On Sunday (Feb. 4), the 66th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena, where artists like SZA, Tyla, Victoria Monét, Coco Jones, Killer Mike, and Lil Durk emerged as winners. One notable trophy recipient was JAY-Z, who was honored with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, the second person to earn the distinction after the award’s namesake.
After giving Dr. Dre his flowers and reflecting on Will Smith’s Grammys boycott history, JAY-Z used his acceptance speech to call out the Recording Academy for what he feels are flaws in their overall decision-making process.
“We want y’all to get it right. We love y’all, we love y’all, we love y’all, we just want y’all to get it right. At least get it close to right,” he stated as his daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, stood next to him. “Obviously, it’s subjective because, you know, it’s music and it’s opinion-based, but some things… You know.”
He then turned his attention to his wife, Beyoncé, who has consistently been snubbed in a particular category throughout her illustrious career. “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.”
Hov continued, “Some of you are gonna go home tonight and feel like you’ve been robbed. Some of you may get robbed. Some of you don’t belong in the category.” Following a shocked response from the crowd, the rapper-turned-mogul added, “Nah, nah, not with that. When I get nervous, I tell the truth!”
JAY-Z closed by advising those who deserve those accolades to “keep showing up” — not only at the Grammys, but also in life. “You gotta keep showing up… until they call you chairman, until they call you a genius, until they call you the greatest of all time. You feel me?” he said.