The 64th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday night (April 3), but many of the artists who were up for awards were noticeably absent — including J. Cole.
The Dreamville Records founder was nominated in four categories: Best Rap Album for The Off-Season, Best Melodic Rap Performance for “P R I D E.I S.T H E.D E V I L” featuring Lil Baby and Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for “M Y.L I F E” with Morray.
While Cole didn’t take home any golden gramophones this year, he was making a splash on the other side of the country at the Dreamville Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina. During Cole’s headlining set, he performed the Grammy Award-winning single “a lot” by 21 Savage. Cole, who was featured on the song, reminded the crowd the London native is responsible for his first (and only) Grammy Award.
“Y’all make some noise for 21 Savage,” he said. “He got a n-gga his first — the only Grammy I ever won was because of this n-gga 21 Savage.”
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Kanye West, who was up for multiple awards as well, didn’t attend the Grammys either. Following what was described as “disturbing online behavior,” the Recording Academy decided to cut his performance. Instead, Ye spent the day celebrating his cousin’s grandmother’s 85th birthday alongside his “girlfriend” Chaney Jones.
Kanye did end up winning two Grammys during “Music’s Biggest Night,” including Best Rap Song for “Jail” with JAY-Z and Best Melodic Rap Performance for “Hurricane” featuring Lil Baby and The Weeknd, bringing his total count to 24.
Here's What Kanye West Was Doing Instead Of Attending The Grammys
In other Yeezy news, the 44-year-old mogul pulled out of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival where he was scheduled to headline the final night. Kanye hasn’t spoken publicly or used his social media accounts since March when he was suspended by Instagram.
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As for Cole, he and his Dreamville team dropped a surprise project called D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape on Thursday (March 31). The 15-track effort boasts features from the entire Dreamville roster — J. Cole, JID, Ari Lennox, EarthGang, Bas, Cozz, Lute and Omen — as well as 2 Chainz, A$AP Ferg, Young Nudy, Sheck Wes, TDE’s Reason, G Perico and Kenny Mason.
