The Crypto Arena of Los Angeles, California, was transformed into a celebrity hub on Sunday night, February 4, as some of the biggest names in world pop culture convened in the city for the 2024 Grammy Awards.
The biggest music night in the United States and beyond was full of mysterious and regrettable moments.
The highlight of the night was Africa’s first major recognition as South African musician Tyla who won the inaugural African Music Performance Award, the first prize at the Grammys dedicated exclusively to music from the continent.
ALSO READ: Tyla bags Grammys' first African Music Performance Award
The 22-year-old singer was presented the award thanks to her song "Water”, the lead single from her debut studio album Tyla, which took over global charts after a video of the famous artiste performing at the Giants of Africa opening concert in Kigali, Rwanda, in August 2023 went viral on different social media platforms, giving birth to the ‘Water' Challenge on Tik Tok that had millions of users jumping on the trend.
Despite Africa’s debut at the Recording Academy's awarding ceremony, which is so far the biggest step for Afro music this year, the 66th annual Grammy Awards was full of surprises and sagas.
Below are some key highlights that shaped the awards giving gala:
Jay Z (HOV) calls out Grammy’s snub of black artistes
Despite being recognized with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award during the just-c concluded 66th annual Grammy Awards, business mogul and rapper Jay Z was left unimpressed by the fact that recording academy continues to snub of black artistes, including his wife Beyoncé.
The 54-year-old musician criticized the awards for what he described as its snubs and inconsistencies in giving out awards to Black artistes, pointing out that his wife, Beyoncé, has never won for album of the year despite recording most Grammys overall.
"Even by your own metrics it doesn’t work. We want you to get it right, at least get it close to right. Some of you may get robbed,” he said, adding, "Some of you don’t belong in the category.”
He also conceded that the process of awarding Grammys is subjective. "It’s music and it’s opinion based,” he said.
"But, you know, some things, I don't want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year."
While he didn't mention the "young lady" by name, he appeared to be referring to his wife Beyoncé, who has been nominated for album of the year four times and never won. Beyoncé was up for best new artiste in 2010 (losing to Taylor Swift), 2015 (losing to Beck), 2017 (losing to Adele) and 2023 (losing to Harry Styles).
Jay Z isn’t the first big musician to point out Grammy’s snubs of black musicians. Kanye West in 2009 interrupted Taylor swifts’ acceptance speech after she won Best Female Video and said, "Yo, Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'ma let [I am letting] you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time!"
ALSO READ: Grammy Awards 2024: ‘Afro beat’ gets due recognition after 65 years
Killer Mike arrested after winning three Grammys
Rapper and social activist Killer Mike was arrested Sunday evening near the site of the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on a night when he took home three Grammys.
The artist, real name Michael Render, was booked on a misdemeanor battery charge, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
The incident took place after the artiste won three Grammys on Sunday, including best rap album for "Michael,” best rap performance and best rap song for his single "Scientists and Engineers.
Hip Hop categories full of snubs
The first time the Recording Academy acknowledged rap music in 1989, it didn’t televise the newly created Best Rap Performance award, leading inaugural winners Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff to boycott the ceremony.
The Grammys now include four rap categories, but none of them apparently merited inclusion as Killer Mike swept three of the night’s four rap categories.
Rap wasn’t the only genre to be snubbed this way, the categories for rock, EDM, and African music were all similarly downgraded.
Afro music debuts at Grammys
For the first time, African music was highly recognized at the Grammy Awards with a special category of Best African Music Performance category which went to Tyla.
The category was introduced as part of a larger set of updates and amendments aimed at making the awards process more fair, transparent and accurate.
Nigerian stars Burna Boy, Davido, Asake, Olamide and Ayra Starr were also nominated in the first-ever Grammy category.
On the other hand, Burna Boy made history as he brought Afrobeat to the 2024 Grammys with Medley Performance featuring Brandy and 21 Savage, becoming the first-ever Afrobeat artiste to perform at the annual ceremony.