Happy Black History Month! So far in 2024, January and February held some pretty big cultural moments. Viewers every year look forward to both the Grammy Awards and the Super Bowl, excitedly predicting who will win the huge awards for each respective event. Both events receive crazy amounts of media buzz for various reasons — the nail-biting final seconds of the football game where the Kansas City Chiefs came back to win the championship, the Super Bowl LVIII commercials that featured everyone from Michael Cera to Ice Spice, and, perhaps most shockingly, Beyoncé announcing the unexpected but highly anticipated surprise release of her new album. Y’all, Renaissance: Act II is coming! AND WE’RE GOING COUNTRY!
Whether it’s in athletics or music, events such as these bring people together to celebrate the best in the business. However, they also serve as stark reminders of those who have been intentionally left out and/or excluded of such events in the past, and the ways these massive award shows often continue to leave their talents unrecognized. Keeping this in mind as we look back on the Grammy’s, there were some major moments for Black women in music that deserve to not only be celebrated, but to have their praises sung from every rooftop in town. Let’s reflect on three of the most exciting, surprising, and anticipated moments from music’s biggest night in 2024:
Three words: Tracy. Chapman. Returns. To everyone’s surprise, the ‘Fast Car’ singer joined Luke Combs onstage at the Grammys to sing a rendition of Chapman’s smash hit, duet-style. This was a totally unexpected entry into the Grammy performance lineup, and one that had everyone misty-eyed, unable to take their eyes off of this performance. I wasn’t even alive when this song was at its peak of success, but I grew up listening to ‘Fast Car’ in the car with my parents. I remember being totally in love with the line “I had a feeling that I belonged / I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone”. A few years later, I fell back in love with the song’s many acoustic renditions by various artists; its impact on artists and fans alike truly cannot be overstated. This performance was undoubtedly a standout and serves as a fantastic reminder of how the most impactful songs often find their power in emotionality.
In talking about the power of emotions in music, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention SZA’s huge Grammy wins! Besides being one of my FAVOURITE artists ever (SOS was undoubtedly my album of 2023), her incredible lyricism just goes unmatched. Between her flow, the way she flips the meaning of words in her rapping, her captivating voice, her brutal, unfiltered honesty in revealing her insecurities, and the space she’s created for female rappers and R&B artists, it’s no wonder that she’s been nominated 24 times. SOS had incredible range, checking every genre off from powerhouse ballads like ‘Nobody Gets Me’ to (in my humble opinion) the best R&B song in years, ‘Snooze’. And even better, I have no doubt that SZA is just getting started.
Finally, this year’s Super Bowl came with a very surprising and utterly amazing announcement: BEYONCÉ IS BACK, BABY!!! After her incredible dance-pop album Renaissance swept the charts and our hearts in 2023, the second instalment of the album is going to be country-inspired. Bey released two singles along with this announcement during a Super Bowl commercial and are a lovely sneakpeak into what’s to come on this next album. Beyoncé’s ability to shift genres and knock each one out of the park is unparalleled. She is the voice of a generation and, as Adele once put it, the artist of our lives. Because what can’t Beyoncé do?
These women have inspired countless people, young and old, to take up space, feel without shame, and be their authentic selves. There are so many amazing accomplishments and moments of joy to celebrate during Black History Month, and so many moments that show just how far our society still needs to go in centering Black art, music, and voices. Let’s continue to celebrate, uplift, learn, and listen this month and every month.