вЂњThe songwriter is more powerful than any politician and any government because she reaches directly to the people and she uses her talent and skill and puts time in a capsule -ideally a capsule that holds about four minutes of material (laughter) - or if youвЂ™re Isaac Hayes about 20 minutes! God bless him too.

вЂњAnd I hope that when we look back on the first part of the 21 st century that we as songwriters continue to capture the passions and problems and possibilities of this moment weвЂ™re in, so that future generations will know who we are and what really stand for. And there are so many people carrying that forward: Mary J., Sia, SZA, Kacey, Solange, Janelle, H.E.R., and so many more talented female writers are running with that torch today and lifting all of us up. Marie, Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Aretha, Tina, Dolly Parton - picking up that powerful torch and speaking the truth of women and our inner lives. And todayвЂ™s battle for civil rights still draws on the power of protest songs written decades ago by Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Joan Baez, Nina Simone, Buffy St. вЂњSongwriters tell our stories, they sing who we are as people -В donвЂ™t we all want to hear from all of us? My ancestorsвЂ™ spiritual songs told their stories and gave them strength, and weвЂ™re all stronger because of it. So the next time that you get a chance to hire someone, whether itвЂ™s the biggest producer or the newest intern, look for a woman - especially a woman of color, a fresh voice, who brings something new to the spectrum. вЂњSo this reminds us all to continue to be conscious and present of the diversity we want to see in the workplace, and how we can make it better. Only 2% of producers are female and one of them is me! Our world is 50-50, and itвЂ™s time for our industry to reflect that. вЂњOf almost 3,000 pop songwriters credited last year only 12% were female, only 3% of the engineers were female, and one of them is Ann. вЂњWe have to do something because the statistics are brutal,вЂќ she continued, citing statistics from a University of Southern CaliforniaвЂ™s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism study of Grammy nominees earlier this year. And many of us in the music world are working more diligently than ever to showcase and support the work of female songwriters, musicians, engineers, and producers. ItвЂ™s a powerful year, itвЂ™s an empowering year, and itвЂ™s the beginning of so many things. (applause) My mama taught me that every year is the year of the woman so I never thought (inaudible), but this year is definitely something else. вЂњItвЂ™s especially meaningful to receive this award right now as a woman in the music industry. After thanking the family members, collaborators and executives closest to her, she continued: She spoke at length about the issue in her 10-minute acceptance speech. Approached by Variety after the ceremony, Keys politely demurred questions for specifics, saying only вЂњYouвЂ™ll be hearing about itвЂќ and вЂњWe just want it to permeate right now.вЂќ

Alicia keys family 2018