I don’t take most award shows or presentations seriously at all. The only creditable award ceremony in my book is the Academy Awards for film and even that is shaky. I know the Grammy’s are coming up and many are excited. Some real talented artists like Mos Def are up for awards and that’s encouraging for many in the hip hop realm. But in the same token, a lot of music is overlooked and not publicized. Sure, a lot of the nominees are off of taste but I feel sometimes music is so complex and hard to really narrow down a Best Album of the Year award.
By next week, I’ll provide a list of hip hop albums I just couldn’t get enough of in 2009. But in the meantime, I’d like to explore the concept of best album of the year. In my mind, it’s really tough to make such a call. You have many factors like instrumentation, replay value, quality lyrics, album concepts and many others. To just give one person all the credit (which the Grammy’s supposedly does) is kind of extreme. Many musicians do grand jobs on putting together a spectacular project. Of course, the whole hurdle of politics comes into play when selecting potential winners. But such a task is even difficult in itself.
Do we really need to crown a great musician for the year? Can’t we just leave the public to decide whose great or not? Makes me think about when I was a teenager and everyone would argue who’s the greatest emcee. Biggie? Jay-Z? Nas? The debate would last for hours with no resolution. But it made the music that much more interesting because everyone became the self-proclaimed “King of New York” let alone “King of Hip Hop.” This is all stuff that separates rap music from the rest of the music industry and I like that. For such a long time, rap music was the black sheep. Of course, people want recoginition for their hard work but in this music genre, fans should decide for themselves what’s up. It’s what keeps things interesting and the debate of G.O.A.T going.
Also, I know the amount of money that’s involved in these awards. I’m also aware of how much publicity each artist gains from this. But will it really make you want to buy someone’s album? Stick to your guns and be firm about your opinions when it comes to “best of the year.” Don’t let crappy award shows hosted by Jimmy Fallon force you to like something. I’d rather listen to opinions then so called “facts” provided by the Grammy’s.
