2023 Grammys

Questlove Details Why Some Artists Didn’t Perform For Hip Hop 50th Grammy Tribute

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It was a massive celebration of Hip Hop on the Grammy stage last weekend, and Questlove is answering fans questions about the performance. Dozens of hitmakers from varying generations of the culture joined together to revisit our favorite classics. This year marks Hip Hop’s 50th Anniversary, so it was expected to be a performance unlike any other we’ve seen at the ceremony. Questlove helped co-curate the event, and after it aired, he was inundated with queries about why certain artists were noticeably absent.

Quest went into detail about the process on Twitter. Off the bat, he said missing artists were either 1) already booked, 2) declined the offer, or 3) “a third option im not gonna get into.” He added, “Or we made a decision to wait for the 2 hour August taping.” The Roots icon also explained why they decided not to do a memorial tribute for those that passed away.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 05: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Questlove performs onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/WireImage)
Read More: LL Cool J Hosts Star-Studded Hip-Hop Tribute At Grammys

According to Questlove, it was more important to honor the artists who are still living. Additionally, “For starters I learned with VH1 Honors not all rappers are good MCs and bad karaoke is a danger slope. And WAY too many legends passed so someone’s estate was gonna be heated. this went through a crazy evolution. all my suggestions were 20 min presentations with Breakbeats/Graf Legends/Dancers/DJ/Beatboxers—-you’ll be shocked how fast 25-40 secs goes by and you don’t even get the halfway mark of 1995l remember 1973 to 2023 was the goal.”

There were also conversations about having all women, but Quest suggested that tensions kept that from materializing. “[And] this is NOT leading to a tired narrative that women don’t get along because there MORE concerns on the men side of things too (happiest moment seeing LL & Ice T just chillin—)—but yeah the most asked question was ‘who all gone be there?’ which is understandable.”

Read More: Jay-Z Performs “GOD DID” With Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled, & More At Grammys

“We had a criteria we wanted to follow: alive? harmonizing? turntablism? fighting shape? NYC? LA? BAY? ATL? NAWLINS? HOUSTON? MIDWEST born before 1960? born after 1995? Superlyrical? Stylistic? Original? generally known by at least 2 generations?” Later, someone questioned why there wasn’t any representation of artists from the 2010s. Questlove replied, “Because they said ‘no’, or they walked out.” Check out Questlove answering fans’ questions below.

Someone In LA Hired A Skywriter To Celebrate Beyoncé’s Historic Night At The Grammys

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Despite everything, Beyoncé’s Grammys night was still historical, as she became the most-awarded artist in history with her win for Best Dance/Electronic album for Renaissance. She’s been receiving praise from all directions ever since — including from former First Lady Michelle Obama — including up in the air.

Fans in Los Angeles — home of the Grammys, which were held at LA’s Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night — were greeted with a delightful sight today as a skywriter flew across the gorgeous blue sky, leaving behind a congratulatory message addressed to the queen. “Beyonce, you made history!” it read. Oddly enough, no information has surfaced regarding the message’s origin or sponsor.

Although fans were disappointed when Bey missed out on the Album Of The Year award (she’s been shut out four times to date, although all of her albums have won at least one Grammy), her husband Jay-Z wasn’t sweating it. “I remove myself from the process and hope they just get it right,” he said. “It got to the point where I was like, it’s just a marketing thing. You go, you got an album out and it could help the sales go up.”

Meanwhile, others who attended the ceremony were grateful just to have been in her presence. Breakout Memphis star GloRilla joked on Facebook that after hugging Beyoncé, she’s “never taking a bath again” and getting her “15-minute conversation with Beyoncé tatted.” Way to keep things in perspective, Glo!

Did Quavo And Offset Actually Fight At The Grammys?

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There’s no denying the Grammy Awards is the biggest night in music. Just as the annual ceremony looks to acknowledge the year’s rising stars and legacy acts. The program also carves out time each year during its In Memoriam tribute section to remember the musicians that passed away (or at least some of them). For rapper Quavo, this was the most meaningful part of the event.

