Jay-Z Calls Out Grammys While Onstage at the Grammys

'We want y'all to get it right—or at least get it close to right'
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 5, 2024 1:15 AM CST
Jay-Z Uses Grammys Speech to Call Out the Grammys
Host Trevor Noah, left, presents the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award to Jay-Z, center, as Blue Ivy Carter looks on during the 66th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Jay-Z was awarded the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the Grammys on Sunday night, and the rapper took the opportunity to call out the awards show itself while onstage accepting the award. He mentioned Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff boycotting the ceremony in 1988 and himself boycotting it a decade later, when he was nominated for best rap album, CBS News reports. "DMX had dropped two albums that year, they both went number one—shout out to DMX—and he was not nominated at all. So I boycotted, and I watched the Grammys. I'm just saying, we want y'all to get it right," he said, addressing the Recording Academy.

He then turned his attention to his wife. "I don't want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than anyone and never won album of the year," he said of Beyonce, who holds the records for most Grammys with 32. "So even by your own metrics, that doesn't work." He continued, per Variety, "Think about that. The most Grammys, never won album of the year. That doesn't work. ... When I get nervous, I tell the truth." The couple's 12-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, joined her dad onstage, People reports. (More Jay-Z stories.)

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