At the Grammy Awards on Sunday (Feb. 4), JAY-Z addressed the Recording Academy while accepting the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. He highlighted a major oversight in the Album of the Year category, specifically pointing out Beyoncé’s track record.
“We want y’all to get it right. At least get it 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,” he stated.
JAY-Z continued, “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.”
Although he didn’t mention Beyoncé by name, she currently holds the record for the most Grammy award wins ever, with 32 in total. In 2010, the music icon’s I Am… Sasha Fierce was nominated alongside nine other achievements. However, she lost Album of the Year to Taylor Swift. In 2023, RENAISSANCE was vying for the category but ultimately didn’t win.
It’s also worth mentioning that JAY-Z, who is tied with Kanye West for the most Grammy wins by a rapper, won 24 out of 88 nominations. In another part of his speech, he critiqued the subjective nature of the voting process and the Recording Academy’s decision-making.
“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,” he said. “When I get nervous, I tell the truth.”
The musical mogul concluded, “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.”
[via]
