LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 04: (L-R) Beyoncé and onstage during the 66th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Jay-Z used his “nervousness” while accepting a GRAMMY Award on Sunday (Feb. 4) to point out a glaring truth! The ‘Empire State of Mind’ rapper called out the Recording Academy for what he sees as Beyoncé’s snubs and their miscategorization of artists.
Jay-Z spoke while accepting the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, which was added to the award categories last year.
Jay-Z emphasized that although “art is subjective,” something isn’t adding up when it comes to Beyoncé’s 32 GRAMMY wins.
“…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.’ That doesn’t work.”
Throughout her career, Bey has received 88 nominations, including several for ‘Album of the Year.’ Yet, despite the streams, visuals, sold-out tours, and cultural impact of projects like ‘Renaissance’ and ‘Lemonade,’ she has never won in that category.
Meanwhile, Bey stood in the audience with a straight face as her husband used his entire speech to call out her truth — and a few others.
“Some of you gon’ 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,” he said. “Nah, when I get nervous, I tell the truth. But outside of that, outside of that, we gotta keep showing up.
Blue Ivy, who had joined Jay-Z on stage, stood by with a slight smile as her daddy spoke on behalf of her mama! Near the end of his speech, Jay acknowledged his eldest, holding her hand and reminding folks she, too, is a GRAMMY winner.
“Just in life, you gotta 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…a genius…the greatest of all time, you feel me!”
Watch his full speech below.
