Sufjan Stevens on the Grammys: “Friendly reminder: Don’t be racist”

February 14, 2017

Sufjan Stevens is among the many artists criticizing the Grammys for not awarding Beyonce’s Lemonade as Album of the Year, instead opting for Adele’s 25. In a post on his website entitled “Friendly reminder: Don’t be racist,” Stevens takes the awards show to task for awarding Beyonce with the “Best Contemporary Urban Album.”

Q: WTF is “Urban Contemporary”?

A: It’s where the white man puts the incomparable pregnant black woman because he is so threatened by her talent, power, persuasion and potential.

St. Vincent also chimed in (as have Frank Ocean and The Disco Biscuits’ Marc Brownstein) on Twitter agreeing with Stevens as the backlash for the Grammys’ Album of the Year choice continues. 

As Consequence of Sound points out, only 10 black artists have won Album of the Year in the award’s 59-year history. Over the last few years, the Grammys have come under fire for controversial picks like Taylor Swift’s 2016 award over Kendrick Lamar’s landmark To Pimp a Butterfly as well as Beck’s Morning Phase winning over Beyonce’s self-titled effort.