Although the 57th-annual Grammy Awards announced the Hip Hop category winners before the telecast aired yesterday (February 8), the event’s broadcast skipped any award presentations for the genre for the first time since 1990.
“If Rap decides that it wants to regain respect at the Grammys, given what happened Sunday night — though deciding the annual event is out of touch and doesn’t matter is another valid option — it may be time to again do what Will, Jeff and the rest did in ’89,” MTV reports.
Will Smith and Jazzy Jeff boycotted the 1989 ceremony in protest for the lack of recognition for Hip Hop on the Grammys telecast.
Kendrick’s “i” garnered awards for Rap Song and Rap Performance, while Best Rap album went to Eminem’s MMLP2. Best Rap/Sung Collaboration went to Eminem and Rihanna for “The Monster.”
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Controversy clouded last year’s ceremony in which Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were awarded ahead of Lamar.
“Last year’s uproar following Macklemore & Ryan Lewis taking home so many awards and K. Dot getting shut out of seven categories may have clouded this, but Hip Hop’s relationship with the Grammys has changed over time,” MTV writes. “Where, in the days of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, Hip Hop was looking for validation from the mainstream, it now has something far beyond that. It is the mainstream — at least culturally, if not always sales-wise. But the Grammys didn’t recognize that last night. And that was a problem.”
Kanye West, who was nominated for the Yeezus track “Bound 2,” discussed his take on the ceremony after the show.
“If The Grammy’s want real artists to keep coming back, they need to stop playing with us,” Kanye West said. “We ain’t finna play with them no more. ‘Flawless’ Beyoncé video. Beck needs to respect artistry and he should have given his award to Beyoncé, and at this point, we tired of it. Because what happens is, when you keep on diminishing art and not respecting the craft and smacking people in the face after they deliver monumental feats of music, you’re disrespectful to inspiration.
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“We as musicians have to inspire people who go to work everyday and they listen to that Beyoncé album and they feel like it takes them to another place,” Kanye says. “Then they do this whole promotional event, and they’ll run the music over somebody’s speech, the artist, because they want a commercial advertising. No, we not playing with them no more.”
For additional Grammys coverage, watch the following DX Daily:
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