9 months ago
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Jay-Z received an honorary Grammy last night, the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, and y’all know the Recording Academy was nervous about platforming Jay-Z and giving him the time to say whatever he wanted. They let him have the time though, and he stood on that stage and called them out – for failing to televise the Rap categories, for marginalizing “urban” music and for failing to recognize his wife in the major categories like Album of the Year.
Jay-Z used his acceptance speech at the 2024 Grammys to call out the organization that honored him with a special award. While accepting the 2nd annual Dr. Dre Global Impact Award — in recognition of his musical legacy — the hip-hop artist, 54, questioned the process behind the voted categories.
“We want y’all to get it right. At least getting close to right. And obviously it’s subjective. Y’all don’t gotta clap at everything. Obviously it’s subjective because, you know, it’s music and it’s opinion-based,” the artist started. “But, you know, some things — I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that. The most Grammys, never won album of the year. That doesn’t work.”
While he didn’t mention the “young lady” by name, he appeared to be referring to his wife Beyoncé, who has been nominated for album of the year four times and never won. Beyoncé was up for best new artist in 2010 (losing to Taylor Swift), 2015 (losing to Beck), 2017 (losing to Adele) and 2023 (losing to Harry Styles).
“You know, some of you gonna go home tonight and feel like you’ve been robbed. Some of you may get robbed. Some of you don’t belong in a category. No, when I get nervous I tell the truth,” he added. JAY-Z’s latest comments echoed ones he made at last year’s Grammys. “The truth is, we grew up wanting to be on the Grammys, and it was our goal. We just want them to get it right. That’s what we want,” JAY-Z said in 2023 of Beyoncé’s Renaissance album, which lost to Styles.
He then called out his daughter, Blue Ivy, who joined him on stage for the award.
“Outside of that, you know, we got to keep showing up and forget the Grammys for a second. Just in life. As my daughter just sits and stares at me nervous as I am. Just in life, you got to keep showing up. Just keep showing up. Forget the Grammys you got to keep showing up until they give you all those accolades you feel you deserve. Until they call you Chairman, until they call you a genius until they call you the greatest of all time,” he concluded. “You feel me?”
You could say that Jay-Z is at a point in his career where he can say these things and not be “punished” by the music powers-that-be, but that’s not really the point. The point is that however ass-backwards, however blatantly racist, however blatantly sexist, the Recording Academy and Grammys are still the biggest awards in music and they confer “legitimacy.” Jay walked the line between calling them out and acknowledging that he still wants them to do better for Black artists, because the Grammys actually do matter. It IS ridiculous that Beyonce has never won Album of the Year (she should have won it in 2017, for Lemonade).
Blue is so grown up!! And Beyonce looked like she didn’t even want to be there. That cowboy hat, LMAO!!
Photos courtesy of Getty.
