J. Bavin Draws Flak After Receiving Afro-Latino Award Of The Year Despite Not Identifying As One

After accepting the award for Best Afro-Latino Artist of the Year, J Balvin has once again found himself in the middle of a controversy.

The award, given by the African Entertainment Awards, drew significant flak from fans, who have expressed displeasure with both J Balvin's acceptance of the award and the organization's decision to give it to him.

He was voted the category winner after defeating fellow nominees Japanese, Dubosky, Italian Somal, David L, Nacho, Sami Boy, Bad Bunny, The Ganez, and Iza, who were all from the United States.

Balvin, a native of Medellin, Colombia, took to Instagram to express that he is "humbled" to accept the award even though he does not identify as an African-Latino.

In a now-deleted post, The 36-year old Reggaeton star thanks the institution in Spanish for giving him a place "in the contribution of the afrobeat music and movement,".

The African Entertainment Awards USA, more commonly known as AEAUSA, responded to the backlash by renaming the "Best Afro-Latino Artist of the Year" to the "Best Latin Artist Award".

The "renamed award" is for any artist based in Latin America that is contributing to the African culture, especially the Afro-beats sound globally.

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As per AEAUSA, the award is not based on race but, more importantly, on pushing the African culture forward on the world stage.

The organization's president, Dominic Tamin, reaffirmed in a video that the category was never intended to represent a particular race but rather to recognize an individual whose music has "contributed to the African culture,".

The backlash

Some people are urging the AEAUSA to do a better job than simply vetting and awarding Black prizes to Black persons and musicians, as they have in the past. AEAUSA featured Afro-Latino artists in the category, but J Balvin won instead of them. People are confused as to why this mix-up was allowed to happen in the first place.

Founded in October 2015 in New Jersey, the African Entertainment Awards aims to honor and uplift African entertainment.

According to the website, the nonprofit organization serves "as a platform to showcase an African that is united, self-sufficient, and willing, and able to evoke social change" that matters to African communities worldwide.