Grammys 2023

Questlove Explained Why Will Smith Had To Back Out Of The 2023 Grammys’ All-Star Hip-Hop Tribute

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We’re approaching the one-year anniversary of “The Slap.” Last March, Will Smith waltzed on stage during the 2022 Oscars and slapped Chris Rock after Rock made a distasteful joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. And though Rock declined to file charges, Smith is banned from attending the Oscars for the next decade.

Smith is not banned from attending the Grammys, though, and people noticed his absence on Sunday night, February 5. The 2023 Grammys featured a medley performance celebrating hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. The segment was directed and produced by Questlove, introduced by LL Cool J, and narrated by Black Thought.

DJ Jazzy Jeff was one of many legendary artists to perform, but where was Smith, aka/fka The Fresh Prince?

Questlove told Entertainment Tonight that Smith was “99.4 percent” committed to performing, “but they started shooting Bad Boys 4 this week, so he couldn’t make rehearsals.” Questlove added, “He wanted to do it.”

For those keeping score at home, Questlove apparently doesn’t hold grudges. Smith’s slap occurred as Rock was presenting the Oscar for Best Documentary. The award went to Questlove for Summer Of Soul, and Smith later apologized to Questlove for overshadowing his first Academy Award.

Smith posted a video last July apologizing not only to Questlove but to Rock, Rock’s mother, Rock’s entire family, his own family, and more.

“It really breaks my heart to have stolen and tarnished your moment,” Smith said to his “fellow nominees” in the video. “I can still see Questlove’s eyes. It happened on Questlove’s award, and you know, it’s like, ‘I’m sorry’ really isn’t sufficient.”

Watch the 50-year hip-hop anniversary tribute below.

Robert Glasper Acknowledged Chris Brown Getting Big Mad After Glasper Won A Grammy Over Him

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In the Best R&B Album category at the 2023 Grammy Awards last night (February 5), Robert Glasper won for Black Radio III. One of the albums he beat for the award is Chris Brown’s Breezy (Deluxe), and Brown made it clear he wasn’t happy about the loss. In the first of a string of social media posts about it last night, Brown wrote, “Bro who the f*ck is this? Yall playing [crying laughing emojis] who da f*ck is this?”

Since then, Glasper has offered a subtle reaction to Brown.

Glasper hasn’t directly respond to Brown’s posts, but he did acknowledge he’s at least aware of them via a retweet. A Twitter user shared an XXL tweet about a news post covering the situation, reading, “JUST IN: Chris Brown asks ‘Who the f**k is Robert Glasper’ after Robert beats Chris for Best R&B Album at 2023 Grammy Awards #GRAMMYs: ‘BRO WHO THE F**K IS THIS?’” In the Glasper-retweeted post, the user added, “Ha congratulations to my mf cousin @robertglasper y’all better do a lil research around here …”

As for what the user meant by that part about research, they’re presumably referring to Glasper’s recent self-deprecating social media post of a graphic that reads, “Who the f*ck is Robert Glasper.” On Instagram, Glasper wrote, “It’s been brought to my attention that y’all have questions about Who TF is Robert Glasper! If y’all have questions, I have answers. Check out my stories to play along!”

Find the full list of this year’s Grammy nominees and winners here.

Fans Are Mad After The Grammys Left Aaron Carter, Modest Mouse’s Jeremiah Green, And Others Out Of Its ‘In Memoriam’ Tribute

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The 2023 Grammys were last night (February 5), and watching the broadcast, the event appeared to go off without incident. However, during the “In Memoriam” segment, some fans couldn’t help but notice a few notable musicians were not mentioned during the show.

Some, for instance, wondered why Aaron Carter, who died last November, wasn’t included in the tribute.

Others noted that late rockers like Jeremiah Green of Modest Mouse and Mimi Parker of Low didn’t make the cut either.

Some also noticed that Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins wasn’t mentioned, but since he died shortly before last year’s show, he was honored then.

