It was an exciting year for Black women in music, who were at the forefront of the 66th annual Grammy Awards at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, which was hosted by Trevor Noah. The nominations came out on Nov. 10 of 2023, with categories including “Best New Artist,” “Song of the Year,” and “Album of the Year.”
This year, Black women shone in their light at the Grammys, standing out across a multitude of categories. Victoria Monét received her long-awaited flowers, winning in the “Best New Artist” category - after being in the music industry for fifteen years.
“This award was a 15-year pursuit,” referenced Monét.
Monét’s backstory is one to be admired, and one she referenced in her acceptance speech which you can find here. Victoria’s manager, Rachelle Jean-Louis, actually took a chance and left her former label position to come be by her side as her manager.
“There was a binder that I made to take this really important meeting at a label, and I thought I was going to be signed and I was an independent artist with no team, and I just thought, ‘Maybe my music would stand for itself.’ But that binder left collecting dust in her office and a label, and Rachelle found that binder and she decided to take a chance, leave that label and be my manager. So thank you so much for seeing me,” finished Monét.
Coco Jones had previously thought the industry had abandoned her, after a ‘career stall’ she referenced in the aftermath of her breakout role in Disney’s “Let It Shine,” until her second chance came around in the form of her viral track “ICU.” Jones is now signed to Def Jam Recordings and is set to release her official debut album later this year.
SZA ended up being the 2024 Grammys’ most-nominated artist. She was nominated for nine, and took home three awards in the following categories: “R&B Song,” “Pop Duo/Group Performance,” and “Urban Contemporary Album.”
Ice Spice was nominated for four awards in the following categories: “New Artist,” “Pop Duo/Group Performance,” “Rap Song,” and “Song Written for Visual Media.”
Notably, Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter gave a speech as he accepted his Lifetime Achievement Award, and he brought up important topics related to the categories, and to the winners.
During his speech, he highlighted Beyonce, referring to the fact that she is the most decorated Grammy winner in history, but has never won Album of The Year.
“Obviously, it’s subjective because, you know, it’s music and it’s opinion-based,” he said,”I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won Album of The Year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that. The most Grammys; [and she] never won album of the year, that doesn’t work,” he said.
“We love y’all. We want y’all to get it right, at least get it close to right,” he said.
It’s important to note that although this evening was an incredible and long-awaited spotlight moment for Black women, there were also a couple moments and winners that could have received more recognition, as some awards were given out before the broadcast even began.
Some awards handed out before the live broadcast: Coco Jones took home her first Grammy for Best R&B Performance for her song ICU, Former First Lady Michelle Obama won her second Grammy award for Best Audiobook, narration and Storytelling Album for The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times, Meshell Ndegecello’s The Omnicord Real Book for Best Alternative Jazz album. Best Jazz Performance was given to Samara Joy for Tight, and Allison Russell’s Eve Was Black won for Best American Roots Performance. The Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to the iconic Clark Sisters.