by Chuck D is not happy with the Recording Academy after the suspension of president and CEO Deborah Dugan.
On Thursday, it was reported that Dugan had been placed on administrative leave ahead of the 2020 Grammy Awards with the Recording Academy Board of Trustees citing “serious concerns” regarding her behavior – including a “formal allegation” by a “senior female member of the Recording Academy team.”
Through her attorney, Dugan announced that she would soon “expose what happens when you ‘step up’ at the Recording Academy,” and rapper Chuck, real name Carlton Douglas Ridenhour, released a statement hinting that Dugan was punished for attempting to bring change to the organization.
“As always, a bunch of ignorant, testosterone-fueled, usually old white men stop progress and screw it up. Same old bullshit,” the Public Enemy member wrote. “They want to keep it status quo and make sure things like Hip Hop stay the poster child of their f**kery.”
Meanwhile, Chuck was complimentary of Dugan, adding, “it was obvious she was having her own struggles” with the Academy when he spoke with her, referencing the name of his group’s 2005 album, concluding: “I’m not surprised that Deborah Dugan is out. I am appalled because it reeks of the same old jive, a New Whirl Odor that considers the masses simply as ‘them asses’.”
Public Enemy will receive a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in April, with Chuck revealing he had to “haggle” to include current Public Enemy member DJ Lord, who has been with the band since 1998 but was not present during its heyday.
The group previously chose to boycott the 1989 Grammys over the Academy’s refusal “to acknowledge a new art form called Hip Hop/Rap.”
The 62nd annual Grammy Awards take place in Los Angeles on January 26th.
