Not to be a Luddite or an alarmist or anything, but it might be time to put the brakes on the whole crypto experiment. Aside from the ecological effects, which look pretty bad overall, I never wanted to type the words “Azealia Banks sex tape” at any point in my career — and yet, here we are.
The controversy magnet — who was at one point famous for making the romping 2012 hit “212” and is now much more liable to go on a bigoted rant or try to start a beef with whichever female rapper is currently closest to the top of the charts — decided the non-fungible token (NFT) game was too good to miss out on and found the perfect (in her mind, I’m sure) way to capitalize: the aforementioned sex tape. According to Vice and NFT marketplace Foundation, the first-ever audio sex tape NFT was created by Banks and sold for quite the sum.
Of course, being Azealia Banks, she had to throw some troll-ish curveball on it. The tape, which features Banks and her fiance, conceptual artist Ryder Ripps, is audio-only. I’ll leave whether that’s a good or a bad thing up to you, but there’s one thing it absolutely is: profitable. The 24-minute recording apparently sold for well over $17,000 — or 10 Ethereum, technically speaking. The buyer, Rulton Fyder, received full ownership, distribution and display rights, and a signed LP vinyl record.
Only time will tell if Fyder’s (a play on Fulton Ryder, a pseudonym of Richard Prince’s) NSFW NFT investment will pay off. Crypto-art is still relatively new and the element that gives traditional art its value, generally speaking, is time. However, with this new technology running rampant and the internet re-writing all the rules faster than anyone can learn them, it’s the wild west and we might be looking at a whole new ballgame, where ownership comes with two-factor authentication.
The video for HER’s “Fight For You” is here. HER’s soulful Judas And The Black Messiah soundtrack single invokes the lasting legacy of the Black Panther Party, so it’s only right that the video does the same. Following a loose storyline, the video observes how the tragic cycle of state violence against Black Americans plays out across the decades, with a shooting in 1971 laying the foundation for an uprising HER and her father try to organize in 2021.
Using their shoe shop’s stature as a clear focal point of the community, HER delivers boots stamped “I am a revolutionary” to friends and family throughout the city, prompting former Panthers to remember their revolutionary calling. However, their activities attract the wrong kind of attention, causing the cycle to play out as it always has. Even then, hope is seen in a future generation that has already absorbed the lessons taught by the elder Panthers, proving that the system can kill a revolutionary but can’t kill the revolution.
With her new EP dropping this week, Chika stopped by Spotify Sessions to offer up a soulful performance of her song “U Should,” along with a poetic cover of Billie Eilish‘s “My Future.” In a funny twist, Chika is up for the Grammy Award Eilish won at last year’s ceremony, Best New Artist. She noted as much in a statement accompanying the performance, saying:
I picked “My Future” by Billie Eilish as my [Best New Artist] cover for Spotify because the song is beautiful and presents an interesting opportunity to talk about where I am as an artist, especially on the heels of this nomination. My present is moving so fast that each passing moment is practically the future already. And I’m in love with the ride I’m on.
Chika’s ride started in an unconventional way, with a viral freestyle she called an “open letter to Kanye West” that wound up being shared by such hip-hop luminaries as Sean “Diddy” Combs. That exposure led to a Calvin Klein ad, a Warner Records deal, an electrifying television debut, a role in a film, a XXL Freshman placement, and her debut EP Industry Games — all before her debut album was even announced. With a new EP dropping just days before she could possibly win a Grammy Award, Chika will be a winner either way this weekend, earning that Best New Artist moniker through sheer force of will even without a trophy.
Listen to Chika’s cover of Billie’s “My Future” above.
Chika is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Well… we’re finally here. After a brief postponement, the 63rd annual Grammy Awards will be taking place on Sunday, March 14. As with many awards shows nowadays, things will be presented a bit differently than we’re used to. Per The Recording Academy’s website, there will be a virtual red carpet ceremony and premiere ceremony, where artists like Burna Boy, Lido Pimienta, Rufus Wainwright, and more will perform.
The circumstances don’t negate the ceremony’s esteem, however, and some of the biggest names in music could take home some serious hardware. Given The Recording Academy’s commitment to diversifying their business and the industry at large, there are a handful of exciting nominations and possibly historic wins music fans may be treated to this year. They say “it’s an honor to be nominated,” and that certainly rings true this time around.
