GRAMMY WTF: R&B

We've heard much about how Grammy’s shutout of The Weeknd and its nonsensical choices in several black-music categories demonstrate the institution's profound disconnection from the heartbeat of the culture. Consider also important industry voices like Quality Control, LVRN and Wassim “Sal” Slaiby and how radically they’ve been disrespected by Grammy Central. Now they, along with Drake and other crucial players, are part of the GrammyNoMore club.

The R&B Album category further illustrated Grammy’s ramble through Topsy-Turvyland, as an all-male slate showed a complete disregard for the women of R&B, who dominated the genre over the past year. The genre field entirely kept out trailblazers like Summer Walker (whose brilliant work was considered a lock for top-tier and genre love) as well as acclaimed work by Kehlani, Teyana Taylor and Brandy. The AOTY and Progressive R&B noms for Jhené Aiko (whose Chilombo set has done 1.1m+ to date) were commendable, but they also underscore how ridiculous the other exclusions from R&B Album were, with so many influential women snubbed.

Walker's complete absence is mystifying. In addition to having been an odds-on favorite for a BNA nom, she is one of a handful of artists who have helped redefine R&B. Her album Over It has logged 1.9m in activity. She's a true genre leader and one of the stellar success stories of the year.

This shit makes no sense.