Last night, Billboard held its annual Billboard Music Awards, and Doja Cat walked out of the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas with multiple R&B awards. Those victories did not sit well with Summer Walker’s current boyfriend, LVRD Pharoh.
Summer Walker lost the Top R&B Artist, Top R&B Female, and Top R&B Album honors to Doja Cat. LVRD Pharoh took to social media to voice his frustration over Doja being in the R&B section of the ceremony.
“[Billboard] explain to me how a Pop artist wins 2 R&B categories???? And she has 1 R&B song ever??” wrote LVRD Pharaoh on his Instagram Story. “[Billboard,] numbers don’t lie. How did she win?”
Since her arrival on the mainstream music scene, there have been a lot of debates about how Doja Cat’s music should be categorized. Billboard has placed her songs on Pop, R&B, and rap charts. However, Apple Music lists Doja’s Planet Her album as Pop.
LVRD Pharoh returned to Instagram to add more comments about the Billboard Music Awards. He accused award shows of being rigged and posted the hashtag #quitrobbingourblackqueens.”
Apparently, that post by Pharoh riled up some Doja Cat fans. In addition to questions about her specific genre, there have also been a lot of conversations about Doja’s ethnicity. Especially, after the mixed-race performer faced backlash for taking part in alleged white supremacist chat rooms.
“How y’all mad at me cause she’s half white and half African? When did I say she wasn’t black 🤣🤦🏾♂️,” posted LVRD Pharoh on Instagram. Pharoh also named other acts as he believes are more deserving winners of the R&B awards at this year’s BBMAs.
LVRD Pharoh Praises Doja Cat As A Pop Act
“No one is knocking [Doja Cat’s] artistry. She’s an amazing POP artist. But R&B is R&B. SZA, Summer, and Giveon should have won because they are the actual [artists] for the category!” LVRD Pharoh also argued.
He continued, “It’s not about Summer winning. It’s about respecting the culture of R&B. In the 2000s, none of this ‘pop-based music’ would have been considered R&B because it’s not that!! God bless everybody.”
For the record, RCA Records promotes Doja Cat as a multi-genre artist. A bio on the label’s website reads, “On her full-length debut album Amala [RCA Records], the Los Angeles singer, songwriter, and producer unlocks a sweetly sexy world soundtracked by wild hip-hop, twisted pop, and smoked-out R&B.”