Read on to discover some major nomination moments and potential milestones that the 2021 Grammys hold.
Legendary Nominations
The Biggest Pool Of Potential Honorees
There were 23,207 entries submitted for nomination consideration this time around, which is more than ever before. After the nominations were announced in November, Recording Academy Chair and Interim President/CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said that this year’s honorees are “proof that the creative spirit continues to be alive and well.”
Women Rule Country and Rock
Here’s a first: never before in the history of the Grammys have there been only women or women-fronted acts nominated in the Best Rock Performance and Best Country Album categories. Phoebe Bridgers, Fiona Apple, Brittany Howard, Grace Potter, HAIM, and Big Thief are up for Best Rock Performance, while Ingrid Andress, Brandy Clark, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde and Little Big Town could win the Best Country Album honor.
Best New Artists Bring Heavy Representation
Even more exciting: every nominee in the Best New Artist category is either a woman or a person of color. They include country singer Ingrid Andress, indie rock singer-songwriter Phoebe Bridgers, rapper Chika, alternative act Noah Cyrus, rapper D Smoke, rapper/singer Doja Cat, deejay/producer Kaytranada, and rapper Megan Thee Stallion.
BTS Breaks Barriers
BTS is the first K-Pop act and the first South Korean group to be recognized by the Recording Academy. They are nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance category for the 2021 ceremony, thanks to their song “Dynamite.”
The Potential Milestones
Taylor Goes For Three
If Folklore goes home with an Album Of The Year win, Taylor Swift would become the first woman to win the honor three times. Previously, Swift won the night’s top award in 2010 for Fearless and in 2016 for 1989. She would join Stevie Wonder and Frank Sinatra as the third solo artist in history to achieve the feat. (Paul Simon has won Album Of The Year three times, but one of those wins came for a Simon & Garfunkel album.)
Queen Bey Watches The Throne(s)
After securing nine nominations this year, Beyoncé became the second-most nominated artist in Grammy history, tying with Sir Paul McCartney. (The only other musicians with more nominations are Quincy Jones and her husband JAY-Z, who are tied for first.) If Bey wins three of those gramophones, she ties with bluegrass musician Alison Krauss for the most wins by a female artist in the show’s history. (If she wins four, of course, that means the record now belongs to her.) We also have to mention that her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, is up for a “Best Music Video” nomination for her appearance in “Brown Skin Girl.” If the video wins, Blue would become one of the youngest Grammy winners ever.
Potential Sister Success
Haim’s Women In Music, Pt. III is up for Album Of The Year. If the group wins the night’s biggest honor, they’d be the first all-female group in 15 years to win the award. The last time this was achieved was at the 49th ceremony in 2006, when The Chicks’ Taking The Long Way nabbed the win. This would also be the first time since then that sisters would be winning Album Of The Year together. (Haim’s members are all sisters, while Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Strayer from The Chicks are sisters.)
Dua and Posty’s Potential Big Three Wins
Dua Lipa and Post Malone have the potential to join an exclusive squad of just eight musicians who have won Album, Record and Song Of The Year in the same night. (Paul Simon, Carole King, Christopher Cross, Eric Clapton, Dixie Chicks, Bruno Mars, Billie Eilish, and Adele, twice.) Dua’s Future Nostalgia and “Don’t Start Now” and Post’s Hollywood’s Bleeding and “Circles” are up for the honors.
Female Rappers May Reign Supreme
If either Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, or Chika wins in the Best New Artist category, she will become the first female rapper to win in 22 years, and just the second to win (after Lauryn Hill). Nicki Minaj and Iggy Azalea were nominated in the category in 2012 and 2015, while genre-bending musician Lizzo, who began her career rapping and singing, was nominated in 2020.
Roddy Ricch and Megan Thee Stallion’s Groundbreaking Chances
There are a few possible milestones wins in the Best Rap Song category. If Roddy Ricch wins for “The Box,” he will be the youngest recipient of the award. (He is 22 years old.) If Megan Thee Stallion wins Best Rap Song and/or Best Rap Performance for “Savage (Remix),” she’ll be the first female winner in both of those categories. And how sweet would it be to share the honor with her idol and collaborator, Beyoncé?
