Eilish seemed to yell "no" when she was revealed as the winner for the award, and she was no less a reluctant victor during her acceptance speech.
"Can I just say that I think Ariana deserves this?" Eilish said.
"'Thank U, Next' got me through some s---, and I think it deserves this more than anything in the world. I love you, thank you so much."
Grande was seen blowing kisses to Eilish, who concluded her short acceptance speech by saying: "I'm not going to waste your time. I'm really not. I love you. Thank you for this."
Eilish became the youngest winner of album of the year.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Eilish had already won three other Grammys before this prize was handed out, including song of the year ("Bad Guy"), best new artist, and best pop vocal album. She also won record of the year ("Bad Guy") shortly after.
At only 18 years old, Eilish made history by becoming the youngest winner of album of the year, beating the record of then-20-year-old Taylor Swift when she won the award for "Fearless" back in 2010.
She is also just the second person to win all four general-field categories in one year after Christopher Cross in 1981. A successful night for Eilish, even if she is reluctant to that fact.
Here is everything else you missed, for those of you who couldn’t stay awake to watch the whole thing.
1) Kobe Bryant tributes
L.A. Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and several others, died in a helicopter crash Sunday morning. Many of the entertainers assembled in the Staples Center for the Grammy Awards struggled to find the right tone while also grappling with the sudden loss. Host Alicia Keys addressed it all right out of the gate: “We’re all feeling crazy sadness right now,” she said, as “we’re literally standing here heartbroken in the house that Kobe built.” She then brought out Boyz II Men for an a cappella verse of “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.” Throughout the night, Bryant’s No. 24 jersey was included in several performances, including during “Old Town Road” and “Walk This Way.” He was also mentioned and featured on-screen during the Nipsey Hussle tribute.
2) Nipsey Hussle tributes
Rapper Nipsey Hussle was fatally shot last spring at the age of 33, leaving the hip-hop and Los Angeles communities stunned. Since then, tributes have flowed in, and the Grammys made space for some of that as well. DJ Khaled, John Legend, Kirk Franklin, YG and Meek Mill all appeared together for a tribute that included the song “Higher,” even playing Hussle’s verse on a screen. Later, that song won best rap/sung performance, and the slain rapper’s family came onstage along with Legend and Khaled, who dedicated the win to Hussle.
“I want to thank all of you for supporting this and for lifting Nipsey’s name up,” Legend said. “It’s terrible we had to lose him so early. We thank his family for being here tonight with us; thank you for allowing us to use his legacy and to lift it up in song tonight.”
He added: “We’ve seen so much tragedy today and last year, and so much has gone on. But let’s love each other, let’s love our families, let’s hold each other tight.”
3) Billie Eilish’s sweep
Teen pop phenom Billie Eilish always seems effortlessly confident, but even she appeared overwhelmed when she won best new artist, record and song of the year for “Bad Guy,” and album of the year for “When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?” — the top-selling album of 2019. She’s now the only woman and youngest artist to win all four major categories; the only other artist to do so was Christopher Cross in 1981. When she and her brother Finneas O’Connell (also her co-writer and producer) picked up the album trophy, 18-year-old Eilish protested: “Can I just say that I think Ariana deserves this?” (In the audience, Ariana Grande waved off the praise.) By her fourth award, Eilish simply said “Thank you” and left the stage.
4) All the performances
As is always the case with the Grammys, the many, many performances ranged from the good to the bad to the ugly. Let’s begin with some positivity, because there was a good bit to go around.
Most surprising this year was that many large set pieces actually worked, a reverse of the usual trend. First, Tyler, the Creator, with Charlie Wilson and Boyz II Men, put on a dizzying show with dozens of look-alikes, rows of burning houses behind him and a frantic lights show — all while mixing songs from his latest album into fascinating new shapes. Even more maximalist was Lil Nas X’s rendition of “Old Town Road” with — deep breath — BTS, Mason Ramsey, Diplo, Billy Ray Cyrus and Nas. Like, the first Nas, the one who made “Illmatic.” It was dizzying, exciting and entertaining. On the other hand, the Nipsey Hussle tribute by Meek Mill, YG, John Legend, Kirk Franklin and DJ Khaled felt both respectful and touching.