Performing his new song, “Without You,” the Atlanta native paid his respects to his late nephew, rapper Takeoff, who was tragically killed last year. Unfortunately, the touching tribute has since been mudded by allegations that a fight broke out backstage between him and Offset.

The former Migos member quickly took to Twitter to deny the rumors, writing, “What the f*ck look like fighting my brother y’all n****s is crazy.”

However, now footage obtained by TMZ has fans questioning what to believe. In the video, Offset’s wife, Cardi B, a featured presenter for the evening, was heard yelling, “Both of y’all wrong. Both of y’all. This is not right.”

Shortly after she’s heard yelling, ET‘s Kevin Fraizer asked Cardi about what tensions she was attempting to settle, and she denied anything had happened. Cardi laughs off the question, saying, “The only thing I settled was my outfit, honey.”

Later, Offset is seen walking away alongside his former label head Pierre Thomas visibly upset as he makes mention of a red carpet incident. Something clearly transpired, but what exactly happened is still unclear.


Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Latto Dubs Herself A ‘Swiftie’ As She Posts A Hilarious Selfie With Taylor Swift At The 2023 Grammys

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Latto was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Melodic Rap Performance (“Big Energy (Live)”) at the 2023 Grammys over the weekend. While she didn’t take home a win this year, she clearly still had a blast interacting with other stars and musicians at the event.

One of which was Taylor Swift, who Latto recently uploaded a selfie with to Twitter. It’s also a silly one too, as Latto poses with her tongue out and Swift does a cheek kiss. “Swiftie,” Latto captioned the post with champagne glass and heart emojis.

As anyone who was watching the ceremony knows, the celebs were partying hard in full force during the event. Swift frequently drew attention from the camera as she danced and did a similar pose with Bad Bunny and did some other silly wine-mom-energy moves with Jack Antonoff. Oh yeah, and she sparked the internet after interacting with her ex, Harry Styles.

It’s technically not the first time Latto’s been associated with Swift either. In April of last year, a YouTuber mashed up the “Big Energy” instrumental with Taylor Swift’s “22” acapella. The downside is that it’s not Taylor’s re-recorded version, but it’s still a fun remix worth checking out.

Here’s hoping Latto has a chance of making it onto Reputation or 1989 (Taylor’s Versions) in the future.

What Is Jay-Z’s Opinion About Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance?’

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Jay-Z has long been open about his mixed feelings about the Grammys. In his and wife Beyoncé’s 2018 single “Apesh*t,” he famously rapped, “Tell the Grammys, ‘F*ck that 0 for eight sh*t,’” after being nominated eight times that year, but not winning a single award. But still, he will make his impact on the culture known by maintaining a presence at the ceremony each year.

This year, he was super adamant about his wife receiving her much-due flowers. In an interview with Tidal conducted before this year’s Grammys, Jay said he feels that Bey’s seventh studio album, Renaissance was objectively the Album Of The Year.

“Look what it’s done to the culture. Look how the energy of the world moved,” Jay said. “They play her whole album in the club. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that. The whole entire joint — like, everything?! Every remix is amazing. Everyone’s inspired. It has inspired the world. Every remix is better than the other one. From anybody, we’re just finding these joints out in the street.”

Renaissance, however, did not win the coveted Album Of The Year award, but ended up taking home the award for Best Dance/Electronic Album. Songs from the album won several awards — “Break My Soul” for Best Dance/Electronic Recording, “Plastic Off The Sofa” for Best Traditional R&B Performance and “Cuff It” for Best R&B Song.

The aforementioned wins brought her total number of wins up to 32 Grammys throughout her career, making her the artist with the most Grammy awards.

Lizzo Is ‘So Proud’ Of Her Vocals After Her 2023 Grammys Performance Of ‘About Damn Time’

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Over the weekend, Lizzo had a blast at the 2023 Grammy Awards. Not only did she take home Record Of The Year for her song “About Damn Time,” but she also was one of the star performers to play during the event.

