It has been reported that Ofcom rejects over 300 complaints about racism in the live performance of “Black” by rapper Dave at the last BRIT Awards. Responding to the accusation that the performance was a racist attack to white people, Ofcom claimed that the performance was “likely to be within most viewers’ expectations of this well-established awards ceremony.”
Back in last February, the BRIT Awards held its 40th ceremony that celebrated the glory of music scene in the UK. The award show was permeated with the appearances of wide-ranging musicians and artists, along with lush performances by A-listers with the likes of Mabel, Harry Styles, Lewis Capaldi, Lizzo, and Billie Eilish.
The real stars of that night, however, was Dave and Stormzy. The two British rappers amazed the audience with politically-charged live performances of their smash hits that celebrated their black heritage. The rappers’ shows gained widespread praise due to such empowering messages.
Despite such acclaim, after the broadcast of the award show, Ofcom received 309 complaints about Dave’s performance of the track “Black”. Even though the actual content of those complaints has never been revealed clearly, it is alleged that Dave did fuel his performance with a number of controversies and criticism that upset some viewers.
Taking to the stage at the O2, Dave wowed the audience with “Black”, the track from his Mercury Prize-winning album PSYCHODRAMA. To the shock of all spectators that night (February 18), Dave wrapped up his performance with some extra astounding verses that took jabs at many matters.
The “Funky Friday” called out prime minister Boris Johnson as a “real racist” in the added part of the track. Meanwhile, he also rapped about Duchess of Sussex Meghan’s maltreatment by media coverage and the Grenfell Tower fire incident.
The extra verses go, “It is racist whether or not it feels racist/ The truth is our Prime Minister’s a real racist/ They say, ‘You should be grateful we’re the least racist’/ I say, ‘The least racist is still racist’/ And if somebody hasn’t said it, equality is a right it doesn’t deserve credit/ Now if you don’t wanna get it then you’re never gonna get it/ How the news treats Kate versus how they treated Megan.”
Watch the remarkable performance from the video below.
Ofcom has now responded to the racism gripe with rejection. The regulator stated that it is “not uncommon for artists to express personal political views during their performances.”
Dave was not the only performer that night who received criticism about his politically-intense show. It was reported that Stormzy’s medley show of the tracks from Heavy Is the Head was filed with approximately 40 complaints, the nature of which was not clear.
At the night of the Awards, Dave took home the Album of the Year prize for his debut LP PSYCHODRAMA. The record also won the Mercury Prize, marking the 21-year-old rapper the one of two artists who won both the Mercury Prize and the Brit Award for album of the year. (Arctic Monkeys’ Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006) was the other album to achieve such honour.)