There were also solo performances that took our breath away, including Gary Clark Jr. and the Roots’ furious rendition of “This Land,” Demi Lovato’s tearful ballad and the lady of the evening, Billie Eilish, soulfully singing the piano-driven “When the Party’s Over.”
But we can’t talk about the music without talking about the big numbers that failed to even get off the ground. The show concluded with a bizarre tribute to Grammys producer Ken Ehrlich, in which everyone and their mother performed “I Sing the Body Electric” from the 1980s movie “Fame.” In attendance: Camila Cabello, Cyndi Lauper, Gary Clark Jr., Ben Platt, Joshua Bell, Lee Curreri, Common, Lang Lang, Misty Copeland and dancers from the Debbie Allen Dance Company. But unlike during “Old Town Road,” these artists weren’t performing together, just next to one another. And speaking of performers clashing, the worst moment in the evening came courtesy of Aerosmith and Run-DMC, whose rendition of their 1986 hit “Walk This Way” was barely audible at best and embarrassing at worst.
5) Tyler, the Creator’s speech and performance
Not only did Tyler, the Creator, have the most jaw-dropping performance of the night, which included about 27 clones and a house on fire, but he also had the most memorable speech. He was the first artist to get the gentle “get off the stage, please, but seriously now” music as he thanked his mom, collaborators, and producer Pharrell Williams, who he said “allowed me to be comfortable with myself and has opened up doors that you guys could not imagine.”
Backstage, Tyler was candid as he spoke about his disappointment with black artists being placed in rap categories even when they have “genre-bending” work. “Half of me feels like the rap nomination was a backhanded compliment. Like, ‘Oh, my little cousin wants to play the game, let’s give him the unplugged controller so he could shut up and feel good about it,’ ” he said. “Another half of me is very grateful that the art that I made can be acknowledged on a level like this, when I don’t do the radio stuff. I’m not played in Target. I’m in a whole different world than what a lot of people here listen to.”
6) Zero mention of the Deborah Dugan controversy
After former Recording Academy president Neil Portnow got in hot water for his comment about how women needed to “step up” if they wanted to win Grammy Awards, the organization hired its first-ever female CEO, Deborah Dugan. That imploded last week, as Dugan was abruptly placed on administrative leave and then filed an explosive lawsuit that alleged gender discrimination and sexual harassment. There was, unsurprisingly, zero mention of the controversy. But pop singer Dua Lipa, before she presented best new artist, alluded to the music industry’s gender imbalance: “I have to take this opportunity to say that there are so many stellar female producers, artists, songwriters, engineers. And if you’re in the business, and you’re hiring, raise your sights to the amazing, talented women out there, because we all deserve a seat at every table.”
7) Norman ‘Freaking’ Rockwell
Lana Del Rey may not have taken home any awards, but she was indirectly responsible for some of the more amusing moments of the evening. Her 2019 album and song by the same title were up for a few awards, which was as problematic for the FCC-regulated CBS as it is for a family newspaper, as it contains a harsh expletive: “Norman F---ing Rockwell.” The Washington Post opts to dash out a portion of the offending word. That doesn’t work when speaking, however, so CBS chose to alter the title. With good cause, Twitter lit up every time a voice-over mentioned “Norman Freaking Rockwell.”
8) Big parent energy
Watching the Grammys can be a surreal experience for those of us of a certain age, but we noticed some nice nods to moms and dads during the awards show. Of course, there was Camila Cabello’s rendition of “First Man,” performed against a backdrop of home videos of her and her dad, which she sang while directly looking at … her father, Alejandro Cabello. Then she decided to walk off the stage and right to her dad, who was wiping away legit tears from his eyes as his daughter sang her song for him. Later, Ariana Grande had her own dad tribute, changing the lyrics in “Thank U, Next” from “I’ll be thanking my dad / ’Cause she grew from the drama” to “I’ll be thanking my dad / ’Cause he’s kinda awesome.” And then Tyler, the Creator’s overjoyed mother ran up onstage with him, sobbing and wrapping him in a big hug after he won best rap album. “That’s my mom, if y’all wondering,” he said.
