Recording Academy announces new diversity initiatives in midst of Grammys scandal
As the Grammys face accusations of lacking diversity and being a “boys club,” the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has announced new initiatives developed in partnership with its Diversity Task Force. Recording Academy Chairman and Interim Chief Executive Officer Harvey Mason Jr. made the announcement in a message obtained by CNN which was sent to his organization’s members Sunday morning.
“Six months ago, when I put my hat in the ring to be your Chair, I did so because I believed that the Academy could do better — could be better,” Mason wrote in his message. “The music we create has always reflected the best of ourselves and our world. But what was true of music has historically not been true of the music business as a whole.”
“Too often, our industry and Academy have alienated some of our own artists — in particular, through a lack of diversity that, in many cases, results in a culture that leans towards exclusion rather than inclusion,” he added.
According to his message, the Academy has agreed to implement 17 out of 18 initiatives suggested by its Diversity Task Force — which was formed in February 2018 and “made up of distinguished individuals from outside the Academy, to take a hard, independent look at our organization specifically and the music industry as a whole.”
The initiatives include the following:
- The Academy will hire a dedicated diversity and inclusion officer. This person will be hired within the next 90 days.
- The organization will establish a fellowship, funded by the Academy, that will be responsible for independent review and reporting of the progress of the Academy’s diversity and inclusion efforts. This will be in place within 120 days.
- It will create a fund to be distributed annually to different “women in music” organizations that will be managed by the diversity and inclusion officer. This will go into effect immediately.
- The Academy will recommit to meeting all 18 of the Task Force Recommendations as outlined in the full report and in a manner that will endure, with the caveat that we will have a deeper exploration, along with the task force into voting processes for the Grammys.
The Academy is also committing to meeting with the task force to review progress on all of the suggested initiatives with the first meeting happening in 45 days. “The movement to ensure that the Academy — and the music business — is truly representative of artists and their audiences has been going on for a long time,” Mason said in his message to academy members. “And that struggle will continue, not just for women and people of color, but for members of the LGBTQ+ community, for artists struggling to make ends meet, for those suffering from addiction or mental health challenges, for people of all shapes and sizes and backgrounds, and for groups we may not even recognize today.”
The Grammys finds itself in the midst of controversy after its former CEO Deborah Dugan filed a lawsuit last week against the Academy alleging she was wrongfully fired after raising allegations of sexual harassment and irregularities with Grammy nominations.
Dugan says she was put on administrative leave three weeks after she sent an email to the Academy’s managing director of human resources outlining numerous bombshell allegations against the organization and its “historically male dominated leadership,” according to the EEOC complaint.
“The decision to put Ms. Dugan on leave was clearly made in retaliation for her complaint, and came with thinly veiled threats of termination in the event that Ms. Dugan persisted in pursuing claims against the Academy,” the lawsuit says.
The Academy said in a statement to CNN earlier that it’s “curious” that Dugan didn’t raise the allegations until legal claims were made against her by another employee who alleged she “created a ‘toxic and intolerable’ work environment and engaged in ‘abusive and bullying conduct.'”
During an appearances last week on “Good Morning America” and “CBS This Morning” Dugan described the Academy as a “boys club” and its nomination review committees as “mostly white male.”
The new diversity initiatives announcements also come after rapper/producer/mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs took the Academy to task Saturday night during his speech at Clive Davis’ legendary pre-Grammys gala.
“Truth be told, hip-hop has never been respected by the Grammys,”Combs said. “Black music has never been respected by the Grammys to the point that it should be.”
A rep for the Academy declined to comment on Combs remarks.
CNN has reached out to a rep for Combs for additional comment.
Article via CNN
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US Bank employee fired for giving $20 out of her own pocket to struggling customer
An Oregon banker gave $20 out of her own pocket to a struggling customer on Christmas Eve — but her good deed backfired when her employer sacked her days later, according to a new report.
Emily James, a senior banker at a US Bank call center in Portland, got a call on Dec. 23 from customer Marc Eugenio, whose $1,000 paycheck from a new job had been placed on hold — leaving him essentially broke, The Oregonian reported.
The glitch left him unable to buy his kids Christmas presents, and he couldn’t afford living expenses either, KOIN 6 reported.
After some back and forth with a local US Bank branch, Eugenio called James back at the 800 number on Christmas Eve.
“I said, ‘I wish I had just $20 bucks to get home,’” Eugenio told the paper. “And she said ‘Wait, hold on.’”
James — who handled calls from customers across the country and said she rarely spoke to anyone local — decided to personally deliver $20 to Eugenio, who was only about 14 miles away, according to the report.
“I handed him $20 in cash, said ‘Merry Christmas’ and went right back to work,” James said.
But when James returned to work on New Year’s Eve, the bank’s regional service manager fired her for having “an unauthorized interaction with a customer.”
“She said, ‘We’re sorry, we cannot keep your employment,’” James told the paper.
“They were worried about my safety,” the banker said. “He could have kidnapped me or shot me. But I wouldn’t have left or even tried to ask if that was OK if I thought that this person would hurt me.”
