“As an institution that celebrates artistic works of musicians, singers, songwriters, producers and technical specialists, we have come to expect that the Grammys upholds all of the values that reflect the very best in music that is born from our culture. Unfortunately, the awards show has become a series of hypocrisies and contradictions, leaving me to question why any contemporary popular artist would even participate. How is it possible that in 2001 The Marshall Mathers LP—an album by Eminem that ushered in the Bob Dylan of our time—was beaten out by Steely Dan (no disrespect) for Album Of The Year? While we cannot solely utilize album sales as the barometer, this was certainly not the case. Not only is Eminem the best-selling artist of the last decade, but The Marshall Mathers LP was a critical and commercial success that sold over 10 million albums in the United States (19 million worldwide), while Steely Dan sold less than 10% of that amount and came and went as quietly as a church mouse. Or consider even that in 2008 at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, after going into the night as the most-nominated artist, Kanye West’s Graduation was beaten out for Album Of The Year by Herbie Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters. (This was the first time in 43 years that a jazz album won this category.) While there is no doubt in my mind of the artistic talents of Steely Dan or Herbie Hancock, we must acknowledge the massive cultural impact of Eminem and Kanye West and how their music is shaping, influencing and defining the voice of a generation. It is this same cultural impact that acknowledged the commercial and critical success of Michael Jackson’s Thriller in 1984.”

“So while these very artists that the public acknowledges as being worthy of their money and fandom are snubbed year after year at the Grammys, the awards show has absolutely no qualms in inviting these same artists to perform. At first I thought that you were not paying attention to the fact that the mental complexion of the world is becoming tanned, that multiculturalism and poly-ethnicity are driving new meaning as to what is culturally relevant. Interesting that the Grammys understands cultural relevance when it comes to using Eminem’s, Kanye West’s or Justin Bieber’s name in the billing to ensure viewership and to deliver the all-too-important ratings for its advertisers.

“What truly inspired the writing of this letter was that this most recent show fed my suspicions. As the show was coming to a close and just prior to presenting the award for Album Of The Year, the band Arcade Fire performed “Month of May”—only to… surprise… win the category and, in a moment of sheer coincidence, happened to be prepared to perform “Ready to Start.”

“Does the Grammys intentionally use artists for their celebrity, popularity and cultural appeal when they already know the winners and then program a show against this expectation? Meanwhile the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences hides behind the “peer” voting system to escape culpability for not even rethinking its approach.

“And I imagine that next year there will be another televised super-close-up of an astonished front-runner as they come to the realization before a national audience… that he or she was used.

“You are being called to task at this very moment, NARAS.

“And to all of the artists that attend the Grammys: Stop accepting the invitation to be the upset of the year and demand that this body upholds its mission for advocacy and support of artistry as culture evolves.

“Demand that they change this system and truly reflect and truly acknowledge your art.”

At the end of the day, you’re always going to have your haters. We need the haters. There was actually a representative at PayPal who basically didn’t really confirm or deny it, but also [said] that they’re very happy and proud of the success of Lil’ Kim. I think numbers in other areas speak for themselves. I mean, why aren’t they questioning the Black Friday being at 2.5 [million views] in less than 18 hours? Why aren’t they questioning that? What’s the difference? How can you add up one thing and not the other? I just feel like people pick and choose the area that they want to attack [laughs].

Nicki Minaj laughed off your sales claims. Did you see that?
I heard about it. I didn’t see it actually for myself, but to be honest with you, homegirl is basically obsolete to me right now. She’s doing a lot of lame stuff. She’s so lame to me right now—she’s always been, but now really. At the end of the day, her sales can be questioned also. Not to say she didn’t have the build-up, but the only thing you kept hearing before her album dropped was nobody liked it, it was wack. Don’t get me wrong, she might have a couple songs that are OK, but who cares. The haters will be haters, that’s their job, and we need them.

Really? Obsolete? Is this why you made her the focal point of your mixtape cover? Or why you rapping about her over her beats?