Grammy boss says race not a problem

Adele wasn’t the only one who disagreed with the Recording Academy’s vote awarding her the album of the year Grammy over Beyoncé. Several artists and music writers have made the case for why they feel this should have been Bey’s year, given Lemonade’s cultural impact.

The New York Times went so far as to use the phrase #GrammysSoWhite to describe the lack of inclusion when it comes to the show’s top prize. Only 10 black artists have won album of the year.

But Neil Portnow, the president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, disagrees.

“No, I don’t think there’s a race problem at all,” he told Pitchfork. “Remember, this is a peer-voted award. So when we say the Grammys, it’s not a corporate entity, it’s the 14,000 members of the academy.

“They have to qualify in order to be members, which means they have to have recorded and released music, and so they are sort of the experts and the highest level of professionals in the industry.”

He also said the academy is “always working on increased diversity in membership.” He cited Chance the Rapper’s Best New Artist victory as a sign it’s on the right track.