This past weekend the Recording Academy held the 64th annual Grammys. Top musicians, actors, and other stars gathered together to see who would take home the prestigious award. Every year the show holds an “In Memoriam” segment to honor all of the lives we lost in the past year. This year, the Grammys faces intense scrutiny for their memoriam for the late designer Virgil Abloh. 

Abloh’s memorial read “hip-hop fashion designer.” Fans and members of the fashion world were not happy with this label. Abloh was an artistic visionary who broke the boundaries of fashion. As founder and creative director of Off-White he changed the fashion world with his innovative and original designs. As creative director for Louis Vuitton, he ushered in a new era for luxury fashion, and took the brand to new heights.  He served as an inspiration to many, and was at the forefront of giving young Black creatives a platform. 

While fans understand that they needed to align Abloh with music, they didn’t go about it the right way. One fan pointed out that they could’ve acknowledge Abloh’s own Grammy nomination. The Twitter user wrote “Virgil’s tribute should’ve just been something along the lines of ‘GRAMMY Nominated Visual Artist and Fashion Designer.’ Including the word “hip hop” was unnecessary.” In 2012, he was nominated for Best Recording Package for Jay Z and Kanye West’s album Watch The Throne. 

Fans were quick to point out that including “hip hop” amplifies the stereotype of Black people in the music industry. The Recording Academy received backlash for a similar situation when they put all Black artists under their “urban” category. Tyler the Creator spoke on the matter during his acceptance speech back in 2020. He said “It sucks that whenever we — and I mean guys that look like me — do anything that’s genre-bending or that’s anything they always put it in a rap or urban category.” 

This tribute to Abloh was another example of how the Grammys fails to recognize the impact of Black creatives. As of now, the Grammys and the Recording Academy have yet to issue a statement regarding the tribute.