—with Brandee Younger

Brandee Younger was nominated for a 2022 Grammy Award in the category of Best Instrumental Composition for her song “Beautiful Is Black” from her 2021 album Somewhere Different (Impulse! Records). After being delayed due to pandemic concerns, the Grammys were handed out April 3 in Las Vegas. We asked Younger to give us a glimpse behind the scenes at “music’s biggest night.”

*photos by Erin Patrice O’Brien

Harp Column: “Beautiful Is Black” is from your first album with a label. Do you think music released on a major label has a better shot at winning a Grammy than music released independently?

Brandee Younger: No, not now. I think there was a time when you were essentially blocked unless you were on a label. But now everything is really set up for you to be able to do it yourself. What’s funny is that my last two albums [released independently] were not eligible to submit for one reason or another, so I had not even submitted any music before this album. You can blame that on my being haphazard. Because I was doing it all myself, the one thing I was never thinking about were the Grammys until the 11th hour.

HC: Do you think the support you had being on a label helped you in even getting submitted this time around?

BY: Possibly. We submitted Somewhere Different in several categories. But [partner and bassist] Dezron [Douglas] and I did a duo album Force Majeure (International Anthem, 2020) on an indie label, and we submitted that too. We all thought [Force Majeure] would end up with a nomination because it did better than my album, but it didn’t. So it was a surprise that [Somewhere Difference] got the nomination.

HC: You told Harp Column last summer when your album Somewhere Different came out that “Beautiful Is Black” was your favorite track off of the album. How does it feel to have your favorite song from that album get the Grammy nomination?

BY: I was super excited because that was the one song on the record I felt I had such an attachment to. I wrote all the music on the record, but I felt a special attachment to that one. It wasn’t even one we released as a single—it’s one that’s hidden on the record, which is another reason that I was surprised. 

HC: You earned a lot of “firsts” with this nomination—first Black woman and first harpist to be nominated in the category of Best Instrumental Composition. Does being the first  to do something give it more significance for you?

BY: Yes, it does. To be honest, I didn’t even know I was the first until we were in Las Vegas for the ceremony. I didn’t have a publicist or a Grammy campaign like everyone else—it was very DIY. So I was both disappointed that we’re in 2022, and I’m just now the first black woman, but at the same time, it’s powerful. Now, being the first harpist nominated is not so surprising. [Laughs] But it was really cool. It’s not that I don’t consider myself a composer, but composition is not something that I studied in school, and I never really separated it from what I do. I needed new music, and I wrote it.

HC: Did you have a pinch-me moment during the Grammy weekend?

BY: No, not during it because you’re doing so much. I was warned that it was going to be a long day, so I was ready mentally. It was a lot of running around, and I had my whole family there  so I was being pulled in a lot of directions. But I will admit that I didn’t expect to have so much fun. To be able to see so many colleagues that I haven’t seen in so long because of COVID—it was great to catch up with everyone and see so many of them thriving. I had one colleague working with Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock, and Naz. Everyone’s doing so much at such a high level, which is very cool.

HC: Let’s talk about getting ready for the ceremony and the red carpet. How long did it take with the glam team?

BY: It took a few hours. [Laughs] I don’t just wake up like that! I woke up to shower at 6:00 a.m., and the hair stylist was there by 6:30 to start my hair, and the makeup artist came at 7:00. Then my sister showed up, the stylist showed up, the photographer showed up, and as more people showed up, it got less productive. The ceremony for our type of Grammys is before the televised ceremony—it’s much earlier. But one big advantage is that all the Beyoncés aren’t on the red carpet at that time. They always say get to the red carpet early, and we did!

HC: Tell us about the dress you wore on the red carpet.

BY: The stylist wanted this particular dress, and the designer [Nosesso] said we could have it for the Grammys. Then I’m not sure if it was Kylie Jenner or some other celebrity, but someone needed the dress, so this random harpist got bumped from the equation. But then there were all of these flight cancellations and delays coming into Las Vegas, and the stylist had to come late as a result of that. So she was able to bring the dress at the last minute from L.A. I put the dress on right before we went out—one person held it, one person zipped it, and we just crossed our fingers that it was going to work.

HC: What role did your sister play?

BY: My sister Blair—a.k.a. hot date, a.k.a. overnight-publicist—her new job became pitching me on the red carpet. 

HC: What’s it like to walk the red carpet? 

BY: It’s very busy, so it’s not a cute, glamorous thing. It’s just a lot of people—artists, publicists, and press—just walking around.

HC: Did you have a fan-girl moment with any artists you saw? 

BY: Not really. There are so many people, and you don’t realize until later who they were. I felt really old at one point because I saw these rappers, and I didn’t know who they were, and I was like, “There’s lil-something and lil-something, and d’something,” because I didn’t know who they were. I am always really happy when a multi-faceted musician wins Album of the Year—the big one. So I was really proud of Jon Batiste, because that’s a win for all of us instrumentalists. Of course he’s a friend and a colleague, but when it’s someone you’ve seen work hard from college to this point, and you’ve seen everything they’ve gone through, you’re so genuinely happy for them as a person. But also in this moment, I’m also happy for us as musicians.

HC: What was it like to have your family in Las Vegas with you for the Grammys?

BY: It was so much fun. I wasn’t even going to go because my category is awarded at the premiere ceremony [before the televised program]. But then I quickly realized—these things, they’re not for you, they’re for your parents. They’re the ones that dragged you to orchestra rehearsal, waited for you to get out, fell asleep during the concert, took you to lessons every week—this is for them. I was there for my mom, my dad, my aunt, my uncle, my cousins. It was for them. They threw a party for me on Saturday night—we had a ball. Back when I graduated from college, I took off my cap and gown early, and my dad never got a photo with me. I’ve heard about it for years. I was able to make up for the cap and gown situation with a red carpet photo.

HC: Forty years from now, what are you going to remember about this experience?

BY: In 40 years, I’m absolutely going to remember my family. It won’t be the box seats that my sister and I had with endless drinks at the televised ceremony. I mean, I remember that now, but in 40 years, I won’t remember that part. [Laughs] The most memorable part will definitely be my family—my sister being the publicist, my parents and aunt and uncle doing a toast and throwing a party, my cousins being there. That’s what I’ll remember. •