A Black woman hasn't won Grammy album of the year in 25 years. Can SZA make that change?

The Recording Academy and race became the subject of much debate in 2017 following Adele's victory over Beyoncé and three other nominees for the coveted Grammy for album of the year.

Many people had deemed Beyoncé to be the best because of her album "Lemonade." Even Adele, in her sad acceptance speech, expressed her belief that Bey should have won.

“The artiste of my life is Beyoncé, and this album to me, the ‘Lemonade’ album, was just so monumental,” Adele said.

The Bey Hive, Beyoncé’s hardcore fan base, agreed. Former Recording Academy President Neil Portnow addressed uproar at the time that racism was behind Adele winning.

“No, I don’t think there’s a race problem at all,” Portnow said in an interview with Pitchfork.

Try telling that to Black people.

Race conversations

The 2024 Grammy nominees for album of the year are sure to stir the conversation about race once again. While #GrammysSoWhite may not have caught fire the way #OscarsSoWhite did, there is still the perception that Black artistes, especially women, have a tougher time securing Grammy wins.

Which is why all eyes will be on the album of the year category in February given that three Black artistes are nominated, SZA, Janelle Monáe and Jon Batiste. It would be quite the feat if Batiste wins as he took home the album of the year Grammy in 2022 for “We Are,” making him the first Black artiste to win since Herbie Hancock in 2008 for “River: The Joni Letters,”

If SZA wins, she will become the first Black woman to triumph in the category since Lauryn Hill in 1999 for “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” Monáe would become the first Black and nonbinary artist ever to win the category. In the 66 years of Grammy ceremonies, Black performers have only won the event’s top prize 11 times.

In addition to Batiste, Hancock and Hill, Stevie Wonder won album of the year in 1974, 1975 and 1977; Michael Jaackson won in 1984; Lionel Richie in 1985; Quincy Jones in 1991; Natalie Cole in 1992; Whitney Houston in 1994; Outkast in 2004; and Ray Charles in 2005.

Neith SZA nor Monáe have shied away from their Blackness in their art or in interviews.

SZA, who has shared about sometimes being the only Black girl competing in gymnastics as a child, talked to Complex magazine in 2016 about the cultural influence of Black women.

“I feel good being a black woman; I’ve always felt good. But to be a black woman right now, it definitely feels like I have back up,” she said. “That’s a good feeling. I’ve never felt like that before.”

Monáe, too, stands strong in her identity.

"Hey, you're in this tuxedo, and you're wearing your hair natural," stylists would comment to me when I would show up to a picture shoot early in my career, Monáe stated in a 2020 interview with Harvard Business Review. It's somewhat innovative. How do we market that? Maybe this is how you should look.

Alternatively, executives from record labels might comment, "You're this Black chick discussing science fiction and technology? It cannot be sold. Would you mind just getting a simpler tune instead of creating such intricate work? Monáe remembered. "Those discussions got me to the realization that someone else is going to speak up for me if I can't find my voice."

Both artists have been able to discover their voices. Whether the Grammy voters will hear them is still up in the air.