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Quality Control has solidified its dominance over the rap game over the past three years thanks to the success of acts like City Girls, Duke Deuce, Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, and Migos, but the Atlanta-based label isn’t satisfied with just being hip-hop’s most successful label. Now, Coach and P have their sights set on Hollywood and won’t stop until they’ve tapped into every possible genre and form.
Not only do Lil Yachty and Migos have multiple projects coming down the pike, including Yachty’s heist comedy based on Uno and Quavo’s turn as a drug kingpin alongside Robert De Niro, but the label is also jumping into the horror genre soon, according to Deadline. The industry trade magazine reports Quality Control has partnered with Trioscope Studios in a co-production deal developing a TV series based on a graphic novel about the horrors of being Black in America.
Trioscope Studios is best known for its Netflix series The Liberator, a World War II drama using hybrid animation that blends CGI with live-action actors. The technique will be applied to QC’s upcoming series. The report doesn’t note exactly which horror comic will be adapted, but there’s no shortage of stories they could have chosen from, including The Ballad of Black Tom and The Box of Bones, while shows like HBO’s Lovecraft Country have proven that there’s certainly an appetite for more Black-focused horror-style work.
Next week marks one year since The Weeknd released his acclaimed album After Hours. Since then, the singer has had many accomplishments. He was invited to perform at the Super Bowl half time show, and even honored with his own day by Toronto’s mayor. Now, The Weeknd can claim another impressive achievement: “Blinding Lights” was officially the best-selling song of 2020.
According to a year-end report released by the International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry (IFPI), “Blinding Lights” sold more units globally than any other song last year. Coming behind him in second place is Tones And I with her 2019 track “Dance Monkey,” followed by Roddy Ricch’s “The Box,” Saint Jhn’s “Roses,” and Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now.”
While The Weeknd had the highest-performing song of the year, he wasn’t the best-selling artist. That title was recently given to BTS after they had a wildly successful year. The Weeknd did, however, come in at fourth place behind Drake and Taylor Swift.
News of the massive success of “Blinding Lights” arrives shortly after the song secured another feat. On Monday, “Blinding Lights” became the first single to ever spend a full year in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. “After Hours was always meant to be a very personal project. It’s a story I had to tell,” The Weeknd told Billboard about his chart victory. “The fact I’ve been able to tell it with the world listening is incredible. This Billboard chart record is truly a result of the fans. I’m so humbled and forever grateful to them.”
Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Eminem tends to drop controversial and/or inflammatory lyrics on a regular basis, and now young TikTok users are trying to get the veteran rapper canceled. Those efforts haven’t been fruitful so far, though, as it has just led people to poke fun at Gen-Z. Now Lil Nas X (a TikTok star in his own right with nearly 10 million followers) has joined in on the fun.
In response to a widely derided freestyle from a millennial TikTok user, Nas shared his own freestyle, in which he raps. “Generation Z wants to cancel Eminem? [laughs] / Generation Z wants to cancel Eminem? [laughs] / Yeah [laughs], listen up, Generation / Z, you’re a generation of Z / Z, generation of Z.” He ends by trailing off with laughter that increasingly lacks in confidence.
This comes a couple months after Eminem dismissed cancel culture, saying, “With me, it’s literally like every f*cking every other day. I’m canceled for whatever the f*ck it was. It’s funny because I see some of the same people or sites who b*tched about things back then that I said and then going back now and saying, ‘Why can’t he be that again?’ What the f*ck? When I was that you had a problem with that, too. I understand some of the sh*t, but for the most part, like for people who just sit online and they feel like they need to b*tch about whatever it is to feel like they’re a part of something. With cancel culture, it’s like no one ever really gets canceled, though.”
Billboard reports Triller Network, the company behind the popular Triller app, has acquired the popular “hits battle” streaming show Verzuz, giving its creators Swizz Beatz and Timbaland positions on the Triller management team. Swizz and Tim will also receive equity in Triller, which they say they will share with the 43 artists who have appeared on the show to date. Verzuz exploded in popularity last year after an impromptu hits battle on Instagram Live between the two veteran producers expanded into a full-blown concert series, complete with corporate sponsors like Ciroc.
