Do black people make music anymore? If so, you would never know it from watching the Grammy Awards last night. The Grammys were totally whitewashed.

Not a single black artist performed in the first half of the show. Nearly all the categories with black artists were excluded from the prime time show. Even best comedy album got a slot in the prime time show while best R/B album did not. And when Robin Williams won for best comedy album, he gave a two-minute monologue mocking black artists and black culture. Is the recording industry trying to diss black people? Do they want blacks to boycott the Grammys?

If you like Latin music, reggae music, Native American music, or just about any kind of music produced by non-whites, you had a slim chance of seeing a performance or even an award during the show last night. At 9:43 p.m., Queen Latifah introduced singer Kelly Rowland and rapper Nelly on stage for the first performance by black artists all night.

Immediately following Nelly and Kelly, Eve presented a Grammy to the Foo Fighters for best hard rock album. A half hour later, Ashanti performed at 10:15. She was the only other black solo performer during the show.

If you watched the show, you might never have known that Herbie Hancock, Mary J. Blige, Usher, Stevie Wonder, Take Six, Chaka Khan, India.Arie, Erykah Badu, Raphael Saadiq, Ashanti, B.B. King, Missy Elliott, Nelly, Outkast and the Blind Boys of Alabama won awards. Not a single black artist won an award during the first two hours of the prime time show.

The only black artists to win awards during prime time were Etta James and Johnny Mathis, each of whom won lifetime achievement awards but were not present to pick up their statues.

Although African Americans buy millions of dollars worth of music each year, African American viewers were slapped in the face by a Grammy show that largely ignored their impact. Similarly, black artists make hundreds of millions of dollars for the industry, but they were hardly represented in the performances.

The Grammys were definitely different from past years, but with an emphasis on performances instead of awards, the absence of people of color performing felt all the more inexcusable. Despite the rage about the Latin explosion a few years ago, there were no Latino performers Sunday night either.

Also gone was the glamour of Grammy days past. Although the producers did a great job of transforming Madison Square Garden into a functioning multifaceted stage, the hall itself lacked the elegance of previous locations. Coupled with a poorly conceived lineup, the award show was lifeless and dull, barely registering on the excitement meter and hardly comparable to electric Grammy shows of past years.

I'm glad the Grammys finally returned to New York City, but I'm disappointed with what the producers chose to show. Sadly, this was the least representative Grammy Awards show in years. At a time when music sales are slumping, the recording industry cannot afford to offend a large portion of its consumer base.

© Copyright 2003 by Keith Boykin.