After the Latin Recording Academy unveiled its nominations for the 2019 awards show on September 24, controversy began stirring about the lack of reggaeton and urbano artists nominated in the show’s main categories — such as Song of the Year, Album of the Year, and Record of the Year. J Balvin, Daddy Yankee, Maluma, and more have publicly spoken out, taking to social media with a unified message: “Sin reggaeton no hay Latin Grammy,” meaning “without reggaeton, there’s no Latin Grammys.”
J Balvin and Daddy Yankee posted the image to Instagram along with Nicky Jam, Karol G, and others. J Balvin scored a nomination for Best Urban Song, and Daddy Yankee is nominated for Best Urban Fusion/Performance for “Con Calma,” though his accompanying caption makes it clear he thinks the Academy could do more to honor the work of his peers in the major categories.
“Despite being nominated, I don’t agree with the way they treated the genre and a lot of my colleagues,” he wrote in Spanish. “Remember one very important thing: Their platform was not the one that created this movement. This goes beyond a prize. This is culture, credibility, relevance, and RESPECT.”
Maluma, who did not receive any nods, shared a similar message via Instagram Stories. “It is a disappointment to not even have one Latin Grammys nomination. So much effort, the best album I’ve ever made in my LIFE,” he wrote.
The Latin Grammy Awards are set to take place on November 14 in Las Vegas. Rosalía is nominated for five awards, including Album of the Year for El Mal Querer, and Camila Cabello‘s Spanish-language Alejandro Sanz collab, “Mi Persona Favorita,” is up for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Song.
See the full list of nominees here.