Hours before the program started, the Recording Academy actually published an In Memoriam post on its website. In the introduction, they explain, “The following is a list of artists and industry professionals the music community lost from Jan. 1, 2022 to Dec. 6, 2022. The 2022 Grammys telecast on CBS featured an In Memoriam segment highlighting some of these individuals via a video tribute, and all of these individuals who died prior to its print date are included in the official 2023 Grammys program book.”

Many of the artists missing from the broadcast are included on this list, but not Green, who died on December 31, 2022, outside of the apparent eligibility window for the list. That also explains the absence of Gangsta Boo, whose death was on January 1, 2023.

Jay-Z Gave A Divine Performance Of ‘God Did’ With DJ Khaled At The 2023 Grammys

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The week leading up to the Grammys is one of the most exciting in music, just for the sheer fun of speculating who will win and wondering what the performances will look like. But that still pales in comparison to actually watching the performances, when the nominated acts pull out all the stops. This year, in addition to a tribute to 50 years of hip-hop, the ceremony included a rare appearance by Jay-Z, who joined his collaborator DJ Khaled for a breathless performance of the song “God Did” from Khaled’s album of the same name.

Joined by Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, John Legend, and Giveon, the group performed outside the Staples Center — sorry, Crypto.com arena — at an opulently-laid dinner table.

They didn’t only perform the song; they were also nominated for Song Of The Year, Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Song, putting Jay in a tie for most-nominated artist of all time. His only competition? Why, his wife Beyoncé, of course. They both had 88 nominations total, although Beyoncé had more nominations this year with nine — and the opportunity to become the most-awarded artist ever. She accomplished it thanks to winning won Best Dance/Electronic Recording for “Break My Soul” and Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Plastic Off The Sofa” ahead of the televised ceremony and Best Electronic/Dance Album.

You can see the full list of winners here.

Harry Styles Won Album Of The Year At The 2023 Grammys

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The most coveted of the “big four” Grammy Awards — Album Of The Year, New Artist Of The Year, Record Of The Year, and Song Of The Year — is pretty unanimously the award for Album Of The Year. This year, the field faced some pretty staunch competition, with selections from a wide variety of genres and both contemporary and legacy artists vying for the prestige that comes with a win.

The nominees included ABBA, nominated for their new album Voyage; Adele, nominated for 30, won with her last release, 25, in 2015; Bad Bunny, who has the first Spanish-language album ever to be nominated for the award in Un Verano Sin Ti; Beyoncé for Renaissance, whose album Lemonade was nominated alongside 25; Coldplay’s Music Of The Spheres; Harry Styles, whose third album Harry’s House marks his first-ever Album Of The Year nomination; Kendrick Lamar, nominated for his comeback album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers; Lizzo’s Special; and Mary J. Blige, whose album Good Morning Gorgeous garnered the R&B mainstay’s first nomination since 2014 (and second overall).

And while all are worthwhile entries, only one can win. So, the 2023 Album Of The Year is Harry’s House by Harry Styles.

You can see the full list of winners for the evening here.

Steve Lacy And Thundercat Delivered An Infectious Performance Of ‘Bad Habit’ At The 2023 Grammys

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Taking the stage for his first-ever Grammys performance tonight was Steve Lacy. During his performance, he sang his Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, “Bad Habit.”

On stage, Lacy was joined by Thundercat, who supplemented the poignant love song with a seductive, groovy guitar bridge.

Throughout the performance, several of Lacy’s fellow musicians were seen singing and dancing along to the song, including Machine Gun Kelly, Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, and the queen herself, Beyoncé.

While this may be his first time performing at The Grammys, Lacy is certainly no novice. Last week, Lacy spoke with CBS Mornings about receiving his first Grammy nomination when he was 17 years old, for his work on The Internet’s Ego Death album.

When asked what the nomination meant to him at the time, Lacy replied “It meant that my mom could get off my ass about going to college.”

Fortunately, this nomination was no flash in the pan for Lacy. In 2020, he was nominated for Best Urban Contemporary Album for his solo debut album, Apollo XXI.