9) Demi Lovato’s tears
The Grammys marked the first live performance by the pop singer since she nearly lost her life to a drug overdose in mid-2018. It was going to be an emotional experience regardless of what she performed. That she chose “Anyone” — a song that she wrote four days before that harrowing experience, which includes the lyrics “I feel stupid when I sing / Nobody’s listening to me” — hinted that she was ready to face her demons onstage. Her emotion was palpable, as she began crying when she started singing, forcing her to restart the song. But the room remained silent as she belted out the cathartic lyrics, and everyone eventually jumped to their feet when she finished.
10) Bonnie Raitt’s brief appearance
Note to the Grammys: When the angel-voiced and very underrated songwriter Bonnie Raitt agrees to perform, can you give her more stage time than just a chorus? Raitt sang a few beautiful lines from “Angel from Montgomery” by way of paying tribute to John Prine (seated a few rows away in the audience), who wrote the song and recently won a Grammys lifetime achievement award. Give Raitt a whole song! And also, give John Prine more airtime!
Not watching but I thought I’d add: The Grammys aren’t capable of honoring a man of John Prine’s stature but John Prine did honor the Grammys simply by showing up.
James Blake and Jameela Jamil spoke with Billboard on the red carpet at the 2020 Grammy Awards, where they discussed which changes they would like to see in the music industry, why they were moved by Taylor Swift’s recent Women in Music speech, and which artist James Blake would love to work with.
After Taylor Swift gave an empowering speech at Billboard’s Women in Music event last month, where she accepted the Woman of the Decade award, James Blake tweeted about the importance of the pop star's speech and the imbalance in music. Asked which changes he still hopes to see in the music industry going forward, he notes that he would like to see more women in studios.
“I hope to see more female engineers. I hope to see more female producers coming up,” he says. “Just generally studio life is an incredibly male environment, traditionally, and I've noticed that being in the industry…I mean, it's happening very, very slowly, but it is super slow.”
Jamil adds that there are “ridiculous double standards” for men and women in this industry, and that she admired Taylor Swift for speaking up.
“I think that it's really great that she spoke out and called these double standards out, which she's done continuously over the last couple of years,” Jamil says. “I think we both are in support of any woman who speaks out about injustice in this industry or anywhere in the world, really.”
In another clip, Blake is asked if there are any artists he’d still like to collaborate with, to which he names Finneas. He does add, however, that whenever he works with other artists, the pairings always happen naturally and he doesn’t seek them out.
“Also, you've already just worked with André 3000,” adds Jamil. “He's worked with André 3000, JAY-Z, and Beyoncé. He's done. Any more would just be greedy!”
Sean “Diddy” Combs hijacked Clive Davis’s annual pre-Grammy bash with a 50-minute speech that showed members of the Recording Academy some tough love.
Davis’s starry party largely avoided the behind-the-scenes scandal that rocked the Grammys last week with the exception of Davis describing it as a “very tumultuous time for the academy.” But Diddy, who was honored with the icon award at the gala, wrapped up his nearly hour-long speech with a call to action for the old guard.
“I have to be honest. The last few days I’ve been conflicted. I’m being honored by this industry I love, this family that I love, but there’s an elephant in the room and it’s not just about the Grammys,” he said. “This is discrimination and injustice everywhere at an all-time high. But there’s something I need to say to the Grammys and I changed my middle name to love, so it’s Sean Love Combs now… I say this with love to the Grammys because you really need to know this. Every year, y’all be killing us man. I’m talking about the pain. I’m speaking for all the artists here, producers and executives – the amount of time to make these records, to pour your heart out into it… in the great words of Erykah Badu, ‘We are artists and we’re sensitive about our s–t. We are passionate.’”
Diddy took it a step further and specifically talked about how the awards show shuns black artists.
“For most of us, this is all we’ve got. It’s our only hope. Truth be told hip hop has never been respected by the Grammys. Black music has never been respected by the Grammys to the point that it should be. So, right now, in this current situation, it’s not a revelation. This thing been going on and it’s not just going on in music. It’s going on in film. It’s going on in sports, It’s going on around the world. And for years, we’ve allowed institutions, that have never had our best interest at heart, to judge us. And that stops right now. Y’all got 365 days to get this s–t together… We need the artists to take back control. We need transparency. We need diversity. This is the room that has the power to make the change. It needs to be made. They have to make the changes for us. They’re a nonprofit organization that’s supposed to protect the welfare of the musical community. That’s what it says on the mission statement. That’s the truth. They work for us,” he said.
