Today, the Grammy board announced their nominations for ‘Best R&B Album’ and quite frankly the board got it completely wrong. Where are the WOMEN? Women are running R&B, yet not one was nominated.
First, let me start with a bit of information. Albums are only eligible for a Grammy if it was released between September 1, 2019 to August 31 2020, which disqualifies albums that I would definitely want nominated such as ‘I Used To Know Her’ by H.E.R which released August 30th 2019 and ‘-Ugh, those feels again’ by Snoh Aalegra which released August 16, 2019.
I do want to congratulate all of the artist other than John Legend for getting the nomination. All the above projects are actually very good however John’s album was a big skip!
Okay lets get into it!
Winning Best R&B Album of the year is more than just streaming numbers but more so what albums had the biggest impact throughout the timeframe stated above. I want to mention some albums that should be mentions despite not making the cut…
- PARTYNEXTDOOR ‘PARTYMOBILE’– The album was absolutely incredible; however, I believe I enjoyed the album a lot more than my R&B peers. I love the infusion of R&B and Dance Hall which is something PND always provides.
- Sabrina Claudio- ‘Truth Is’- Honestly if we did not find her old tweets, this album would be Grammy nominated. If you love R&B go listen to this album secretly. I know you do not want to get canceled.
3. Ant Clemons- ‘Happy 2 Be Here’- If you love R&B you probably already know how good this project is. Unfortunately, I would not put it in my top 5 to be nominated due to impact. I still believe Ant Clemons project has yet to be discovered by a lot of folks in the R&B community. Congratulations to him though!
4. Mahalia- ‘Love & Compromise’- I struggled because I had to take this album out of my top 5. Mahalia is not winning when it comes to impact, YET! Nonetheless, best believe the project is 10 out of 10.
5. Brandy ‘b7’- Brandy honestly had one of the best R&B albums of the year and no one is really speaking about it. Go listen to it and trust me you will not regret it.
NOMINATIONS
Giveon ‘Take Time’ – I will be honest, I am not a big fan of Giveon’s sound nor his music. However, his impact on the R&B world with his project ‘Take Time’ goes without question. All you need to take is his album success coupled with a feature on Drake’s latest project. You know Giveon has had a big year and is deserving of the Grammy nomination.
Brent Faiyaz ‘Fuck the World’- Brent has come along way from being “that guy on the song Crew”. Now becoming one of the biggest names in R&B. I really want to know who votes for the Grammys. I am not the biggest fan of Brent Faiyaz but his impact and reach is incredible. I have had conversations with many people who believe ‘Fuck the World’ is one of the better R&B projects of the past couple of years. Please do a recount and get this man a nomination.
The Weeknd ‘After Hours’- Okay, streaming is not everything but COME ON, we need to reward artists for building cult followings and backing up massive numbers with good music. ‘After Hours’ is not The Weeknd’s best album but he had massive songs on this project. Not to forget to mention, the project was good enough to get him a Super Bowl Halftime Show performance!
Jhene Aiko ‘Chilombo’- How was this album not nominated for Best R&B Album of the year? Does the Grammy board hate women? Chilombo was a hit! The album had big singles on it such as B.S, None of Your Concern, Triggered and P*$$Y Fairy. Rarely do you have a R&B act put together a complete album of Billboard singles and classic R&B music. The Grammy board is trippin’! Yes I am Triggered!
Summer Walker ‘Over it’- Yes girl, I too am OVER IT! My new agenda is that the Grammy board hates black women. Summer Walker’s album was perfection to say the least. Over it is one of the few R&B albums to go platinum during the Grammy Nomination period and the music was absolutely incredible. If I had a vote this would win Best R&B Album.
If you disagree with me make sure you let me know @DwaVocalz. Make sure you subscribe to my hit playlist, Lowkey R&B which can be found ONLY on Spotify!