Artists like The Weeknd, Kanye West & others join Eminem to snub Grammys.
If you’re into Hip Hop, it’s difficult not to have heard about Eminem, The Rap God, The Real Slim Shady. He’s a hip-hop behemoth with a trophy collection that some of his contemporaries can only dream of. The number of Grammys Eminem has is not just a mere number but a phenomenon. With His first major studio album “The Slim Shady LP,” Eminem’s Grammy debut began which is continued till The Marshall Mathers LP 2. You may ask how many grammy does Eminem have? Being nominated 44 times Em has bagged Grammy 15 times.
But it seems like, Eminem Grammy hate is stronger than ever. Yes, the Eminem Grammy relationship doesn’t fit well. The rapper has boycotted the awards and said that he won’t be part of the awards again.
Eminem previously remarked that the Recording Academy does not reward the best and that he is no longer interested in a rigged game. As time goes on, more and more new artists realize how true he was all along.
Nas defeated Royce da 5’9 to win his first Grammy in 2021. It’s not that he didn’t deserve it. He just should have had it much sooner. Nas has been nominated 14 times, with a 20-year hiatus between nominations. The Grammys, on the other hand, are not an institution that pays much attention to contemporary events. They have their own motivations that have nothing to do with artistic integrity, and an increasing number of musicians are openly protesting it.
We all know that Eminem and the Recording Academy Awards do not get along. While he was one of the first performers to win a major award for a not-so-prestigious genre, he received more snubs than accolades from the Grammys.
The Grammys appeared to be striving to appease the public’s rising dissatisfaction. Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, and Childish Gambino all received nominations for album of the year, prompting many to assume that hip-hop would finally get its due. The prize was eventually presented to Bruno Mars, denying the reality that Kendrick and Jigga both released critically-lauded projects.
Eminem commented on his annoyance during his interview with Sway Calloway, who argues the Grammys sucking the life out of musicians by convincing them to come just to be disappointed later.
“Every f**king year,” says Em. “I’m tired of seeing it. For whatever reason, they’re always pitching this hint that you might win album of the year, which used to be a big deal. I don’t think it’s a big deal now. I sat at home for the Grammys this year and watched Jay and Kendrick not get it, and I felt like one of them should have got it. I felt Joyner Lucas should have won a Grammy for “I’m Not Racist.” Every year we went, I was up for album of the year, and then ‘the winner is Norah Jones!'”
He ultimately boils it down in a passionate plea: “Don’t f**king get us all here, to use as your selling point for your f**king show, and stiff everybody every single f**king time. After that point in time, I said don’t ever ask me to come here again. My answer is no for a hundred million years.”
Eminem has won 15 awards so far but has never won the coveted “Album Of The Year” award. Nonetheless, it’s evident that Em’s past with the Grammys has been weighing heavily on his mind. Of course, on songs like “Say Goodbye Hollywood” and “My Darling,” the rapper has referred to the Faustian trading of his soul. However, 2018 has reawakened in him a newfound hatred for The Grammys, resulting in his most public denunciation of the ceremony since “The Real Slim Shady.”
At the beginning of his career, Eminem rapped, “You think I give a damn about a Grammy?” He was nominated for Album Of The Year, Best Rap Solo Performance, Best Rap Performance From A Duo Or Group, and Best Rap Album for his project “The Real Slim Shady LP.”
It’s worth noting that Em’s initial anti-Grammy stance was met with a surprising lack of backlash from the torch-bearers. In fact, it seemed as though a “kill them with kindness” technique was used, with prizes bestowed on a man who had previously condemned them in public. To some extent, it was successful; Eminem attended the ceremony, utilising his fast-rising platform to seal his place in Grammy history. Given the homophobic allegations swirling around Slim’s good reputation, Em and Elton John’s performance was a watershed moment for those old enough to remember.
The Weeknd, the Canadian artist, labelled the Grammys “corrupt” and expressed disgust in the nominations for the 2021 Grammy Awards.
The Weeknd, whose highly praised album “After Hours” was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 charts for four weeks, received the greatest whitewash for the top prizes in the music business. The Canadian musician slammed the Recording Academy on Instagram, stating that his work was not acknowledged in the appropriate areas.
The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) November 25, 2020
Nicki Minaj has now added her name to the list, expressing her displeasure with the final selection and revealing how she, too, was snubbed some years ago.
One Direction frontman Zayn Malik, who has launched a solo career and had a decent chance of receiving a nomination, did not receive one as well. He wrote in more than exasperation: “Confectionary may not be enough,” another young and successful artist Halsey remarked in her Instagram storey: “Confectionary may not be enough.”
It can often be about behind the scenes private performances, knowing the right people, campaigning through the grapevine, with the right handshakes and ‘bribes’ that can be just ambiguous enough to pass as ‘not-bribes’.
All performers have the same distaste for the Grammys. Kanye West famously urinated on one of his Grammy Awards a couple of years back, and now the Recording Academy has named “Jesus Is King” the Best Contemporary Christian Music Album winner.
Trust me … I WONT STOP pic.twitter.com/RmVkqrSa4F
— ye (@kanyewest) September 16, 2020
Lil Wayne has just joined in with a succinct yet forceful: F*k the Grammys.
Eminem’s only Grammy nomination in 2019 comes from the Joyner Lucas-assisted “Lucky You,” the same song in which he disavowed the ceremony. While it may be a little conspiratorial, doesn’t it seem like the powers that be are playing mind games? Especially when Joyner Lucas’ reaction was diametrically opposed to Em’s. Joyner sent an impassioned letter on Instagram, reinforcing Em’s long-sought sense of recognition.
And with a hip-hop album failing to win Album of the Year for the past 17 years, it’s difficult not to assume Eminem does have a reason.
In an interview, 50 Cent criticized JAY-Z and stated that he has won so many grammies because he’s married to Beyonce. “The same concept with the Super Bowl. See, they don’t understand the relationship. They were trying to get [Eminem] to do the Super Bowl without me. It wasn’t happening,” 50 said about his appearance at the Super Bowl halftime show last year in 2022.
He continued, “It’s okay for the award shows not to give me the trophies. Even JAY-Z’s career, you can look at that and say the association to Beyonce is when he started to receive the 16, 17 Grammys, since he’s been with Beyonce. And you go, prior to that… [he had] one. That came with the association.”
“You see [Jay-Z and Beyonce’s] kids already have Grammys. They don’t sing yet. They don’t sing. They don’t rap yet. And, they already have Grammys and sh-t. So, they say, ‘Give them this trophy so we can secure that they’re coming… to the awards show.’” “It meant that much to the culture they just gave them the things,” he added.
