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Former MC Dee Barnes revealed a prolonged assertion calling out the Grammys after they named what she deemed the “Ike Turner Award” after Dr. Dre.
In an op-ed published in Rolling Stone on Wednesday (Feb. 8), the journalist and rapper spoke out in regards to the transfer by the Black Music Collective to bestow that honor. Barnes was assaulted by the producer and rapper when he was then a member of N.W.A. On the time, she was the host of Pump It Up!, a Hip-Hop present on Fox that ran for 2 years and was key to the rise of the tradition. Dre issued an apology in 2015 to the New York Times, not naming anybody specifically.
Within the op-ed, Barnes spoke about how she initially was welcoming of the Impression Award being given to trade legends Missy Elliott, Epic Data CEO Sylvia Rhone and Lil Wayne together with Dr. Dre. Her place modified as soon as she realized that the award can be named after him.
“All people desires to separate the artwork from the artist, and typically that’s simply not doable,” she mentioned, referring to his previous historical past of abuse by saying “to call an award after somebody with that sort of historical past within the music trade, you would possibly as nicely name it the Ike Turner Award.”
After talking out in regards to the struggles she’s endured, Barnes was shut out from the trade. Which led to her battling to deal with and supply for herself on a long-term foundation. “The blacklisting I’ve confronted nonetheless feels energetic, and it took me a very long time to just accept that,” she mentioned.
Barnes likened her scenario to the vitriol that Megan Thee Stallion endured after being the sufferer of assault by Tory Lanez. “I watched what occurred to my little sister Megan, and it simply was heartbreaking to me as a result of we’ve not modified in all these years.” She ended the op-ed by revealing that she is engaged on a memoir and getting again into journalism, because of the help of Black girls writers and journalists.
She additionally hoped for an opportunity to settle issues as soon as and for all with Dr. Dre in a face-to-face summit. “However I believe that’s going to be the one factor to show the tide, so to talk — if we’ve a come-to-Jesus second in individual, in public. As a result of every part occurred publicly, it’s bought to have closure publicly.”