It should have been Kendrick Lamar's year. In fact, it should have been his year at the 2013 and 2015 Grammys, when he was twice robbed of the Grammy for Album of the Year. He's lost more than half of the Grammys for which he's been nominated, and he has always lost the major awards for which he was nominated. While this year included a strong batch of nominees in the major awards—with Kendrick Lamar nominated alongside Childish Gambino, Lorde, and Jay-Z—the Grammys did what it does best and gave Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year to Bruno Mars. He's the safest option, the most profitable option, the most family-friendly option. He'll continue to be a profit powerhouse for the industry, but it remains that he has very little—if anything—to say.
Lamar didn't go home empty handed, as he won five Grammys: Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Album, Best Rap/Sung Performance, and Best Video. But those should have been consolation prizes for the big moment he's deserved his entire career. Lamar has even provided, multiple years in a row, some of the most powerful moments in this show's history—performing on a cop car in 2016 and his opening performance tonight at the 60th Grammys.
It's a baffling and bizarre snub, up there with his scandalous loss to Macklemore for Best Rap Album in 2013. While it's frustrating for fans, critics, and anyone who has seen how Lamar's music can fuel and inspire social movements, these awards are nothing to him. He'd be the first to say the awards don't matter—it's the message that matters. So maybe he didn't get the credit he's long deserved, but he did go on TV in front of millions of people and unleash cathartic anger.
As hard as the Grammys attempt to include Lamar's message—along with powerful moments from other artists tonight—the Recording Academy doesn't support these musicians with the actual awards. We don't need the Grammys, but we do need Kendrick Lamar's words.