Earlier in the night, Lacy won the Best Progressive R&B Album Grammy for his 2022 album, Gemini Rights. “Bad Habit” is also up for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance.

In the meantime, you can check out the performance of “Bad Habit” above.

Jazz Singer Samara Joy Picked Up The Best New Artist Grammy Award For 2023

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The 2023 Grammy Awards are happening now, and the winner of Best New Artist was just revealed. Anitta, Domi & JD Beck, Latto, Måneskin, Molly Tuttle, Muni Long, Omar Apollo, Samara Joy, Tobe Nwigwe, and Wet Leg were nominated for the award, but it was Joy who came away with the win.

Joy had two nominations this year and won them both: Before Best New Artist, her album Linger Awhile won Best Jazz Vocal Album.

While Joy ended up winning, all of the nominees had strong cases. Joy already has a Best New Artist award under her belt, as Jazz Times gave her that honor in 2021. Anitta’s “Envolver” was a global hit that was the first song by a Brazilian artist to rank No. 1 on the daily Spotify Global Chart. Domi & JD Beck signed to Anderson .Paak’s label Apesh*t Inc. and quickly announced Not Tight, a debut album that featured .Paak, Thundercat, Mac DeMarco, Herbie Hancock, Snoop Dogg, and others. Latto had a major hit with “Big Energy” in 2021 and has only upped her clout since then.

Måneskin got a Eurovision Song Contest 2021 victory and rode the momentum to international stardom. Molly Tuttle released Crooked Tree, her first album on Nonesuch, and it earned a Best Bluegrass Album nomination at this year’s Grammys. Omar Apollo had a TikTok hit with “Evergreen,” from the well-received debut album Ivory. Tobe Nwigwe has been consistently productive in recent years and found himself performing on The Tonight Show earlier this year. Finally, we have Wet Leg, “Chaise Longue” is one of the most beloved rock songs in recent years, and it’s found a fan in Dave Grohl.

Find the full list of this year’s Grammy nominees and winners here.

In A Surprising Upset, Bonnie Raitt’s ‘Just Like That’ Won Song Of The Year At The 2023 Grammys

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While the last year boasted several incredible earworms, only one can take home the coveted Grammy for Song Of The Year. This year, in a shocking upset, the award went to “Just Like That” by Bonnie Raitt

In Raitt’s acceptance speech, she thanked the Academy, though, she admitted that just like all of us, she was surprised.

“This is just an unreal moment.” she said.

Earlier in the night, Raitt won the Grammy for Best American Roots Song, also with “Just Like That,” and the Best Americana Performance Grammy for her song, “Made Up Mind.”

Among the other Song Of The Year nominees were Gayle’s “abcdefu,” Lizzo’s “About Damn Time,” Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (10 Minute Version),” Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit,” Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” Adele’s “Easy On Me” DJ Khaled’s “God Did,” which featured Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, JAY-Z, John Legend, and Fridayy, and Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5

With her latest Song Of The Year award, Raitt now has 14 Grammys to her name.

You can see Raitt’s reaction to her surprising win above.

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

Here Are All The Songs From The Grammy’s Hip-Hop 50th-Anniversary Performance

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With hip-hop’s official 50th birthday just months away, the 2023 Grammy Awards helped kick off the year-long festivities with the maximalist tribute performance encompassing (most of) the past 50 years of rap music.

Introduced by LL Cool J, curated by Questlove, and narrated by Black Thought, the performance started with foundational favorites like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s “The Message” and zoomed through the ’80s, ’90s, and (some of) the 2000s. Along the way, a slew of hip-hop titans put in appearances, including De La Soul, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Ice-T, Method Man, Missy Elliott, Nelly, Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa, Too $hort, and more.

The performance was one of three hip-hop-focused performances for the night. The others were DJ Khaled and Jay-Z performing “God Did” and Quavo performing “Without You” in tribute to Takeoff during the In Memoriam segment.

You can see the full list of songs from the 50 Years Of Hip-Hop performance below.

