The 65th Annual Grammy Awards took place on Sunday, February 5th in Los Angeles at the Crypto.com Arena. The award ceremony is another star-studded event with history being made throughout the night. It was an especially big night for Hip-Hop culture.
RemixdMag has you covered with 5 of the best moments from the biggest night in music.
Beyoncé breaks record for the Most Grammy Wins in History
Beyoncé made history as being the artist to have won the most Grammys of all time. The pop icon had garnered 28 Grammys throughout her career leading up to this year’s award ceremony. She led the ceremony with 9 more nominations for her game changing 2022 album, Renaissance. She tied with the late Hungarian-born classical conductor, Georg Solti (who had 31 Grammys), after she and her team of writers won best R&B song for “Cuff It”. However, the award that put her over top was winning best dance/electronic music album for Renaissance. Beyonce gave an emotional speech as she accepted her award. “I want to thank God for protecting me. … I’d like to thank my uncle Johnny, who’s not here, but he’s here in spirit … I’d like to thank the queer community for your love and for inventing this genre.” Beyoncé not only turned her 4 out of 9 nominations into victories, but earned herself a record breaking total of 32 Grammys. What makes this moment even more prominent is the historic events happening during Black History Month.
Kendrick Lamar wins a Grammy Best Rap Album for Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers
Kendrick Lamar took home the prestigious award for best rap album. The Grammy was presented by Cardi B for his powerful 2022 album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers. Staying true to his west coast aesthetic, Kendrick accepted his award rocking a custom navy blue pgLang LA hat, dark sunglasses, button-up and tie, with a color-coordinated custom made Martin Rosejacket over. He also appeared to be rocking a keychain on his pants with an image of his idol, Tupac Shakur. Kendrick took home a total of 3 Grammys that night.
Kendrick thanked his family for giving him “the courage and the vulnerability to share these stories, and share [his] truth with this album.” He also thanked his fans, and the culture for allowing him to evolve as an artist. Kendrick admits that the album was one of the toughest for him to make.
Though Kendrick has evolved as an artist from his Good Kid M.A.A.D.City days, he still holds the crown for being one of the most respected and authentic story-tellers of our generation. Other nominated artists in the category included DJ Khaled, Jack Harlow, Future, and Pusha T.
Celebration of 50 Years of Hip-Hop
The Grammys celebrated Hip-Hop’s 50th anniversary by bringing together some of the biggest names in Hip-Hop history. They did this with an all-star tribute dedicated to the prominent genre. The legendary Questlove curated and arranged the special performance. Prior to presenting the performers, LL Cool J introduced the segment by giving a brief history of the start of Hip-Hop, which included a nod to DJ Kool Herc, who is one of the originators and pioneers of Hip-Hop. The 14-minute performance was a flash-forward through the different eras and movements of Hip-Hop. The segment featured some ground-breaking artists in the history of Hip-Hop. From Grandmaster Flash, Run-D.M.C., LL Cool J, Salt-N-Pepa, Public Enemy, and Queen Latifah, to Big Boi, Nelly, and Too $hort. The latter of the segment tapped modern artists Lil Baby, GloRilla, and Lil Uzi Vert closed out the performance with “I Just Wanna Rock”.
Quavo performing emotional tribute to Takeoff
2022 was a sad year in Hip-Hop and music as many mourned rapper losses, including the slain rapper, Takeoff. During the “In Memoriam” segment of the show, Quavo took the stage to perform a tribute to his nephew and fellow Migos member with his song, “Without You.” The song was written and dedicated to Takeoff. The performance also featured Atlanta-based Christian group Maverick City Music.
“God Did” Performance
DJ Khaled closed out the ceremony with a star-studded performance that included Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, John Legend, and Fridayy to perform their collaboration, “God Did”. The performance was reminiscent of “The Last Supper” as the MCs spit their verses and sang their hooks at a long dining table in the middle of the street with a feast and candles all over the table and purple lighting.
The song is featured on DJ Khaled’s 13th studio album of the same name. The overall performance lasted 8 minutes, as Jay-Z took up 4 of those minutes as he effortlessly delivered his verse. “These ain’t songs, these is hymns ’cause I’m him/ It’s the Psalm 151, this New Testament/ The book of Hov/ Jesus turned water to wine/ For Hov, it just took a stove.“
What made this performance prominent is that Jay-Z rarely performs live these days. Although, Jay-Z holds the record of having 88 Grammy nominations over the course of his career (tied with his wife Beyonce), and has 24 wins. Lil Wayne also just recently received the Global Impact Award from DJ Khaled at the Recording Academy Honors presented by the Black Music Collective event, while holding 5 Grammys. John Legend holds 12, while DJ Khaled holds one Grammy.
Who wouldn’t want a seat at that Grammy table?