Eugenio called the decision “ridiculous.”
“It was one of the saddest Christmases,” he said. “Promissory notes for Christmas gifts. And I can’t believe [James] lost her job over it. The only one who seemed to care was Emily, and she got fired for that.”
At this point, James said she’s not sure she even wants her job back.
“I can’t change the world but I can change the world for that one person,” she told KOIN 6. “I would rather my morals align with someone who’s more willing to support someone like that than someone who’s willing to throw away two-and-a-half years and a lot of dedication.”
In a statement, a US Bank spokesperson explained the company’s decision to fire James.
“At US Bank, we have policies and procedures in place to protect our customers and employees,” the spokesperson said. “Ms. James was terminated following an internal investigation into her interactions with a customer. During this review it was determined Ms. James did not use the available solutions to remedy the customer’s situation and instead put herself and the bank at risk with her actions.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/01/17/us-bank-employee-fired-for-giving-20-to-struggling-customer/
Photo Credit nypost.com
Ariana Grande Hit With Copyright Suit Over ‘7 Rings’
Ariana Grande was sued on Thursday by a hip-hop artist who claims she ripped off the chorus of his song for her hit “7 Rings.”
Josh Stone, who performs as DOT, wrote and recorded “You Need I Got It” in 2017. He alleges that he took the song to music industry executives, including producer Tommy Brown, who has worked extensively with Grande.
The suit accuses Brown of lifting key elements of Stone’s song for Grande’s “7 Rings.” Grande’s song includes the repeating line: “I Want It, I Got It. I Want It, I Got It.” While Stone’s song has the refrain: “You Need It, I Got It. You Want It, I Got It.”
The suit, filed in New York federal court by attorney Tamir Young, alleges that two forensic musicologists have analyzed the choruses of each song and found the rhythm and notes to be substantially similar as well.
“Literally, every single one of the 39 respective notes of ‘7 Rings’ is identical with the 39 notes of ‘I Got It’ from a metrical placement perspective,” the suit alleges. “Said another way, the rhythm and placement of the notes and lyrics are identical.”
According to the suit, “7 Rings” has already netted more than $10 million in revenue. Grande is set to perform at the Grammy Awards next week, and is up for five awards, including two for “7 Rings.”
The suit names Universal Music Corp. along with many other defendants.
Grande’s label did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
Music copyright suits have become a hot-button issue in the industry since the 2015 “Blurred Lines” verdict. Last year, a jury found that Katy Perry had stolen a riff from Flame, a little-known Christian rapper.
Case 1:20-cv-00441 Document 1 Filed 01/16/20 Page 1 of 17 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK _____________________________________________ Josh Stone, COMPLAINT Plaintiff, -against- File No. 20-cv-441 Ariana Grande, Thomas Lee Brown, Taylor Monet Parks, Kimberly Anne Krysiuk, Victoria Monet McCants, Charles Michael Anderson, Michael David Foster, Njomza Vitia, BMG Rights Management US LLC, Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Kobalt Songs Music Publishing, The Royalty Network Inc., Universal Music Corporation, Concord Music Group, Inc. Demand for Jury Trial Defendants. _____________________________________________ Plaintiff, by and through his attorneys, STUDIN YOUNG PC, alleges as follows: PRELIMINARY STATEMENT 1. Ariana Grande is a world-famous singer/songwriter. Her recent hit song “7 RINGS,” released on January 18, 2019, is a worldwide juggernaut that reached #1 on weekly song charts in 23 countries during 2019, and 7 RINGS was recently nominated for multiple Grammy Awards including “Record of the Year.” 2. By all accounts, 7 RINGS is a huge commercial success and has generated (and continues to generate) millions of dollars. Indeed, 7 RINGS broke records for the most streams in 24 hours on Spotify and its official video has been viewed over 642 million times just on YouTube alone. 3. And by every method of analysis, 7 RINGS is a forgery – plagiarized from Plaintiff Josh Stone who wrote, recorded and published the nearly identical original work “You Need It, I Got It” (hereafter, “I GOT IT”) approximately two years earlier.
Article via Variety
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Young Joc job-shamed by fans for driving for ride-sharing service
Fans are asking if Yung Joc is broke after the rapper and reality star was videotaped driving for a ridesharing service in downtown Atlanta late last week
The “Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta” star, who was born in Atlanta as Jasiel Amon Tucker Robinson, was job-shamed as fans rode in the backseat of his car. The video was posted on social media on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020.
When the two fans got into the backseat, one of them began filming as they recognized the “It’s Going Down” emcee.
“You sound like somebody I know,” one of the passengers said.
The other passenger, a female, then asked: “I just wanna ask a question. Are you Yung Joc?” Can you turn around?”
“I think y’all already put that part together,” Joc, 36, said, as he pulled back his hoodie to reveal his identity.
Suddenly, one of the passengers, named J’Koni, bluntly job-shames Joc: “Oh, so you must’ve fell off or something.”
Both passengers seemingly clown Joc for needing to drive in order to make ends meet.
Joc appears to take offense to being shamed but remains polite and even-tempered.
