We know D.C. Get our free newsletter to stay in the know.
The Grammy Awards just shed more than 30 categories, following a year in which it handed out 109 statues. And the requirements for a category to be awarded at all are now tougher. You can read all about it on the awards show’s site.
As a music consumer, I don’t find the Grammys especially relevant, and if they want to be more selective, that’s probably a good thing. But D.C. musicians probably aren’t cheering, and in fact, the slimmer slate of categories feels pretty unfriendly to independent, out-there artists. Some of the eliminated categories are ones in which members of the Recording Academy’s D.C. chapter have had a lot of success, a topic I reported on earlier this year. R&B artists appear to be especially affected.
For example: In the R&B field, the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category is gone. D.C. artists have been nominated in that category in each of the last four years. Unless they can go toe-to-toe with more mainstream, wide-appealing R&B singers, artists like Carolyn Malachi—-who makes music that’s pretty hard to categorize—-may be out of luck.
Also in the same field: Male, female, and group awards for R&B performance have been merged, which means the next time Raheem DeVaughn releases music, he’ll face a more crowded field.
Photo by Darrow Montgomery
This isn't a paywall.
We don't have one. Readers like you keep our work free for everyone to read. If you think that it's important to have high quality local reporting we hope you'll support our work with a monthly contribution.