J Balvin thinks his fellow reggaeton and urban artists deserve more respect.
The Latin Recording Academy has announced the names of all the nominees for 2021 Latin GRAMMYs. While J Balvin received multiple nominations, he took to Twitter to share his thoughts about the ceremony, saying his genre of music isn’t valued like it should be.
“The Grammys don’t value us, but they need us,” He wrote in Spanish. “It is my opinion and nothing against the other genres because they deserve all the respect. But the trick is already boring.”
Balvin continued, “We give them ratings but they don’t give us respect. (PS I’m nominated so they don’t come because I’m hurt) JOSE.”
Los Grammys no nos valoran , pero nos necesitan. Es mi opinión y nada contra los otros géneros porque se merecen todo el respeto . Pero ya el truco esta aburrido . Les damos Rating pero no nos dan el respeto ✊(Pd. Estoy nominado para que no vengan que estoy dolido ) JOSE
— J BALVIN (@JBALVIN) September 28, 2021
He went on to tweet once again with a call to action for his fellow artists, telling them not to go to the ceremony in an effort to bring about change in the industry.
“Those with power in the genre NONE SHOULD GO !!” the “AGUA” artist wrote. “That is all of us, because we are a movement.”
Los que tienen poder en el género NINGUNO DEBERÍA IR !! es decir todos porque somos un movimiento .
— J BALVIN (@JBALVIN) September 28, 2021
Of course, this isn’t the first time J Balvin or his fellow reggaetoneros have spoken out against the Latin GRAMMYs, previously pointing out the inequalities between their recognition and that of other genres.
Back in 2019, Balvin, Nicky Jam, Natti Natasha, Karol G, Bad Bunny, and more took to social media to post the same message: “Without reggaeton, there’s no Latin Grammys.”
Though Daddy Yankee was nominated that year, he still had a problem with the lack of urban recognition and spoke out accordingly.