Over its first year, Verzuz invited such guests as Alicia Keys, DMX, Gucci Mane, E-40Patti LaBelle, and many, many more legends in the game to appear, celebrating their musical legacy in a nostalgic style similar to a sound clash in the West Indies/Caribbean. With little else to do during a partial shutdown of live entertainment nationwide, fans tuned in by the thousands to watch these celebrations of artists who may no longer be trendy, but who have all contributed greatly to the broad spectrum of Black music culture.
Meanwhile, Triller, a video-creation app similar in function to TikTok, has been a fixture on many young music fans’ phones for a while, although it hasn’t received as much attention in that time as its neophyte competitor. It’s likely Triller Network is hoping that the Verzuz acquisition can bring an influx of attention similar to TikTok’s so that it can likewise become one of America’s primary social media obsessions.
It’s rare for an artist to double back and shoot a video for a newly popular song from a year-and-a-half-old album, especially when the song in question wasn’t originally planned as a single or have a video in the first place. Yet, that’s exactly what Doja Cat did with the release of her video for “Streets,” the Hot Pink song from 2019 that became the basis for the red-hot Silhouette Challenge on TikTok. Capitalizing on the sudden viral success of the non-single in the middle of the rollout for her third album, Planet Her, Doja Cat has just made a case for a new paradigm for how artists should maneuver in this post-TikTok era.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Doja Cat can handle fame so well, or that she always seems perfectly equipped to ride the changing tides in the wake of a song’s breakout popularity. When she released her debut album Amala in 2018, it seemingly came and went without making much of an impact — and then she made “Mooo!” for fun in her bedroom with a sheet for a green screen and a silly rap about being a cow. Overnight, she became a sensation — then, rather than letting the buzz fade away or announcing a new project, she tapped into the colorful sights and sounds it turned out her newfound fanbase couldn’t get enough of.
Within a year of the breakthrough represented by “Mooo!”, Doja Cat had put out the videos for “Tia Tamera” with Rico Nasty and “Juicy,” adding all three new songs to the deluxe version of Amala nearly a year after its release, boosting it onto the Billboard 200 just as her second album, Hot Pink, was about to drop. Where any number of artists might have expected these successful viral hits to turn up on Hot Pink‘s tracklist, Doja instead used them to bolster sales of her debut, keeping the rollout for the new album wide open(-ish). A remix of “Juicy” featuring Tyga helped lift Hot Pink to No. 9 in its first week, despite the relatively lukewarm reception for its other singles, “Bottom Bitch,” “Rules,” and “Cyber Sex.”
But then, six months after the release of the album, TikTok user Haley Sharpe used “Say So,” a song that wasn’t planned as a single, as the backing track for a choreographed dance that caught fire on the app — and caught Doja Cat’s attention. With the dance lifting “Say So” to bonafide hit status on the app, Doja pivoted, turning the song into a single and fast-tracking the music video for it, employing Sharpe’s dance steps and giving the viral video star a cameo in the disco-esque clip. While constituting part of the trend of artists releasing singles and pushing TikTok engagement as a way to drive streams, the truly innovative aspect was Doja Cat’s willingness to not just “let the fans pick the single,” but to completely change her gameplan to incorporate the fans’ eager involvement.
With the release of the “Streets” video, she’s doubling down on that bet, against shifting gears in the middle of an album rollout to take advantage of the surprise boost in popularity of a track from her last album, rather than focusing adamantly on the future. This time, the song in question was even older — nearly 18 months past the release date of Hot Pink, past any album’s usual promotion cycle. However, this time, the Silhouette Challenge had caught flame, its popularity becoming so great that Doja herself was pulled into the fervor to contribute a TikTok video embracing the trend.
She also embraces the trend in the official music video, employing the same sultry crimson backlighting and poses as a nod to the challenge that prompted the video’s creation. Meanwhile, the video also incorporates high-concept visuals of Doja as a black widow spider, lending the video the air of months of planning, when in reality, it was created as a reaction to a sudden pop of interest and attention, not as part of a detailed plan to stimulate engagement in a past or upcoming project. But Doja’s previous experience with “Mooo!” reigniting interest in Amala likely informed her willingness to backtrack despite having a new album on the way.
