Jan 26, 2020

Diddy blasts the Grammys: "Hip-hop has never been respected"

Axios

Diddy accepts he 2020 Industry Icon award last night: Photo: Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP

Ahead of Sunday's Grammy Awards, Sean "Diddy" Combs called out the show for dissing rap and R&B stars, in a blazing speech that got a standing ovation from Beyoncé, Jay-Z and others, AP reports.

What they're saying: At the end of his 50-minute speech last night at Clive Davis' white-hot pre-Grammys gala, Combs said: "So I say this with love to the Grammys, because you really need to know this: Every year, y'all be killing us, man."

  • "Truth be told, hip-hop has never been respected by the Grammys. Black music has never been respected by the Grammys to the point that it should be."

The context: Over the years, the awards show has been criticized when Beyoncé, Kanye West, Eminem, Mariah Carey and others lose in major categories.

  • The rap and R&B stars often fall short of their pop, rock and country counterparts.
  • And the voting process was called into question last week after the academy's just-ousted CEO, Deborah Dugan, claimed that the awards are rigged and filled with conflicts of interest.

Go deeper: On-demand video rental services get awards season boost

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