Jay-Z called out the Recording Academy’s snubs against his wife, Beyoncé, during the Grammys on Sunday in a speech that drew attention to the lack of recognition Black artists have endured at the esteemed award show.

Greg Carr, associate professor in the Department of Afro-American studies at Howard University, says the music industry was built on exclusion.

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“Once exclusion was no longer an option, the inclusion of Black music has been curated, at least historically, very carefully, to absorb that music while minimizing black people,” he says.

During Jay-Z’s acceptance speech for the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award on Sunday, he underscored this lack of acknowledgment.

“We love y’all. We want y’all to get it right,” he said. “I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than anyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work.”

Beyonce, left, and Jay-Z kiss in the audience as Jay-Z is given the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award during the 66th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles.

Beyoncé is the most decorated artist in Grammy history, securing that title in 2023 after four big wins including the award for best dance/electronic album for “Renaissance.”

However, many fans felt she was slighted in the album of the year category for the highly acclaimed project. No Black woman has earned that award in 25 years.

“I don’t read Jay-Z as speaking up just for Beyoncé,” says Adriane Lentz-Smith, an associate professor of history, and African and African American studies at Duke University.

“But again calling the Grammys out for a pattern or a repeated practice of underplaying what Black artists have done… in the same way that rarely is advocating for any one person about solely them and getting them what they should have.”