After seemingly watching videos of herself tackling the track with a church-style choir, Lizzo took to Twitter to express just how happy she was with her performance.

“Ok… last thing,” she wrote. “Can I say IM SO PROUD OF MY VOCALS!!! Like… I been working on my voice for the last couple years… some people think I’m a born singer but I’m a rapper first! I wanna thank God & my vocal coach for getting me here.”

Over the years, many fans have admired Lizzo for both her vocal and breath control — as she is also insanely talented at playing the flute.

She also dedicated her win to Prince and Beyoncé during a tearful speech. “I’m just so proud to be apart of it,” she said. “Not only can people do good, but we are good.”

Continue scrolling for some additional fan reactions to Lizzo’s recent post about her Grammys performance.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Michelle Obama Warmly Congratulated Beyoncé For ‘Making History’ By Breaking A Grammys Record

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A lot happened at the 2023 Grammy Awards this weekend, but the leading narrative throughout the evening was Beyoncé’s chase for history. She entered the night a few wins away from breaking the all-time record for most career Grammys, a record she did end up claiming. Congratulatory messages have poured in since then, and now Beyoncé has gotten one from former First Lady Michelle Obama.

Obama shared a tweet about the record-breaking victory and wrote, “Congratulations @Beyonce for making history. Thank you for blessing us all with the music we live our lives to — the songs that keep us singing and dancing and talking. You deserve all this and more! [hearts emoji] [crown emoji].”

Obama, by the way, is also a Grammy winner: Her first nomination came in 2020, for her Becoming audiobook in the Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling) category, and she won. Husband and former President Barack Obama also has a couple Grammys to his name, for his audiobooks of Dreams From My Father: A Story Of Race And Inheritance and The Audacity Of Hope: Thoughts On Reclaiming The American Dream.

Obama didn’t attend the Grammys, but current First Lady Jill Biden was on hand to award Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That” the Grammy for Song Of The Year.

Harry Styles “People Like Me” Grammy Speech Earns Backlash

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Sure, he won Album of the Year over Beyoncé, but that wasn’t all that earned Harry Styles pushback. The megastar won big at the 2023 Grammys over the weekend, and it was a victory that came with controversy. Beyoncé, too, was nominated for the category, but unfortunately for the BeyHive, Renaissance didn’t take home the title. Still, Bey made history after accepting her 32nd Grammy win, making her the most awarded artist in the ceremony’s history.

Win or lose, dozens of stars celebrated the awards. They were photographed on the red carpet and even visited one another during the ceremony. Styles looked utterly shocked at winning Album of the Year, and he expressed how he didn’t expect to take home the gold. “I think on nights like tonight, it’s important for us to remember there is no such thing as ‘best’ in music,” he said.

Read More: Jay-Z On Beyoncé’s Grammys Loss: “It’s Just A Marketing Thing”

“I don’t think any of us sit in the studio making decisions on what is going to get us one of these,” Styles further shared. “This doesn’t happen to people like me very often and this is so, so nice. Thank you very much.” The gracious acceptance speech seemed harmless enough, but people took to social media quickly to voice their frustrations.

It became a war between Styles’s fans and his critics. Attackers pointed out that the singer is a rich, white male, while his supporters called them out for not recognizing class structure in the U.K. It’s a battle that has even spawned op-eds from music journalists, but Styles has not commented on the controversy. It was also reported that he didn’t expect to win over Beyoncé and thought the Renaissance hitmaker was a shoo-in to win. However, anonymous Grammy voters told Variety that they purposefully didn’t vote for Bey because she wins so often.

Despite the chaotic conversation, the Grammys stunned the world with its Hip Hop 50th Anniversary tribute. Questlove helped co-curate the performance that hosted dozens of our favorite Rap artists, including our pioneers that delivered classics. Check out a few reactions to Harry Styles below.

