Kanye West shafted in Grammy nods

Last week’s issue of The Cord had a piece discussing the nominees for this year’s Grammy Awards. I commend the authors for pointing out that the Grammys are controversial and also indicating who they think “should win” versus who “will win.” I only wish they had gone further with this.

At the end of the day, only Album of the Year really matters—everything else are just booby prizes. I find it depressing that no one mentioned the notable absence of Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy on the list of nominees. When it comes down to it, who actually made the biggest impact on the music industry in 2011? Forget Album of the Year, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is one of the best albums of the last decade. A look on Metacritic can confirm that for you.

What really gets me is that the Grammys have once again regressed in their credibility. Weren’t we all pleased when Arcade Fire won the grand prize last year? It felt like the Grammys were finally about the music and not sales and popularity. Don’t get me wrong, Adele’s talent is undeniable and she made an amazing album. But when Kanye West releases his career album and it fails to even get nominated, something about it just feels wrong.