Diddy closed the speech, acknowledging iconic albums from black artists the academy ignored in the past.
“My goal used to be about making hit records, but now it’s about assuring that the culture moves forward, my culture. Our culture. The black future,” he said. “And for me to be worthy of receiving an icon award, I have to use my experience to help make a change. And on that note… y’all got 365 days. And I want to dedicate this award to Michael Jackson for ‘Off the Wall,’ Prince for ‘1999,’ Beyoncé for ‘Lemonade,’ Missy Elliott for ‘Da Real World,’ Snoop Dogg for ‘Doggy Style,’ Kanye West for ‘Graduation’ and Nas for ‘Illmatic.’”
Sean “Diddy” CombsGetty Images for The Recording A
Diddy received a standing ovation from the artists in the room including Jay-Z and Beyoncé, who sat front and center applauding him.
“Beyoncé, I call her King Beyoncé. Everybody all know that’s like my superhero right there. When, I watch her and she goes and I think I’m working hardy? Nah, nah. She pushes me and she’s been a sister to me, and I thank you,” Diddy said during the speech.
The music mogul was honored by his Bad Boy Records family, including Faith Evans, Lil Kim, Carl Thomas and his son, Christian. At one point, his crew even chanted, “Bad Boy.” When Diddy took the stage, partygoers were so taken aback by how long he spoke, one person even pleaded, “Diddy release us,” to their table. But to Diddy’s credit, he gave the room a fair warning.
“Right now, I’m truly present, and it feels like a dream. I’m going to be up here for a second because, also, I follow in the footsteps of Clive Davis. So, everyone can sit down and relax. I don’t want your feet to hurt, but it’s a lot of people to thank. But, this dream has become a reality, so. I’m going to take my motherf–king time,” he said.
Clive Davis and Janet JacksonGetty Images
Little did everyone know, he would take 50 minutes. Meanwhile, surprise honoree, Janet Jackson got a raw deal. She was honored at the end of the night by Cynthia Erivo, who performed the singer’s hits “Together Again” and “Love Will Never Do,” but half of the room including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Usher, and Lil Kim had already left.
“I know everyone, it’s late, everyone is ready to go to bed. It’s been a while since I’ve seen all of you. When I was getting dressed this evening, I thought about it, and I said to myself, ‘I’ve been in this industry for 47 years.’ That’s a long time and I still enjoy going to work and I feel very blessed to still have my journey ahead of me,” she said.
Davis’s bash ended at 1 a.m. and Diddy continued the party at his Holmby Hills mansion, where DJ Cassidy had people dancing all night. Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Naomi Campbell, Usher, Chris Brown, Neyo, T.I., Chance the Rapper, Jermaine Dupri, Machine Gun Kelly, and G Easy all joined Diddy at the afterparty.
“It was mobbed outside. I’m surprised it wasn’t shut down. People were literally outside for an hour trying to make their way up to his place,” a partygoer told Page Six.
At one point in the evening, Diddy closed the door to his living room where he hung out with only the A-listers.
“He then grabbed the mic and told everyone to come to the dance floor. Everyone was by the pool dancing and then Chance the Rapper lead everyone in the electric slide at the end of the night. It was the dopest moment,” the source said. A food truck serving chicken and waffles fed everyone.
Diddy railed on the Grammys Saturday, saying it's turned a blind eye to black artists ... notably, hip-hop artists.
Ironically, Diddy unloaded on the Grammys during his acceptance speech for receiving an Industry Icon award. It all went down at Clive Davis' pre-Grammy gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
As you know, TMZ broke the story ... Whitney Houston died the evening of the same annual party back in 2012 when she was found in her bathtub at the Beverly Hilton, dead from an OD.
As for Diddy, he gave an acceptance speech that was interminably long -- 50 minutes, seriously. It ended at 12:30 AM, and toward the end is when Diddy set his sights on the folks who run the Grammys.
Among many other things ... Diddy said, "Truth be told, hip-hop has never been respected by the Grammys. Black music has never been respected by the Grammys."
