigation over cultural appropriation with the Gaye estate) and Justin Timberlake to an extent in the NAACP Image Awards ranks in music and can't believe that this show still refuses to consider rap music in its musical categories.