Grandmaster Flash with Barshon, [Rahiem]], Melle Mel and Scorpio/Ethiopian King — “Flash to the Beat” & “The Message”
Run-DMC — “King of Rock”
LL Cool J — “I Can’t Live Without My Radio” & “Rock the Bells”
Rakim — “My Mic Sounds Nice” & “Eric B. Is President”
Chuck D and Flavor Flav — “Rebel Without a Pause”
De La Soul — “Buddy”

List of performers at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards
Artist(s) Song(s)
Bad Bunny “El Apagón”
“Después de la Playa”[14]
Brandi Carlile “Broken Horses”[14]
Stevie Wonder
WanMor
Smokey Robinson
Chris Stapleton Tribute to Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson
“The Way You Do the Things You Do”
“The Tears of a Clown”
“Higher Ground”[14]
Lizzo “About Damn Time”
“Special”[14]
Harry Styles “As It Was”[14]
Kacey Musgraves
Quavo
Maverick City Music
Sheryl Crow
Mick Fleetwood
Bonnie Raitt In Memoriam
“Coal Miner’s Daughter”
(tribute to Loretta Lynn)
“Without You”
“See You Again”
(tribute to Takeoff)
“Songbird”
(tribute to Christine McVie)[14]
Sam Smith and Kim Petras “Unholy”[14]
Mary J. Blige “Good Morning Gorgeous”[14]
The Roots
Black Thought
Grandmaster Flash with Barshon, [Rahiem]], Melle Mel and Scorpio/Ethiopian King
Run-DMC
LL Cool J
DJ Jazzy Jeff
Salt-N-Pepa
Rakim
Chuck D and Flavor Flav
De La Soul
Scarface — “Mind Playing Tricks on Me”
Ice-T — “New Jack Hustler (Nino’s Theme)”
Queen Latifah — “U.N.I.T.Y.”
Method Man — “Method Man”
Big Boi — “ATLiens”
Busta Rhymes and Spliff Star — “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See” & “Look at Me Now”
Missy Elliott — “Lose Control”
Nelly and City Spud — “Hot in Herre”
Too $hort — “Blow the Whistle”
Swizz Beatz and The Lox — “We Gonna Make It”
Lil Baby — “Freestyle”
GloRilla — “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)”
Lil Uzi Vert — “Just Wanna Rock”

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

The 2023 Grammys’ 10-Minute 50th Anniversary Of Hip-Hop Tribute Performance Pulled Out All The Stops (And Skipped A Decade)

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A few years ago, back in time; some kids thought up some MC rhymes.

Actually, it was just about 50 years ago that Clive Campbell, aka DJ Kool Herc, and his sister Cindy threw a party in the recreation room at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue — widely accepted as the birthplace of hip-hop. With the 50th anniversary of that party swiftly approaching, 2023 has become a year of celebrations of the world-changing genre and culture called hip-hop, and the Grammys are no exception.

The 2023 Grammy Awards honored the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with a tribute hosted by none other than LL Cool J, who has become the de facto torchbearer for the Golden Era of the ’80s and early ’90s when hip-hop went from being a regional fad to a global phenomenon.

The performance included contributions from across the hip-hop landscape, with old-schoolers like Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Rakim, RUN-DMC, and Salt-N-Pepa mashing up with newjacks like Future, GloRilla, and Lil Baby. All-timers like Busta Rhymes, De La Soul, Missy Elliott, Method Man, Nelly, and Too Short bridged the gaps, all conducted by Questlove of The Roots and his bandmate Black Thought, who provided narration.

“The Message,” “The King Of Rock,” “Radio,” “Rock The Bells,” “My Mic Sounds Nice,” “My Melody,” “BUDDY,” “Mind Playing Tricks On Me,” “UNITY,” and more foundational hits set things off but the performance ran the gamut from “ATLiens,” “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Where My Eyes Could See,” and “Outta Control” to “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” and “Just Wanna Rock.” Oddly, though, the performance skipped straight from The LOX performing “We Gonna Make It” to Lil Baby playing “Freestyle,” leaving just about a whole decade and a half on the table.

You can check out clips from the performance above and see the full list of Grammy winners here.