Mac Miller, who passed away in September of last year, was nominated for best rap album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday Feb. 10. After losing to Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy, there was a public backlash for how the Recording Academy treated Miller’s memory.
Despite the noble intention behind honoring Miller, with or without the win, the Grammys acted insensitively and should have handled the memorial with more care and consideration.
The Recording Academy personally invited Miller’s parents to attend the ceremony and offered them to accept the award on his behalf should he win. The Recording Academy almost certainly knew, however, that he would not.
In a string of fuming tweets, Miller’s ex-girlfriend Ariana Grande wrote, “this. this is what i meant. karen was gonna have a green suit made,” in response to a fan asking why Miller’s parents were invited when the rapper wasn’t going to win.
Since Miller’s parents actually attended the awards just to watch their son lose his first and only chance at a Grammy is a slap in the face. The Recording Academy should have assessed the complex nature of the posthumous nomination and waited to personally invite his parents until they were sure he would win. It was a nice gesture in theory, but ultimately fell short.
Following the public outrage at the way the Grammys handled the situation, winner of the category, Cardi B, dedicated her award to Miller.
“I read an article that Mac Miller’s family said that if he don’t win, they want me to win so I’m sharing this Grammy with you,” Cardi B said. “Rest in peace.”
Although there is no way to rectify the thoughtlessness of the Grammys actions, perhaps this can be an eye-opener for how they treat posthumous nominees in the future. They must be evaluated on an individual basis and action shouldn’t be taken until the winners are known.
Miller’s parents didn’t lose a Grammy; they lost a son. This is a distinction that the Recording Academy is obligated to spend more time thinking about in the future.