When Musicians Threaten to Boycott the Grammies

Recently there's been a lot of discussion about the fact that Kanye West has said that he won't attend the Grammies if Frank Ocean doesn’t get a nomination.

The reaction appears split many support West for attempting to credit to Ocean, who has recently two very popular albums in 2016, but there have also been those critical of West for doing so.

However as it happens it might just be West trying to avoid having his suit ironed, because neither of Ocean’s albums were entered for the Grammies before the September 30th deadline.

In 1989 Will Smith, Flavor Flav, Salt n Pepa and other boycotted the grammies after the Best Rap Performance Award wasn't broadcast.

Many have suggested this was done by Ocean and his team consciously for reasons unknown, but despite this West ranted about how Ocean deserves a nomination at one of his gigs on the 22nd October.

It’s interesting when musicians try to use their power to force awards ceremonies, it almost never works and it doesn’t does anything. 

The reality is the Grammies are not critically respected by the vast majority of audiophiles, it is populist and the reality is people will watch it with or without such a prominent personality as Kanye West. 

West notably got on stage at the 2015 Grammies during Beck's acceptance of the Best Album of the Year award.

In the recent past there have been several attempts to boycott the Grammies.

In 2012 a coalition of artists, including Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt, Alison Krauss and many more threatened to boycott the Grammies after they announced they would be consolidating their award categories, losing a lot of non pop/rock awards.

There was 2008 when artists like The White Stripes, Jon Bon Jovi and Prince threatened to boycott the Grammies in support of the writer’s strike.

Neither of those two boycotts changed anything. 

West collaborator Jay-Z boycotted the ceremony back in 1999. Photo Michael Tran/Film Magic

Oh and Kanye West also claimed he’d boycottthis year’s (2016) Grammies if he didn’t win Album of the Year

He tweeted on the 15th February "I'm practicing my Grammy Speech. I'm not going to the Grammys unless they promise me the Album of the Year!!!”


So basically it appears to met that West is just trying to flex his musical power muscles, and a little tip to Yeezy, next time wait a whole 365 days before threatening to boycott the Grammies.

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