As for Diddy's record ... 3 Grammy wins and 13 noms.
Among the guests ... Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Cardi B and Offset and Lana Del Rey, John Legend, Janet Jackson, Faith Evans, Ma$e, Lil Kim, Ozzy Osbourne, Avril Lavigne, Paula Abdul, Trevor Noah, Billy Porter, Darren Criss, Jessie J and Channing Tatum.
BEVERLY HILLS — Attention, Recording Academy: Were you listening?
Sean "Diddy" Combs, winner of the Industry Icon award at the Clive Davis pre-Grammy Gala, challenged the industry to get its act together in the next year when it comes to diversity.
"I'm being honored by the industry that I love, the family that I love, but there's an elephant in the room and it's not just about the Grammys," Combs said well into a lengthy speech at the end of the party. "There's discrimination and injustice everywhere."
"Truth be told, hip-hop has never been respected by the Grammys," he continued. "Black music has never been respected by the Grammys to the point that it should be." He said the current situation isn't a revelation, nor is it an issue just in music.
"For years we've allowed institutions that have never had our best interests at heart to judge us and that stops right now," he said to thunderous applause.
He continued: "We need the artists to take back the control. We need transparency. We need diversity. This is the room that has the power to make the change that needs to be made. They have to make the changes for us."
Combs clarified he's not intending to simply bash the Recording Academy – but that he's here to help make a difference and a positive outcome.
He dedicated his award to Michael Jackson for "Off the Wall," Prince for "1999," Beyoncé for "Lemonade," Missy Elliott for "Da Real World," Snoop Dogg for "Doggystyle," Kanye West for "Gradation" and Nas for "Illmatic."
During his speech, Diddy also thanked a swath of people, including Jay-Z and Beyoncé (he calls her "King Beyoncé"), Swiss Beatz, Nas and Quincy Jones.
Grammys 2020 predictions: Who will win the night's biggest awards and who should
Combs' remarks about the Grammys come on the heels of other drama facing the Academy: Ousted Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan recently said she has "evidence" that the Grammy Awards process is "ripe with corruption."
With only days until the award show, Dugan filed an explosive discrimination complaint against the academy Tuesday alleging unlawful gender discrimination, sexual harassment, unlawful retaliation and unequal pay.
The Recording Academy stated Dugan's allegations about the voting processes are "utterly untrue," adding the academy has "rigorous and well-publicized" protocols for ensuring fair voting.
Diddy also took time to acknowledge his family and his former girlfriend, actress and model Kim Porter, who died in November 2018 of pneumonia. "I met Kim Porter 'cause Kim was the receptionist at Uptown. So that's how far back we go," Diddy said.
Diddy has regularly opened up about her sudden death.
Just this week, he posted a picture of Porter on Instagram with a powerful caption. "If you got a good woman please let her know," the caption reads. "Tell her as soon as you can. Make sure she knows."
While Combs' speech took a (necessarily) serious turn, the night wasn’t without its stunning musical moments. For example: Cyndi Lauper, barefoot, dueted with Brandi Carlisle on “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,”; Broadway star Adrienne Warren’s “Simply the Best," was just that, as was Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo’s homage to (in the audience!) Janet Jackson; and Faith Evans, Li'l Kim and Combs' son Christian "King" Combs helped pay tribute to Diddy himself.
Davis – a man with a penchant for giving shout-outs to those who attend his annual event – called out returning guest Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Cardi B and Offset and Lana Del Ray, among (many, many) others.
As for other celebrity sightings: Among the crowd, Avril Lavigne and Paula Abdul chatted and embraced, Trevor Noah and Billy Porter posed for a photo and Broadway’s Darren Criss and Warren hugged. On the red carpet before the show, Jessie J and Channing Tatum held hands.
Buzzy Grammy nominees not in attendance included Lizzo, Billie Eilish and Lil Nas X (though his "Old Town Road" duet partner Billy Ray Cyrus was there).