The benefits are obvious; Doja directs the new fans discovering her through her viral moments back to her old projects, where they can begin to build rapport with her previous work, converting casuals into hardcore supporters. It also builds rapport with existing hardcore supporters, making them feel acknowledged, which they’ll in-turn reciprocate when the time comes to release her new project. And finally — and possibly most importantly in today’s fast-paced, saturated attention economy — it keeps all eyes on Doja to see what she’s going to do next, increasing her public profile, and generating more streams, never a bad thing at a time when touring is still effectively out of the question.
For proof of these benefits, look no further than Doja’s nearly tyrannical stranglehold over award shows and late-night television in 2020. She performed “Say So,” the song that wasn’t meant to be a single until fans made it one, no less than five times on high-profile shows like the MTV EMAs and VMAs, The Tonight Show, and the Billboard Music Awards — making her an inescapable, unavoidable household name. She also won Best New Artist at the Billboard Music Awards, just two years after her debut album failed to make an impact on the magazine’s charts. Her successes are duplicable — she herself has repeated the feat three times in as many years — and should be considered an example for all kinds of artists looking to maximize their media footprint.
With the advent of streaming and social media, the rules have changed seemingly every day, but one rule has remained absolute all this time: Content is king. To paraphrase the poet, the best-laid plans of mice, men, MCs, and media moguls often go awry, but being able to adjust on the fly might be the one skill that ensures that they all get lucky anyway. Doja Cat’s method of letting the tide take her to her next port of call would not only have been impossible before these new technologies came along, but the lukewarm success of her planned singles might have also ensured that she became known forever as a flop, relegating each new album to whatever shelf countless other underperforming projects have ended up sitting on.
Instead, by being open, creative, and willing to use her unprecedented access to fans’ whims, Doja Cat has demonstrated how an artist can not only serve their established fanbase but also weaponize them against industry expectations and the apathy of casual listeners. The positive feedback loop she created by refusing to get stuck to one idea of the perfect rollout has ensured that all of her rollouts end up being perfect — eventually. Wise artists and execs will take note, using the greater wealth of tools at their disposal to maximize their projects’ potential for success instead of writing them off and leaving money on the table. Meanwhile, Doja’s fans, old and new, will continue to eagerly await Planet Her to see what songs they can convince her to turn into hits next.
The 2021 Grammys are less than a week away (airing on March 14), and the nominations are a reflection of 2020’s whirlwind. In a year that was riddled by heartache and isolation, artists either dug deep into quarantine-induced loneliness that birthed relatable tunes or went the opposite route to provide cheerful music to give fans some temporary relief.
This time around, Beyoncé leads the charge with nine nominations. This brings the most nominated artist in history’s career total to 62. She’s up both as a solo artist (among others, “Black Parade” is up for four categories including Record Of The Year) as well as her “Savage” collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion (also up for Record Of The Year).
Following Beyoncé are Taylor Swift (whose total now rises to 41), Dua Lipa, and Roddy Rich, with six nods each. But there are still other artists who could walk away with some trophies, including Fiona Apple, Phoebe Bridgers, and Nas. While there are a few deserving names missing from this year’s nominations (The Weeknd, Summer Walker, and The Chicks were among the most shocking), the Grammys continue to make improvements on its diversity efforts. BTS made history as the first K-pop act to be nominated and women rightfully dominated the country and rock categories.
Check out our predictions below for how the biggest and most coveted categories could play out.
Best Rap Album
D Smoke – Black Habits
Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist – Alfredo
Jay Electronica – A Written Testimony
Nas – King’s Disease
Royce Da 5’9″ – The Allegory
Who Will Win? Nas
Who Should Win? Freddie Gibbs
With all the standout rap albums released last year, it was quite surprising when The Recording Academy opted to nominate more traditional, older artists instead of highlighting the genre’s newcomers. Nevertheless, this category is filled with decades of remarkable talent. While D Smoke, Jay Electronica, and Nas were all favorites for the “rappity rap” sector of music lovers, it’s Freddie Gibbs’ Alfredo that is an immediate standout. Linking up with esteemed producer The Alchemist, Gibbs doesn’t waste a single breath on his tight bars while dishing out a rap master class.
