The Grammy Awards took place on Sunday night but some of the biggest stars in hip-hop were notably missing, despite their nominations. Kanye West and Drake weren’t in the crowd last night, nor was Cardi B, who was nominated for Best Rap Performance for “Up.” J. Cole didn’t pull up either, but that’s because of prior engagements. The return of Dreamville Fest took place in Raleigh, NC this weekend where some of the biggest artists — Lil Wayne, Lil Baby, etc. — hit the stage.
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J. Cole didn’t end up winning any awards at the Grammys this year. However, he did celebrate the one Grammy he does have from his contributions to 21 Savage’s “A Lot.” The rapper gave a shout-out to Savage as he performed their i am > i was collaboration. “Y’all make some noise for 21 Savage. He got a n***a his first — the only Grammy I ever won was because of this n***a 21 Savage,” he said.
Cole was nominated in four categories this year, including Best Rap Album for The Off-Season. He also was nominated for Best Melodic Rap Performance for “P R I D E.I S.T H E.D E V I L” ft Lil Baby and Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for “M Y.L I F E” ft. Morray.
It’s been an overall busy weekend for J. Cole. The rapper came through on Thursday night with the latest compilation project from Dreamville, D-Day: A Gangsta Grillz Mixtape with DJ Drama, who also hosted a Gangsta Grillz performance ft. T.I., Lil Wayne, and Jeezy.