Here we go again. Last month, it was the Oscars that were too white. This month, it’s the Grammys, which will be awarded Monday night.

But it’s not the actual awards being presented that are getting called into question — it’s the tributes to those musician greats that have played their last song since the Grammys last year, according to PageSix.com.

This year, Lady Gaga will perform a tribute to the legendary David Bowie; Jackson Browne will do the same for Glenn Frey and Alice Cooper; Johnny Depp is expected to do the same for Motorhead’s Lemmy.

But more performers have left us than just those. The remaining ones are slated to be remembered in a video tribute, including Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White as well as the late Natalie Cole — both African American.

“Over the last week or so, since Maurice White passed away, there has been back and forth with the producers and the academy about some kind of representation of him during the show. The tributes they’ve confirmed are all white. As of yesterday, there was no tribute at all for Maurice because Grammy producers said they didn’t have time,” an event insider told PageSix.

Honoring White was especially important given the impact his group had on the industry.

“Maurice White and the group he founded had unprecedented impact on pop culture,” another insider told the publication. “After a lot of pressure, producers are trying to figure out how to properly pay tribute to him. It’s still in limbo.”

PageSix reported:

To make matters worse, Run-DMC will receive a lifetime achievement award — but it won’t be televised. “People are afraid to speak on it because it’s the Grammys. But there’s a history of them not acknowledging black artists,” the first source added.

Interestingly enough, the Grammys are facing these charges of not doing enough to honor artists of color despite the fact that black rapper Kendrick Lamar leads the pack with 11 Grammy nominations.

“The voting bloc is still too white, too old and too male,” Billboard recently reported. “The voters are becoming more diverse in terms of minorities, females and younger ages — but there’s still a long way to go.”

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Michael Dorstewitz

Mike has been with BizPac Review almost from the beginning. Follow him on Twitter at @MikeBPR.

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