“I gotta fall off? I just felt like it was an easy way to get some easy money downtown. I meet people,” Joc said.
To be sure, Yung Joc has been known to pull some serious publicity stunts for clout in the past or to honor a bet. A few seasons ago, Joc wore a floor-length dinner gown to a major event.
Check out the video of the fan encounter as Yung Joc drives them around downtown as it was captured by The Shade Room.
Photo Credit: Instagram – @joclive
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TRICK DADDY Arrested In Miami DUI AND COCAINE POSSESSION
Trick Daddy had yet another run-in with the law … this time getting busted for cocaine possession and driving under the influence.
According to the arrest report, cops say they found TD asleep behind the wheel early Saturday morning and asked him where he was going/where he was coming from. The officer says he told them he’d come from a club and had just dropped someone off.
Sure enough, the police say they asked Trick Daddy if he’d had anything to drink that night — and they say he told them he’d had a few drinks hours ago. Cops say they saw him with bloodshot eyes and using slurred speech, so they conducted field sobriety tests.
The responding officers suspected he was driving under the influence, so they placed him under arrest. The cops say they transported him to a nearby jail, where he allegedly refused to offer a breath sample to determine how much booze might’ve been in his system.
And, lastly, the cops say when they conducted a search of Trick Daddy’s belongings … they claim they found a dollar bill with what they believed to be cocaine residue on the inside. He was ultimately booked for DUI and cocaine possession.
His bond was on the cocaine charge was set at $5,000, and for driving under the influence … another $1,000.
This isn’t the first time he was arrested for cocaine, he was also arrested in April 2014 when police went to his Florida home and found a gram of cocaine in his nightstand and a 9mm gun under his pillow.
For that case, he was booked into jail and later bonded out — after being charged with possession of cocaine, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, and driving with a suspended license.
via: https://www.tmz.com/2020/01/11/trick-daddy-arrested-cocaine-possession-dui/
Photo Credit: tmz.com
Cardi B Slams Trump, Announces Filing for Nigerian Citizenship
Cardi B’s announcement that she wants to seek Nigerian citizenship has set off a Twitter feud between her West African fans in friendly rivals Nigeria and Ghana.
The Grammy-winning rapper visited both countries last month on her African tour.
Her announcement in a tweet on Friday criticized the U.S. airstrike in Iraq that killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and sent Middle East tensions soaring.
“Its sad this man is putting Americans live in danger. Dumbest move Trump did till date … I’m filing for my Nigerian citizenship,” she tweeted.
Many in West Africa saw her tweet as proof that she preferred Nigeria
Ghanaians were quick to point out the pitfalls of living in Africa’s most populous nation, where traffic jams and power cuts are more visible than opulent nightclubs and luxury hotels.
“Hope you have a generator to power your house (because) they don’t have light but we do,” one user tweeted, adding an emoticon of a Ghana flag.
Some fans in Ghana expressed concern for her safety, warning about the Nigeria-based Islamic extremist group Boko Haram.
But most Nigerian fans were quick to offer up a passport exchange, underscoring the mix of pride and confusion that the 27-year-old star would prefer Nigeria to America.
This week she asked fans to weigh in on whether her Nigerian name should be CHIOMA B or Cadijat.
Cardi B, who was born Belcalis Almanzar, is of Afro-Caribbean descent, tracing her roots to Trinidad and the Dominican Republic.
It was not immediately clear how the rapper might acquire citizenship in Nigeria, though a number of celebrities have recently been given honorary citizenship in other African countries.
British actor Idris Elba now has a passport from Sierra Leone, his late father’s birthplace. And fellow rapper Ludacris recently acquired citizenship in Gabon after marrying a woman from the Central African nation.
via: https://ktla.com/2020/01/08/cardi-b-slams-trump-announces-filing-for-nigerian-citizenship/
Photo Credit: ktla.com
Justin Bieber Reveals Battle With Lyme Disease in Instagram Post
Justin Bieber has revealed he was recently diagnosed with Lyme disease, an infection caused by bacteria commonly carried by ticks.
Bieber, 25, shared the news in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
“While a lot of people kept saying Justin Bieber looks like s***, on meth etc. they failed to realize I’ve been recently diagnosed with Lyme disease, not only that but had a serious case of chronic mono which affected my, skin, brain function, energy, and overall health,” Bieber wrote.
“These things will be explained further in a docu series I’m putting on YouTube shortly,” Bieber concluded his post. “You can learn all that I’ve been battling and OVERCOMING!! It’s been a rough couple years but getting the right treatment that will help treat this so far incurable disease and I will be back and better than ever.”
Bieber’s news comes after he released his first new solo single in more than four years last week, “Yummy.”
Roughly 300,000 Americans are diagnosed with Lyme Disease each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Untreated, the infection can spread to the joints, heart and nervous system, according to the CDC, leading to joint pain and swelling.
via: https://ktla.com/2020/01/08/justin-bieber-reveals-battle-with-lyme-disease-in-instagram-post/
Photo Credit: Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images for Universal Music