The 6 Best Hip-Hop Moments From The 2015 Grammy Awards
It wasn't a show for the ages, nor was it the controversial sticking point that it became last year. But the 2015 Grammy Awards and their over-the-top number of performances (as opposed to something like, well, awards) still delivered its fair share of memorable moments. Most notable was the return of Kanye West to the performance stage after a six year absence, and an exuberant and seemingly tipsy Yeezy made his presence felt throughout the proceedings.
But he wasn't the only one; Prince was a revelation as always, Common and John Legend delivered on their show-stopping promise and the major hip-hop category winners, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar, neither showed up nor ignited any controversy with their victories. All in all, for an Awards show that seemingly doesn't give a shit about rap music (it hasn't televised the rap categories in years now), the 2015 Grammy Awards could have been better, could have been worse, and instead sit uncomfortably somewhere in the middle. But we still managed to find some bright spots. Here are our six favorite hip-hop moments from last night's Grammys. Welcome back to Yeezy Season.
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Kanye's Performances
Let's face it: the world was wondering what Kanye would do this year, his first time performing at the Grammys since tearing down the house with his emotional performance of "Hey Mama" in 2008. And while there weren't any surprises—the much-talked-about rumor that he'd finally be debuting the full version of "All Day" never happened—his intimate solo rendition of "Only One" was on point, while it was historic more than anything to see him join Rihanna and Paul McCartney on stage for "FourFiveSeconds." Kanye wound up stealing the show completely in other ways, but he was a welcome hip-hop presence in an evening that didn't have many.
Common And John Legend
Powerful and positively brimming with soul, Common and John Legend joined forces for the Selma soundtrack cut "Glory" and delivered it in full-on powerful choral enthusiasm. Combined with Beyonce's incredible vocal performance immediately before it, "Glory" put an exclamation point on what was already a very ballad-heavy, church-centered show complete with organs, choirs and gut-wrenching vocal showpieces. Common and Legend showed why they're now nominated for an Oscar with the performance.
Kanye's Stage Fake-Out And After-Show Rant
Was this the greatest Kanye moment we've seen in a long time? Showing precisely the self-awareness and humility that he was accused of lacking when he interrupted Taylor Swift's speech in 2009, 'Ye appeared out of nowhere on the Grammy stage just as Beck was about to accept his award for Album Of The Year. But just when it seemed like deja vu all over again—even Jay Z was terrified it would happen—'Ye smiled, waved it off and walked back to his seat as the audience ate it up. Of course, hours later on the E! after show, Yeezy didn't hold back and said that, had it not been for his daughter and family, he'd have protested Beyonce's loss on that stage again. But instead we're left with this incredible Vine of the whole thing.
Prince
Of course, before Beck was announced as winner of Album Of The Year, there was Prince. And thank God for Prince. First of all, let's talk about his amazing afro and hilariously Prince-esque decision to wear shiny orange madness. It's hard to even fully comprehend, but it's approximately the 12,000,000th reminder that the things Prince can pull off, no one else can. Then it was what he said, making a political and cultural stand with just a few winking words, saying, "Albums, like books and black lives, still matter." It was a perfect moment, a perfect thing to say, and of course it was Prince who delivered it. Then, as he was all set to hand over the biggest award of the evening to Beyonce, he instead had to hand it to Beck. We can't have everything, unfortunately.
Pharrell's New-Look "Happy"
What the hell else could Pharrell have done with this song? It seemed like a foregone conclusion that we'd get the same saccharine, soulless pop ditty that Skateboard P had been delivering at awards shows for well over a year now. But this time Pharrell flipped the script, abandoned his insanely-viral Canadian Monuted Police hat, and donned the outfit for the bell boy from The Grand Budapest Hotel. Or, at least, that was a roundup of the #HotTakes swirling around Twitter as he took the stage for an uncharacteristically dark opening. The performance was all over the place but provided a welcome twist to the usual upbeat cut. If nothing else, Pharrell finally kept us on our toes for once.
Eminem Winning Best Rap Album
Lose the pitchforks, call off the dogs and chill on the #HotTake thinkpieces: the Grammys learned from last year. The coronation of Macklemore as the world's Next Big Thing passed over Iggy Azalea's bizarrely-done up head and instead landed atop Sam Smith, who took his crown with humility and a little bit of relief. Iggy, nominated for four Grammys on the evening, went home empty-handed, presumably being punished for the social media nightmare that was Macklemore apologizing to Kendrick Lamar for sweeping last year's hip-hop categories. It's not necessarily fair to Iggy, though she may be sighing a small sigh of relief to not come under the same type of scrutiny that Macklemore faced, particularly after her own pretty tumultuous past few months.
As for Eminem winning the award? It seems mostly like a compromise that nobody would dispute rather than an actual award for achievement; maybe that's why Shady never showed. Kendrick Lamar's no-show victories for "i" were also a little bit strange from the Grammy Committee, but as most people on social media commented, Hey, about time.
Related: Kanye West Says Beck Should Give His Grammy To Beyoncé
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