Best Rap Performance
Big Sean Featuring Nipsey Hussle – “Deep Reverence”
DaBaby – “Bop”
Jack Harlow – “What’s Poppin”
Lil Baby – “The Bigger Picture”
Megan Thee Stallion Featuring Beyoncé – “Savage”
Pop Smoke – “Dior”
Who Will Win? Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé
Who Should Win? Lil Baby
This category features all strong contenders, from the late Pop Smoke’s “Dior” continuing his posthumous reign to Jack Harlow’s “What’s Poppin” showcasing just how effortless his flow is. And of course there’s “Savage,” which finds Megan Thee Stallion teaming with her idol Beyoncé. The latter seems like the promising win here based on how massive it was, but Lil Baby shouldn’t be ignored. The rapper is at his most vulnerable on “The Bigger Picture,” as he sheds light on police brutality occurring both in his native Atlanta and across America. But what makes this protest anthem so insightful is that Lil Baby turns the mirror on himself and tries to correct the wrongs he’s done with his own violent lyrics.
Best Alternative Music Album
Fiona Apple – Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Beck – Hyperspace
Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
Brittany Howard – Jaime
Tame Impala – The Slow Rush
Who Will Win? Fiona Apple
Who Should Win? Fiona Apple
2020 proved that alternative music still has a deserved place in mainstream music, with all five artists in this category creating some of the strongest tunes of their esteemed careers. The Slow Rush is Kevin Parker at his most refined as he imagines lush soundscapes, and both Brittany Howard’s Jaime and Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher are graciously intimate. But not much else compares to the shocking rawness of Fiona Apple’s Fetch The Bolt Cutters. Of course, honesty has been Apple’s M.O. since her 1996 debut, but she turns the volume on max on her latest record. The most beautiful moments of Fetch The Bolt Cutters are its messiness, from Apple’s crackled, unedited vocals to the clamoring production. That kind of “zero f*cks given” energy should be commended.
Best Pop Solo Performance
Justin Bieber – “Yummy”
Doja Cat – “Say So”
Billie Eilish – “Everything I Wanted”
Dua Lipa – “Don’t Start Now”
Harry Styles – “Watermelon Sugar”
Taylor Swift – “Cardigan”
Who Will Win? Dua Lipa
Who Should Win? Doja Cat
This entire category is filled with fun pop moments, with Harry Styles inviting us to blissful paradise on “Watermelon Sugar” to Billie Eilish giving another dose of relatability on “Everything I Wanted.” Dua Lipa’s catchy earworm “Don’t Start Now” seems to be the biggest contender here, but Doja Cat’s “Say So” was just as inescapable. 2020 was a major year for the triple-threat, and it was partly due to the virality of “Say So.” After it dominated TikTok (whose dance challenge creator Haley Sharpe was featured in the video), the single literally soared onto the charts. Tacking on remix queen Nicki Minaj, “Say So” became both rappers’ first No. 1 single and also made history as the first collaboration by two female rappers to top the Hot 100. Doja Cat’s genre-bending talents combined with this song’s sheer ubiquity are surely worthy of that golden gramophone.
Best Pop Vocal Album
Justin Bieber – Changes
Lady Gaga – Chromatica
Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
Harry Styles – Fine Line
Taylor Swift – Folklore
Who Will Win? Taylor Swift
Who Should Win? Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift, and Harry Styles arguably gifted us with the best albums of their career in 2020, but something’s telling me that The Recording Academy will award Swift’s beloved Folklore. But let’s not rule out Lipa, who was one of the few artists in recent memory who perfectly executed a proper album era. Not only did Future Nostalgia redefine what ‘80s and ‘90s pop mean in a millennial age, but the promotion — from the visually stunning videos to the accompanying remix album that was just as good as the original — took the compelling songs to new heights.