Contributing: Maria Puente, Andrea Mandell and Sara Moniuszko, USA TODAY; Associated Press
Elsewhere during Grammys week: Jessie J, Channing Tatum appear together at Grammys tribute event amid reunion rumors
Well, that was odd: 'We love you, man': Joey Kramer awkwardly joins Aerosmith at Grammys tribute event (but didn't play)
Sean "Diddy" Combs speaks onstage during the Pre-GRAMMY Gala and GRAMMY Salute to Industry Icons Honoring Sean "Diddy" Combs on January 25, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo: Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
When hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs received the Industry Icon Honor at Clive Davis’s annual pre-Grammy gala Saturday night, he delivered an epic, engaging, 45-minute speech that chronicled his entire career, starting from the moment he received the life-changing Christmas present of a record player at age 5. But he also used his time at the podium to address the “elephant in the room,” calling for more diversity at the Grammys and challenging the Record Academy: “You’ve got 365 days to get this s*** together.”
Combs’s passionate comments followed the scandalous ousting of new Recording Academy CEO Deborah Dugan. Dugan was placed on administrative leave Jan. 16 — only 10 days before the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, and less than six months after she’d ostensibly been hired to foster much-needed change and create more diversity within the organization.
“The last few days I’ve been conflicted,” Combs confessed to the A-list crowd at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. “I'm being honored by the industry that I love, the family that I love, but there’s an elephant in the room, and it's not just about the Grammys. There’s discrimination and injustice everywhere all the time. But there's something I need to say to the Grammys. … I say this with love to the Grammys, because you really need to know this. Every year, y’all be killing us, man. I'm talking about the pain. I'm speaking for all the artists here, producers, executives. The amount of time that it takes to make these records, to pour your heart out into it — and you just want an even playing field. In the great words of Erykah Badu: ‘We are artists, and we are sensitive about our s***.’ We are passionate. For most of us, this is all we got. This is our only hope.
“Truth be told, hip-hop has never been respected by the Grammys. Black music has never been respected by the Grammys — to the point that it should be,” Diddy continued. “So right now with this current [Dugan] situation, it’s not a revelation; this thing’s been going on. And it’s not just going on in music; it’s going on in films, it’s going on in sports, it’s going on around the world. And for years, we have allowed institutions that have never had our best interests at heart to judge us. And that stops right now. I’m officially starting the clock. You’ve got 365 days to get this s*** together.
“We need the artists to take back control. We need transparency. We need the diversity. This is the room that has the power to make the change that needs to be made. They have to make the changes for us. [The Recording Academy is] a nonprofit organization that is supposed to protect the welfare of the musical community. That's what it says on the mission statement. That's the truth. They work for us. We have the power. … Now, we’re not going to solve this tonight, but it's going to take all of us to get this done. It's going to take the artists and executives to recognize the power. And I'm standing here today not to bash y’all; we just need to get it right, I'm here for the artists. So sign me up. I'm here to help make a difference and help have a positive outcome.”
Combs dedicated his Industry Icon Award to several albums by black artists that he felt were robbed at past Grammy ceremonies, including Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall, Prince’s 1999, Kanye West’s Graduation, Missy Elliott’s The Real World, Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle, and classics by two artists who were in attendance at Saturday’s gala, Nas’s Illmatic and Beyoncé’s Lemonade.
Diddy’s words received a standing ovation from the audience, which also included Beyoncé’s husband Jay-Z, Motown founder Berry Gordy, Quincy Jones, Billy Porter, Jamie Foxx, Smokey Robinson, Timbaland, Usher, John Legend, Wiz Khalifa, Cardi B, Nancy Pelosi, and Janet Jackson, who also received a special honor from Davis at the end of the night. Prior to Diddy’s speech, Bad Boy Records all-stars Faith Evans, Ma$e, Lil’ Kim, and Diddy’s son, King Combs, performed a musical tribute to his career that had party guests Offset and Chance the Rapper up on their feet and singing along to every word. Cynthia Erivo later wrapped the show with a medley of Janet Jackson hits. Other gala performers included Beck, Santana, Ryan Tedder, Miguel, Chance, Khalid, Brandi Carlile, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, and Tina Broadway musical star Adrienne Warren.
“My goal used to be about making hit records,” Diddy said in closing. “Now it's about ensuring that the culture moves forward. My culture, our culture, the black culture. And to be worthy of receiving the Icon Award, I have to use my experience to help make a change.”
