Jay Z, who received the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the 2024 Grammys, used his acceptance speech to slam the Recording Academy for its voting habits, especially for never giving his wife Beyoncé the Album of the Year Award, despite her being the most awarded artist in Grammy history. He also urged his fellow artists to keep showing up and demanding recognition for their work.
The 54-year-old rapper, who has won 25 Grammys in his career, took the stage with his daughter Blue Ivy by his side, and thanked Dr. Dre for opening doors for him and other Black music creators. He also acknowledged the Black Music Collective, a group of industry leaders who advocate for the representation and advancement of Black music and culture within the Recording Academy and beyond.
Jay Z then referenced the 1989 Grammys, when Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff boycotted the show because their award for Best Rap Performance was not televised. He joked that they went to a hotel and watched the Grammys instead, and that it was not a great boycott. He then turned serious and addressed the Recording Academy directly,
“I’m just saying, we want you all to get it right. We love y’all, we love y’all. We want you to get it right—or at least get it close to right. And obviously, it’s subjective… because it’s music and it’s opinion-based, but some things… 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,”
The camera then panned to Beyoncé, who looked surprised and touched by her husband’s words. The singer has won 32 Grammys, making her the most awarded artist in Grammy history, but has never won Album of the Year, despite being nominated four times for Lemonade, Beyoncé, I Am… Sasha Fierce, and Dangerously in Love. She has lost to Taylor Swift, Beck, Adele, and Harry Styles respectively.
Jay Z continued,
“Some of you are going to 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”—The audience gasped at this. “When I get nervous, I tell the truth.”
He concluded his speech by encouraging his peers to keep making music and expressing themselves, regardless of the Grammys’ recognition or lack thereof. He said he was proud of his achievements and grateful for his opportunities.
“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 chairman. Until they call you a genius. Until they call you the greatest of all time,” he said.
Jay Z has been a vocal critic of the Grammys in the past, and has often skipped the ceremony or declined to perform. In 2018, he was nominated for eight awards for his album 4:44, but did not win any. He also rapped in his song “Apeshit” with Beyoncé, “Tell the Grammys fuck that 0 for 8 shit.”
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