Puerto Rican rapper and singer Bad Bunny has called for “Ice out” as he scooped the Grammy Award for best musica urbana album.
The 31-year-old, who won the award for Debi Tirar Mas Fotos at the ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday, used his winner’s speech to call for love.
Ice officers have been sent to US cities as part of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation initiative, most notably in Minnesota and Minneapolis, where about 2,000 federal agents have been deployed.
Officers have come under strong criticism over their aggressive approach. Most recently, Ice agents fatally shot two people on the streets of Minneapolis: Renee Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24.
Receiving applause as he made his speech, the singer, whose real name is Benito Martinez Ocasio, said: “Before I say thanks to god, I’m going to say Ice out.
“We’re not savages, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens, we are humans and we are Americans…
“I would say to the people, I know it’s tough to know not to hate on these days, and I was thinking, sometimes… the hate get more powerful with more hate, the only thing that is more powerful than hate is love.
“So please, we need to be different, if we fight, we have to do it with love, we don’t hate them. We love our people, we love our family, and that’s the way to do it, with love, don’t forget that please. Thank you, thank you god.”
It comes after singers Joni Mitchell and Kehlani, and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon were among artists wearing “Ice out” and “Be Good” pins at the annual ceremony, held at the Crypto.com.
Vernon, 44, whose group Bon Iver is nominated for best alternative music album, said he wore a whistle as a tribute to the legal observers documenting the actions of federal agents in the streets.
“I think there’s a reason that music exists and it’s to heal and to bring people together,” he told The Associated Press. “But the real work are those observers on the on the ground in Minneapolis. We just want to shout them out.”
Kehlani, 30, cursed Ice in her acceptance speech as she won her first Grammy for best R&B performance for Folded.
She said: “I hope everybody’s inspired to join together as a community of artists and speak out against what’s going on. F*** Ice.”
Amy Allen, Rhiannon Giddens and Margo Price were also among the artists wearing the political pins.
