The Grammys wasn’t here for Kanye West‘s series of Instagram rants. In fact, they’re worried about it, especially his ongoing feud with Trevor Noah.
So, the Recording Academy took matters into its own hands and axed Ye’s performance for the 2022 64th Annual Grammy Awards.
According to one of Yeezy’s reps, the Grammys dropped the news via a phone call, pulling Ye’s performance because of his “concerning online behavior” — Ye’s 24-hour IG suspension for hate speech, harassment, and bullying for wasn’t much help for the case either.
Ye’s pre-suspension fallout with talk show host Trevor Noah played a significant factor in the Grammys’ major decision as Noah is indeed the 2022 Grammys host.
Despite Noah hoping to squash things and even laugh about it later down the road, the Grammys wasn’t all that comfortable about the men coming face-to-face at the ceremony.
But, do you really think Ye cares that he can’t perform at the Grammys?
Kanye West, who currently has five 2022 Grammy nominations, has been on an anti-Grammy campaign for years now. I think he made his stance crystal clear (or golden) when he posted a video on Twitter urinating on his Grammy award in 2020.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not dismissing Kanye West’s unwarranted bullying of Pete Davidson and unnecessary jabs at Billie Eilish and Kid Cudi, but let’s be honest: the Grammys is no longer “that girl” of award shows.
Following Macklemore’s 2014 win for Best Rap Album over Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Ye, and Drake, musicians stepped up to call out the Grammys on its racially-biased nominations and erasure of Black music excellence.
The Weeknd called the award ceremony “corrupt” in 2020 and made a vow in 2021 to never associate with the Grammys again.
The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) November 25, 2020
In 2022, Drake pushed away his Grammys’ plate, withdrawing his nominations for Best Rap Album and Best Rap Performance.
So sure, Kanye West has a right to shrug his shoulders at the Grammys, especially when it snubs Black artists. But, it doesn’t excuse his uncomfortable social media actions as of late.
It’s doubtful the Grammys concerns over Ye’s IG outbursts will change the rapper’s piss-imistic feelings. It could even add fuel to this Grammy fire and next set of air-outs.
