John Legend doesn’t believe boycotting the Grammys fixes "the problem" of the Recording Academy’s attitude towards hip-hop.
The 40-year-old star acknowledged that there’s a lack of cohesion between the hip-hop community and the Academy – but he doesn’t think a boycott will lead to any kind of long-term solution.
Asked what he makes of artists like Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Z and Kanye West deciding to boycott the ceremony, John explained: "Historically, the Academy’s had a problem with hip-hop [so] I understand the impulse to withdraw and not participate and say, ‘this is all bull***t’ but of course that doesn’t fix the problem.
"I would love for the solution to be that we, as younger artists, as artists in the hip-hop community, got more involved and make up a larger bloc of the votes, so the music we make gets its proper dues.
"But I also understand the reactions of people that say, you know, ‘screw it, I don’t want to show up.’ It’s a conundrum."
John has been outspoken about various social and political issues over recent years, including gun control.
And the chart-topping singer – whose new song, ‘Preach’, was inspired by negative news in the US – hopes to see some meaningful changes.
He told the BBC: "Every time there’s a gun massacre in America, which is way too often, politicians come out and say, ‘We send our hopes and prayers to the victims and their families’ and then they don’t do anything about it.
"So the song is basically a rebuke of the people in power.
"If you look at any polls, there’s only a small minority that are against background checks, a small minority that are against other regulations.
"We’re looking at 80 or 90 percent approval on a lot of these provisions. So it really is the politicians who are lagging behind the people."
John Legend: Grammy boycott won’t fix problems
