Music
Nicki Minaj Is Still Mad About The ‘White Man Bon Iver’ Taking Her Best New Artist Grammy
Getty Image While some debated this year’s batch, Mrs. Petty re-aired old grievances. …
With the Recording Academy releasing its nominees for the 2021 Grammy Awards today, the reactions have been flying thick and fast on Twitter about the respective merits of the nominees, the mysterious absence of The Weeknd, and the most egregious snubs. However, rather than addressing this year’s batch of nominees, one person used the opportunity to revive an old grievance against the Academy. Nicki Minaj reminded her fans that she was once nominated for Best New Artist in 2012, but lost to Bon Iver.
“Never forget the Grammys didn’t give me my best new artist award when I had 7 songs simultaneously charting on billboard & bigger first week than any female rapper in the last decade- went on to inspire a generation,” she wrote. “They gave it to the white man Bon Iver.” As usual, there’s a point to her pettiness — pun intended. The Grammys have long had a history of overlooking and underrating accomplished artists in traditionally Black genres like rap and R&B — especially women, who have rarely won albums of the year in either category and are even more seldom even nominated for general categories like Album Of The Year.
Never forget the Grammys didn’t give me my best new artist award when I had 7 songs simultaneously charting on billboard & bigger first week than any female rapper in the last decade- went on to inspire a generation. They gave it to the white man Bon Iver. #PinkFriday
— Mrs. Petty (@NICKIMINAJ) November 24, 2020
In fact, this year, there are no women nominated in the Rap category at all and only Jhene Aiko and Chloe X Halle are nominated in the new spinoff R&B category, Best Progressive R&B. Also, remember the year they gave Best Rap Album to Macklemore despite Kendrick Lamar being nominated for Good Kid, MAAD City?
So this time, we have to side with Nicki. Incidentally, though, the Academy does have the chance to clean up that eight-year-old mistake; this year’s Best New Artist category includes Chika, the breakout Alabama rapper who starred on Netflix’s Project Power and collaborated with Stevie Wonder, Doja Cat, the compelling R&B/hip-hop hybrid who racked up a No. 1 with Nicki earlier this year, and Megan Thee Stallion, who garnered two No. 1s with Beyonce and Cardi B, competing against a field that includes D Smoke, Ingrid Andress, Kaytranada, Noah Cyrus, and Phoebe Bridgers.
Artist Spotlight
“Days Like These” sees Matt Law turn college memories into a powerful rock anthem
Matt Law’s new single “Days Like These” is a breath of fresh air. The track is centered on the energy of summer memories, college friendships, and the thrill of making music with people who really believe in the moment, and it feels like a snapshot of youth at full volume.
Built on a rock foundation of melody and momentum, “Days Like These” is an uplifting rush from start to finish. The single, recorded with fellow students and collaborators at Riverside Music College, captures the excitement of a band finding its sound as it happens.
Matt Law displays himself as an artist with a good instinct for atmosphere and emotional connection. This song’s lively personality is boosted by drummer Taylor Whyte, bassist Alex Duncan, rhythm guitarist Kian Carrol, and lead guitarist Morgan Flanagan.
“Days Like These” is memorable for its ability to get at a universal feeling. It’s about those moments of freedom, uncertainty, and excitement that mark the early years of adulthood, and it still sounds fresh enough to resonate with people well beyond that. Matt Law’s effort is the first shot in the career of an artist who knows how to turn memories into anthems, giving us one perfect for open roads, late nights, and unforgettable summers.
Album Review
Mary Knoblock’s “Peach” album is a tender journey through love, loss, and rebirth
Mary Knoblock’s new album, “Peach,” is a deeply emotional and cinematic world of sound, blending Americana folk, neo-classical dream pop, and storytelling into something intimate. The album is nine songs and just under forty-six minutes, with the feeling of a performance where every scene holds tenderness, heartbreak, longing, and quiet transformation.
“Peach” is inspired by the idea of emotional rebirth and welcomes you with warmth and honesty. Each track is a tender clutch of textures, poetic emotion, and experimental beauty. Her voice and compositions are finely tuned for a strength that makes every moment intimate and alive.
“Mustang Clover” is a free, contemplative track, while “Metal Neon Sky” is a luminous, mysterious, and desirable emotional landscape. The title track, “Peach,” is warm, tender, and exposed, and in a deeply heartfelt way, captures the emotional heart of the album. “Mother’s Eyes” is a piece of emotional depth and memory, and one of the most intimate moments of the project. The album continues with the quiet emotional weight of lead single “I Knew You,” graceful and restrained, balancing love and loss.
“Of The Alpine” evokes a drifting, cinematic sense of lonely isolation that is beautiful and lonely. “Maybe Tomorrow” is a lively, ambiguous song, while “Peach – Blue Grass” is a reimagination of the emotional heart of the album from a more rootsy perspective. “Mustang Clover – Deluxe” continues the reflective spirit of the opening track and adds emotional texture. “Peach” reveals Mary Knoblock as an artist not afraid to expose truth through sound, emotion, and imagination.
Connect with Mary Knoblock on Website | Facebook | X | Spotify | Instagram | TikTok |
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