Following Kanye West’s removal as a performer for this year’s Grammy Awards ceremony, J Prince has called upon the rapper to team up with other hip-hop artists for a competing event.
Over the weekend, it was revealed that West, known as Ye, was no longer one of the performers at the Grammys, following his “concerning online behavior.” That was reportedly due to his use of a slur towards The Daily Show host Trevor Noah on Instagram last week.
J Prince, the founder of the Rap-A-Lot record label, has since proposed that West, along with Nicki Minaj, Drake, and others, could unite for an all-star concert protesting the Recording Academy’s poor treatment of the hip-hop genre over the years.
J Prince proposes Hip Hop vs. the Grammys concert
Music executive and producer J Prince helped organize the Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert with Kanye West featuring Drake this past December and now wants to put together another statement-making concert.
Earlier this week, he let people know that enough was enough with the Grammy Awards and their treatment of the hip-hop genre, following Kanye West’s removal from the lineup of performers.
He shared a video on his official Instagram, discussing how he believes hip-hop artists can make a statement against the ceremony’s treatment towards the genre for over three decades.
“I’ve been watching the Grammys dictate and control our culture to their benefit up close and personal for the past 30 years that I’ve been in the music business,” he says in his audio.
He mentions that artists, managers, and executives only complain about things, but they’ve never come together and done something about it.
“Even though the latest episode has to do with Trevor Noah and the canceling of Kanye, this racist act is so much bigger than them,” Prince says.
Prince explains how “cancel” and “legal slavery punishment” are “real” and still exist today, adding that the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, except as punishment.
He said those in control of both the Grammys and prison system in the United States are using a similar mentality against Black people.
“This is a slave master punish a n***** mentality and act to remind us no matter how much money we have, we are still n*****s in their eyes,” Prince says in the video.
“So they canceled Kanye and discriminated against Drake, The Weeknd, Nicki Minaj, and many others over the years. This will only be broken by us uniting our powers to bring about change moving forward.”
Prince indicated a way they can start to create change, recommending that the artists he mentioned and others come together for a concert in Las Vegas.
He suggested the event would take place at the same time as the Grammys, but on a “special network and streaming platform to prove that ratings will change.”
“The powers that be will be mad at me about this one, but f**k em! I love the culture. The seed has been planted. Let’s water it,” Prince says.
Kanye West can still attend Grammys, accept awards
While Kanye West has been removed as a Grammys performer, he’s still up for five awards at this year’s show, most of which are for his 2021 album Donda or songs from it.
He’s among nominees for Album of the Year with Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, H.E.R., Jon Batiste, Justin Bieber, Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, and the duo of Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga.
West’s Donda is also nominated as Best Rap Album against The Off-Season by J. Cole, King’s Disease II by Nas, and Call Me If You Get Lost by Tyler, the Creator.
In addition, West’s Hurricane featuring Lil Baby and The Weeknd is nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance, and his song Jail featuring Jay-Z is up for Best Rap Song.
According to a Variety report, sources said West can still walk the red carpet and is allowed to accept any awards he wins. That includes those given out during the live-streamed Premiere ceremony before the main show and any he wins that are presented during the televised ceremony.
Variety said that a rep for Drake denied rumors that he was planning an anti-Grammys event with Kanye West, while a rep for West didn’t respond to their requests for comments on the matter.
The 64th Annual Grammy Awards take place on Sunday, April 3, 2022, beginning at 8/7c on CBS.