Grammys Speak Truth to Power, D'Angelo & Roberta Flack Remembered Brilliantly

 Last night's Grammy show was an amazing platform on which artists united in a powerful demonstration of the importance and power of the First Amendment. The freedom to speak one's mind freely without hesitation or fear of reprisal. Last night the reverberations were in protest of Ice. Freedom of Speech  is a right that has made the US envied around the world and is one of the primary reasons that thousands of immigrants flock to our country yearly.

 The truth flowed eloquently whether it was a very short sentence by Billy Eilish who stated "You can't be illegal on stolen land", Bad Bunny's "Ice Out" followed by "love  is more powerful than hate, including a reminder that "we are human, we are American." The cameras switched across the audience and zoomed in on what appeared to be a very proud faced Gloria Estefan who looked genuinely pleased about what he was saying. 

Shaboozey's prepared speech extending gratitude to his mother an immigrant who worked three jobs to support him and his four siblings was an emotional moment for him as tears streamed from his eyes.

Kehlani who received her first award ever, the Grammy for Best R&b performance, mentioned the power of all the voices coming together and concluded with an expletive deletive "f... Ice."

Olivia Dean who picked up a Grammy for Best New Artist mentioned how she came from a family of immigrants and they should be recognized for their bravery.

It was a good show. Trevor Noah did a great job hosting. The interlude between him and Bad Bunny where he got him to sing along in Spanish was priceless.

That memorial tribute to D'Angelo and Roberta Flack curated-led by Lauren Hill and the other artists who have passed on the year past was brilliant, very stunning, spiritually and musically uplifting. They took us to church--Lela Hathaway, October London, Bilal, John Baptiste, Chaka Kahn and John Legend. Check out the videos on YouTube:

Pharrell Williams received the Dr.Dre Global Impact Award for 2026:

Other performances to check out that were memorable in their own right. Leon Thomas picked up a Grammy for his song MUTT which I understand Chris Brown's vocals influenced and  were featured on.

Btw,that was a very soulful performance of Yukon by Justin Beiber. I was just a little surprised by his attention grabbing  sleek attire. He only wore shorts and socks. Here's an explanation behind his outfit at this link.

  Stay tuned for podcast episode.

Edited by Cynthia Wilson on 2.6.26 @5:33p.m 

More on my podcast.

Pharell Williams Wins Dr. Dre Global Impact Award

Iconic producer and humanitarian Pharrell Williams was awarded the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the 68th Annual Grammy Awards show held at the Crypto.com arena in Los Angeles, California. Pharrell a partner of the production team the Neptunes has been producing hits with icons like Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z and other notable Rap and Hip-Hop recording artists for decades.

He was Co-Director, a keynote speaker, and among the performing  musicians at the Grace for the World concert held at the Vatican last year in September. Also performing were Andreas Boccelli, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson, Clipse, Angelique Kidjo, Teddy Swims, Jelly Roll and others. Full list of those performing at the Grace for the World Concert  at the Vatican, the concert sponsors, and the occasion for the musical celebration can be found at the link below:

https://share.google/aimode/6tMVmlk3KVI4dlKbC

For more information about the concert, check out the You Tube video at this related post.

Creative Social Action Triumphs Classic Oscar Style at Last Night’s Academy Awards

 

By all appeareances the pre-Oscar scuttlebutt about a lack of  diversity in the Academy Awards nominee voting process and choices, though it had gained substantial momentum in days leading up to the broadcast, was resoundingly negated and rendered moot on various levels and in several categories during the program. 

 First of all, it was a wise act to expand upon the telecast and include recipients of the Governors Awards, social activist Harry Belafonte the perfect choice being one of the most notable and consistent artist activists over his lifespan and career. It set the tone for the evening, did the Afro-American community proud and made me feel very much a part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences community, as in "inclusive".

 Two Mexicans, Latinos Hispanics Best Director awards shed a light on immigration issues without tackling them head-on or intentionally. It just worked out in its own way with Birdman directors' (of Mexican descent) tongue in cheek comments about immigration during his Oscar acceptance comments. John Legend and Common's win for Best song "Glory" was the perfect top off for the evening not just for "Selma's " social justice message and the hard fought right to vote, but broadened the victory to overlap into women's rights equal pay issues, age discrimination, immigration and the phlight of aging actors (Birdman) who often get looked over because of the value misplaced on youth in society. (Whiplash's actor @ 60 has been in the industry 40 yrs before winning an award).

Reese Witherspoon's interview on the red carpet about the role she played behind the scenes as a producer of two Oscar nominated movies,Wild and Gone Girl set the table so to speak for Patricia Arquette's big win for her performance in Boyhood and for women's rights in the motion picture industry across the board. Giving more insight and credit to technical aspects of filmmaking by presenting video on special affects designers, etc. was a nice touch.

The outcome was the perfect social consciousness palette, a racially diverse spread of Oscar winners list done with class. A beautifully done reminder that we can and must do this thing called "great society" together... 

See Wikipedia for a more detailed breakdown of the 87th Annual Academy Awards ceremony here.

Cynthia