Well, it wouldn't be a Grammys nominations announcement without a few overlooked artists and unfortunately Nicki Minaj was snubbed by the 2016 Grammys when the nominees were announced on Monday. That's not to say she didn't garner any nods — Minaj was nominated for Best Rap Album (The Pinkprint), Best Rap Performance ("Truffle Butter"), and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration ("Only"), but she wasn't nominated in any of the major categories. This is the same thing that frustrated the singer during the VMAs, when she felt she was overlooked for the big categories because she wasn't a "different 'kind' of artist."
As far as the Grammys go, the artists that are up for the biggies (Album of the Year, Record of the Year, Song of the Year) aren't particularly notably diverse. True, artists like D'Angelo, The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, and Kendrick Lamar all received nods. But, it is worth noting that the only woman of color to garner a nomination was Brittany Howard, the lead singer of Alabama Shakes, whose band scored an Album of the Year nod. Out of 15 possible nomination slots in those top categories, one isn't exactly a great number.
Minaj has yet to respond to the Grammys nominations, but I'll be interested to see what she has to say about getting pegged as a rap artist only instead of a general one, and about the lack of diversity for women in the leading categories: Particularly women of color. If this is what she had to say about the VMAs, I don't doubt that she'll be equally upset with who the Grammys decided to honor.
And, she definitely won't be afraid to speak out about it.
Image: giphy