Dr. Dre Receives Inaugural Global Impact Award At 2023 Grammys

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Dr. Dre just accepted the inaugural Global Impact Award from the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective at the 2023 Grammys. In fact, the award is named after him. Moreover, his award came on a night in which dozens of artists came together to celebrate hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. Furthermore, the Global Impact Award “recognizes the contributors, creatives and professionals with a proven track record of uplifting Black music.” During the ceremony, LL Cool J presented the Compton legend with the award. Also, he labeled him “an icon who helped define West Coast Hip Hop.” In addition, LL believes the mogul’s path is “one of the most impactful success stories of our time.” In his speech, Dr. Dre had much to be thankful for.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 05: Honoree Dr. Dre accepts the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award from LL COOL J (L) onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

Before he spoke, however, the ceremony featured an MC Late-narrated video of the 57-year-old’s many accomplishments. From his early days with N.W.A., his solo success, and his business acumen, they hailed him as a trailblazer. “I’m extremely moved by this award,” he remarked. “I want to say thank you to the Recording Academy and the Black Music Collective for this honor, and I know everybody in here probably knows this already, but this is the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop. Make some noise for Hip Hop! Where would I be without it? Where would a lot of people be without Hip Hop, to be honest? Hip Hop became a lifeline for me as a teenager growing up in Compton, and it started with a song called ‘The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel.’”

Moreover, the artist continued to thank his collaborators and supportive loved ones. “What I love about this award is that it uses my name to inspire the next generation of producers, artists and entrepreneurs to reach for their greatness and demand that from everyone around you,” he concluded his speech. “Never compromise your vision at all, pursue quality over quantity, and remember that everything is important. That is one of my mottos: everything is important.”

After Dre received the honor, LL Cool J and The Roots hosted a tribute to hip-hop’s 50th. It featured legendary acts, groundbreaking artists, and current titans of the game. “From The Bronx to the five boroughs, to the West Coast to the Heartland; overseas to Europe, to Africa, to Asia; TikTok, whatever’s next,” LL expressed towards the performance’s end. “Because thanks to the 33 Hip Hop artists on stage and the countless more we love, Hip Hop is a global platform today. We’re celebrating. Happy 50th anniversary to Hip Hop, baby!” As always, come back to HNHH for the latest on Dr. Dre and to celebrate all things hip-hop.

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Jay-Z Explains Why He Doesn’t Like To Be Filmed

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This generation seems to love capturing everything on camera, but Jay-Z isn’t about that life. The media mogul often avoids the camera or prying paparazzi, and he was even spotted politely dismissing a photographer during this year’s Roc Nation brunch. A video of Hov walking through the party went viral, showing him calmly waving his hand at a photographer looking to get that perfect shot.

Elliott Wilson caught up with Jay for an interview with TIDAL, and during the chat, the Rap icon explained why is often avoids the cameras. “Yeah, we don’t come from that school,” he said. “We come from the don’t-you-ever-record-us school. What was the line? [He quoted lyrics from 2013’s “Oceans”] ‘See me in sh*t you never saw / If it wasn’t for these pictures you wouldn’t see me at all.‘”

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 05: (L-R) Beyoncé and Jay-Z attend the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Read More: Jay-Z On Beyoncé’s Grammys Loss: “It’s Just A Marketing Thing”

He added, “We come from that school and we had fights over that. N—as trying to record — ‘Aye yo, don’t record me, champ. I ain’t into that.’ We come from a different world.” Hov further explained that this is “why The Black Album was so special.” He said “it was the first time cameras came into the studios and just lived with us.”

Meanwhile, Jay-Z also joined DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, Fridayy, John Legend, and Rick Ross for a performance of “God Did.” He shared why he decided to return to the Grammy stage. “This ain’t your traditional song,” said the hitmaker. “It’s not your traditional structure of what you think a song that would be nominated for Song of the Year would sound like.”

Read More: Grammy Voters Didn’t Cast Ballots For Beyoncé Because She Wins Too Many Awards

It’s not what you expect. And for the culture and for hip-hop, we got to do that. We owe that. This thing that changed our lives. We got to do that. A four-minute verse performed at the Grammys. We owe it to the culture, and it ain’t even a burden. It’s a blessing. It’s easy and fun.” Check out the performance below.

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