Watching the Grammy Awards this year, it became evident the Recording Academy is entirely disconnected from its audience and artists. After a year of tragic losses, I found myself frustrated with the Grammys’ In Memoriam segment.

While the honoring of such impactful names in the music industry like John Prine, Kenny Rogers and Little Richard was justified, I was struck by the Grammys’ preference for honoring established artists over young, innovative pioneers from marginalized groups.

The first example that comes to mind after the outrage on social media in response to this year’s In Memoriam segment is the “Queen of Tejano” music, Selena. The Grammy Awards honored Selena this year with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award, something that is no small feat. However, instead of paying tribute to her, they baited her fans with the promise of a greater In Memoriam feature in order to get more views, while Selena got nothing more than a picture on a screen. 

The Grammy Awards has a problematic history with the Latinx/Latine community in general. Just last year, the Grammy Awards disrespected them by misspelling Latin icon Camilo Sesto’s name as “Camile” in their In Memoriam segment. 

This year, it was saddening to see that Pop Smoke and SOPHIE only received a few seconds on the screen for the In Memoriam segment, given the impact their music had on the Black and LGBTQ+ communities. Their impact in music goes beyond their communities, as Pop Smoke was the face of Brooklyn drill and SOPHIE was one of the founders of the growing genre known as hyperpop. In a year where so many young Black people were murdered, Pop Smoke’s death devastated not only the New York community but the Black community more broadly. To see the Recording Academy undervalue Pop Smoke and SOPHIE’s contributions to music speaks to their disconnect from contemporary culture.

As a Brooklyn native, Pop Smoke was able to catapult himself to legendary status within a short period of time, maintaining a death grip on radio plays with the longest-running No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums Chart since 1990. Pop Smoke deserved more than a quick flash on the screen, especially since he was one of the most successful artists of 2020.

SOPHIE’s loss hit the LGBTQ+ community just as hard. The artist’s impressive oeuvre featured work with Madonna, Nicki Minaj, Vince Staples and other superstars. Not to mention, SOPHIE produced all of this work without ever presenting the artist’s identity to the public. The artist revealed SOPHIE’s face in 2018 when SOPHIE came out as a trans woman in the music video for the iconic song “It’s Okay To Cry.”

It is especially gut-wrenching to think of how the loss of SOPHIE as an influential trans woman in the industry who had such vast commercial and critically acclaimed success, devastated so many young queer kids who finally had someone to look up to, including me.

I have so many memories of driving to school late with my best friend, screaming SOPHIE-produced songs at the top of our lungs. I listened to SOPHIE’s music so often that when the artist died, it almost felt like I had lost a friend. For the artist’s influence as a producer and solo artist on rising genres like PC music and hyperpop, SOPHIE deserves to be revered at the same level as the pop icons who the artist worked behind. 

Like Pop Smoke, SOPHIE got nothing more than a trivial tribute from the Grammys. They deserved a remembrance that reflected their contributions to music. The Grammys’ uninspired tributes treat legendary young artists as forgettable, offering their memories just a few seconds of screen time and failing to recognize their monumental contributions to contemporary culture. 

The Grammy Awards could have cut out some of Trevor Noah’s monologue in order to properly honor such significant losses, especially during a year that has been witness to insurmountable loss around the world.

Even though the Grammys preached diversity last year, they continue to make the same mistakes when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community and communities of color. Just as the “In Memoriam” segment only gives fans a couple of seconds to remember posthumous artists, I will give them a couple of seconds before channel surfing to the next available show.   

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Mar. 22, 2021, e-print edition. Email Valentina Arrieta at [email protected].