J. Prince is a music executive that knows how to get the job done. His history as the founder of Rap-A-Lot Records is the stuff of legend, not to mention his role in ending Kanye West and Drake‘s beef last year.
Three months after helping to organize Kanye and Drake’s Free Larry Hoover Benefit Concert, J. Prince is looking to orchestrate another major cultural event. On Monday (March 21), the Houston native took to Instagram to reveal his plans for an all-star concert in protest of the Grammys.
Prince called on Kanye West, Drake, Nicki Minaj, The Weeknd and others to come together to perform in Las Vegas on the same night as the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. His comments come on the heels of the Recording Academy removing Kanye as a performer due to his “concerning online behavior” toward his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, her new boyfriend Pete Davidson, The Daily Show host Trevor Noah and others.
“I recommend that the artists I mentioned above — and more — come together in Las Vegas and perform at the same time as the Grammys on a special network and streaming platform to prove that ratings will change where the Grammys are concerned when the No. 1 selling genre in music — Hip Hop — come together,” he said. “Because there’s power in numbers.”
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He added, “The powers that be will be mad at me about this one. But fuck ’em! I love the culture. The seed has been planted; let’s water it.”
J. Prince provided some historical context to his concert plans, reflecting on how the Recording Academy has treated Hip Hop over the last 30 years while comparing them to the U.S. prison system.
He also likened the Grammys’ decision to cancel Kanye’s performance and their historical snubs of Drake, Nicki Minaj and The Weeknd to the acts of a “slave master.”
“I’ve been watching the Grammys control and dictate our culture to their benefit up close and personal for the past 30 years,” he said. “And all the artists, managers and executives would do is complain, but never have the nuts to come together to do anything about it.”
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He continued, “This is a slave master, punish-a-n-gga mentality and act to remind us that no matter how much money we have, we’re still n-ggas in their eyes. So they cancel Kanye and discriminated against Drake, The Weeknd, Nicki Minaj and many others over the years. This will only be broken by us uniting our powers to bring about change moving forward.”
J. Prince’s bombshell request has yet to get a response from the artists he mentioned, but considering how unlikely Kanye West and Drake‘s Larry Hoover concert seemed at first, his plans might not be that farfetched.
The 2022 Grammys are set to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 3.
