The Grammys lastly gave hip-hop the platform it deserves at this yr’s ceremony on Feb. 5, rolling out the most important star-studded tribute of all time in honor of its fiftieth anniversary. The highly effective section was narrated by Black Thought and launched by LL Cool J as old-school hip-hop artists united on stage on the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles for an explosive time capsule of rap historical past.
The efficiency featured appearances from legends like Missy Elliott, Big Boi, Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Mele Mel & Scorpio/Ethiopian King, Ice-T, The Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Rahiem, Rakim, Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa, Spinderella, and Too $hort (sure, that many artists), all of whom carried out a few of their biggest hits on stage.
New-school acts like Lil Baby, GloRilla, and Lil Uzi Vert additionally joined the explosive Grammys efficiency, which was produced by Questlove (who additionally served as music director). However, some followers have since requested why the massive tribute did not embrace extra of their favourite hip-hop artists. Following critiques about excluding sure artists from the efficiency, Questlove defined on Twitter how the tribute’s lineup was finalized.
“normal ?s answered about final evening: (some are asking if we’re taking part in erasure video games so uh….yeah I do not play that,” he wrote in a single tweet, “so—in answering the questions of ‘why wasn’t dada there?’) 1. already booked 2. declined our supply straight up 3. or a 3rd possibility im not gonna get into.”
“Just perceive we actually tried to SQUEEEEEEEZE everybody in.”
Questlove famous that “we determined to eschew those that handed away, & give flowers to the residing” and “WAY too many legends handed so somebody’s property was gonna be heated.” He additionally stated that he and the Recording Academy had been “conscious of taking part in our biases out” by solely acknowledging sure artists and time durations through the 12-minute efficiency.
The producer concluded his sequence of tweets by writing, “now granted they won’t be your favourite (and there have been 2 essential eleventh hour (extra like 10 minutes earlier than taping) cancellations that mighta made it appear like we had been biased in our decisions. however simply perceive we actually tried to SQUEEEEEEEZE everybody in.”
now granted they won’t be your favourite (and there have been 2 essential eleventh hour (extra like 10 minutes earlier than taping) cancellations that mighta made it appear like we had been biased in our decisions. however simply perceive we actually tried to SQUEEEEEEEZE everybody in.
— Dr. Love (@questlove) February 6, 2023
Hip-hop and the Grammys have had a notoriously rocky relationship, because it took the Recording Academy greater than a decade after hip-hop’s beginning (Aug. 11, 1973) to acknowledge the style at its annual award present (the primary rap Grammy was awarded to DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, aka Will Smith, in 1989). However, it appears the Grammys try to rectify historical past.
“For 5 many years, hip-hop has not solely been a defining power in music, however a significant affect on our tradition,” stated Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, in a press release, per Billboard. “Its contributions to artwork, vogue, sport, politics, and society can’t be overstated. I’m so proud that we’re honoring it in such a spectacular manner on the Grammy stage. It is just the start of our yearlong celebration of this important style of music.”
Hip-hop’s affect was acknowledged all through the 2023 Grammy Awards. Kendrick Lamar swept up wins in nearly all the rap classes, whereas DJ Khaled and JAY-Z carried out their Grammy-nominated collaboration “God Did” alongside Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, John Legend, and Fridayy on the shut of the ceremony. Beyond that, Billboard reported that the Recording Academy, in partnership with CBS, can be set to debut a particular hip-hop music occasion later this yr.
See photographs from the Grammys’ tribute to hip-hop and all of Questlove’s tweets forward.