Best Progressive R&B Album
Jhené Aiko – Chilombo
Chloe x Halle – Ungodly Hour
Free Nationals – Free Nationals
Robert Glasper – F*** Yo Feelings
Thundercat – It Is What It Is
Who Will Win? Jhené Aiko
Who Should Win? Chloe x Halle
R&B has been in the shadows of rap for the past few years, but the genre surpassed its sibling in 2020. That hasn’t been made more clear than with this category, whose name changed from Best Urban Contemporary Album to Best Progressive R&B Album to dismiss the negative connotations the word “urban” brings. Jhené Aiko’s Chilombo being an industry favorite makes it a predicted winner here, but the brilliance of Chloe x Halle’s Ungodly Hour is too hard to surpass. The duo’s sophomore album is a journey of their grown womanhood, as they explore sexuality, rising above failed relationships, feeling petty in the moment, and embracing their imperfections. And it’s all tied together with heaven-sent harmonies, otherwordly production that continues the Afro-Futurism conversation, and smart songwriting. Now, who dared to question if R&B is dead again?
As Record Of The Year is awarded for the final recorded product of a single, it’ll be fair for Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé’s “Savage” remix to take the win. The teamwork is between not only the two artists but also the producer and engineer, and it gave way to the catchiest song of 2020. “Savage” was already a standout from Megan’s Suga EP, which was followed by a massively viral moment once TikTok got hold of it and a new dance craze was born. So when Beyoncé decided to hop on the remix months later, the world was stopped once again. What’s better than the two biggest mainstream artists from Houston reveling in all things classy, bougie, and ratchet? But as we bring up catchiness, Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now” also deserves a major hat tip.
Best New Artist
Ingrid Andress
Phoebe Bridgers
Chika
Noah Cyrus
D Smoke
Doja Cat
Kaytranada
Megan Thee Stallion
Who Will Win? Phoebe Bridgers
Who Should Win? Megan Thee Stallion
There are so many deserving artists in this category, including Kaytranada, Chika, and Doja Cat. But Phoebe Bridgers growing into such a major indie darling may give her the win here, and The Recording Academy has a history of shocking the audience when it comes to Best New Artist wins. Still, Megan Thee Stallion’s unwavering dominance in 2020 cannot be ignored. She’s grown into more than just a rapper: she is an advocate for Black women, a businesswoman who has scored multiple partnerships, a philanthropist who gives back to her community, and is leading the charge of unapologetic new-gen women rappers.
Song Of The Year
Beyoncé – “Black Parade”
Roddy Ricch – “The Box”
Taylor Swift – “Cardigan”
Post Malone – “Circles”
Dua Lipa – “Don’t Start Now”
Billie Eilish – “Everything I Wanted”
H.E.R. – “I Can’t Breathe”
JP Saxe Featuring Julia Michaels – “If The World Was Ending”
Who Will Win? Taylor Swift
Who Should Win? Dua Lipa
Like Record Of The Year, this category is also overflowing with strong contenders that range from timely matters of racial inequality to heartbreaking ballads. Seeing as this win is for songwriters though, Taylor Swift getting a gramophone for “Cardigan” makes the most sense. But let’s not knock out Dua Lipa too quickly; the sheer pop perfection of “Don’t Start Now” should get the recognition here. An unofficial sequel to 2017’s “New Rules,” the lead single to Future Nostalgia captures the album’s nu-disco spirit while elevating Lipa to new pop star territory.
Album Of The Year
Jhené Aiko – Chilombo
Black Pumas – Black Pumas (Deluxe Edition)
Coldplay – Everyday Life
Jacob Collier – Djesse Vol. 3
Haim – Women In Music Pt. III
Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia
Post Malone – Hollywood’s Bleeding
Taylor Swift – Folklore Who Will Win? Taylor Swift
Who Should Win? Taylor Swift
Ah, Album Of The Year, the coveted Grammy that nearly every artist vies for at some point in their career. It’s also one of the most unpredictable categories as it can either go to the year’s most popular artist (see Adele in 2017 and Bruno Mars in 2018) or the year’s underdog (Kacey Musgraves in 2019 and Billie Eilish in 2020). Taylor Swift is often seen as both, with her likability swaying from overhyped to not credited enough. But there’s a reason why UPROXX chose Folklore as 2020’s best album. Jacob Collier, Haim, and Dua Lipa are all strong contenders here, yet Swift’s effort finds her at her most vulnerable. The singer-songwriter’s pen has always been sharp, and on Folklore she strengths her storytelling while also providing comfort (for herself and other listeners) in the wake of 2020’s darkness.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
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