Hip-hop icon Jay-Z got candid in his Grammys acceptance speech on Sunday, taking aim at the organization for snubbing Beyoncé in the Album of the Year category despite her being the winningest performer in Grammys history.
After thanking Dr. Dre and others while receiving the Dr. Dre Global Impact award, the performer began discussing how many in the hip-hop community (himself included) would boycott the Grammys for exclusion of their genre. While noting some things have gotten better over time, he took a detour to discuss Beyoncé’s notable snub.
“At least get it close to right, and obviously it’s subjective because it’s music and it’s opinion-based, but you know some things you know, I don’t want to embarrass this young lady but she has more Grammys than everyone but never won Album of the Year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work,” Jay-Z said. “Think about that. The most Grammys, never won Album of the Year, and you know, some of you will go home tonight and feel like you’ve been robbed. Some of you may get robbed. Some of you don’t belong in a category.”
With his daughter Blue Ivy Carter, who he shares with Beyoncé, up onto the stage with him, Jay-Z continued.
“When I get nervous, I tell the truth, but outside of that, we gotta keep showing up, and forget the Grammys for a second, just in life,” the rapper added. “As my daughter sits and stares at me nervous as I am. Just in life, you gotta keep showing up. Just keep showing up. Forget the Grammys, you gotta keep showing up until they give you all those accolades you feel you deserve. Until they call you champion, until they call you a genius, until they call you the greatest of all time. You feel me?”
Jay-Z wins Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at #Grammys✨ pic.twitter.com/Pv6D5qLG9P
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) February 5, 2024
The camera panned to Beyoncé a couple times during the speech as she watched calmly, smiling.
Beyonce has been nominated for Album of the Year four times, including for her latest album “Renaissance,” which lost to Harry Styles’ “Harry’s House” at the 2023 ceremony. The singer went on a stadium tour for the album last year and released a documentary film in December tied to the tour and album.
She made history at the 2023 ceremony by winning four Grammys, bringing her total to 32 trophies, the most of all time. While she broke that record, “Renaissance” was nominated alongside Styles’ third studio album.
