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Taking the stage to accept the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award for his achievements in music, the rapper highlighted “how far we’ve come” since Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff won the first rap Grammy in 1989.
Jay-Z recalled how the duo boycotted the ceremony because the rap category was not televised at the time, and how he boycotted the Grammys about 10 years later, when the late rapper DMX released two number one albums but was not nominated for an award.
“We want you to do well; We love you, but we want you to do well, at least to do almost well,” Jay-Z said about the Grammys while he stood next to his daughter Blue Ivy Carter. “Some of you may be robbed,” he said, adding, “Some of you don’t belong in this category.”
Jay-Z said that “obviously” music is “subjective” and “opinion-based,” but suggested that Beyoncé should already receive the album of the year honor. “I don’t want to embarrass this young woman, but she has more Grammys than anyone and she’s never won album of the year,” he said.
“So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work,” he continued. “Think about that: the most Grammy Awards, ever won album of the year.”
The camera then panned to Beyoncé in the audience. She was last nominated for the ceremony’s most prestigious award last year, for her 2022 album, “Renaissance,” but she lost to British star Harry Styles.
Beyoncé is the most nominated female artist in Grammy history, with 88, according to the official website of the awards. He has won 32 times, also a record.
Taylor Swift took home the award for album of the year on Sunday for “Midnights.” It was her fourth win, the most for any artist in that category.
Jay-Z has long advocated for social justice, creating an organization advocate for changes in the criminal justice system. The star has also co-produced documentaries about Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old black boy who was murdered by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, and Kalief Browder, a black man who committed suicide after being jailed without trial or further sentence. . of 1,000 days.
A number of African-American artists, including Frank Ocean, Kanye West and Sean “Diddy” Combs, have also taken stances through speeches and boycotts over the years to pressure the Grammys to recognize the hip-hop community and talent black. “To tell you the truth, hip-hop has never been respected by the Grammys,” Diddy said at a pre-ceremony gala in 2020.
Previous winners in the best album category also lamented that Beyoncé has yet to take home the award. In 2017, when Adele won album of the year for “25,” the British singer said, “I can’t accept this award,” before calling Beyoncé “the artist of my life.” She called Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” album “monumental” and told reporters that it was Beyoncé’s “time to win.”