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J. Balvin Responds To Backlash Over Winning Afro-Latino Artist Of The Year Award Even Though He's Not Black

J. Balvin Responds To Backlash Over Winning Afro-Latino Artist Of The Year Award Even Though He's Not Black

Hot97 Staff
12/29/2021 12:00 AM EST
The African Entertainment Awards is facing backlash for an award they gave J. Balvin.Even though he's not Black, J. Balvin was given the 2021 Afro-Latino artist of the year award. He's a native of Medellín, Colombia. The "In Da Getto" rapper responded to his backlash after getting the recognition. He wrote the message in Spanish, and in English, it says,"I am not Afro-Latino, but thank you for giving me a place in the contribution of Afrobeat music and entertainment," The Jasmine Brand reports. Take a look:Social media reactions:https://twitter.com/metasnacks/status/1475335794890059776?s=21https://twitter.com/bad_dominicana/status/1475292804184223747?s=21https://twitter.com/macheteada/status/1475321182572396545?s=21 AEA released a statement and said, this category is,"for the people who have contributed to the African culture [and] not based on your race [but] based on your contribution to the African culture." He added,"Our category is not based on color. It's based on again, the contribution from these artists who are contributing to the African culture. Yes, you can be black-Latino and be nominated. Just like you can be white-Latino and be nominated. Just like we have black and white Africans. You know, that's how we see it."Ultimately, the African Entertainment Awards renamed the category the Best Latin Artist award.https://www.instagram.com/p/CYAbz_eg2b-/?utm_medium=copy_link