S. Samuel
R&B singer Frank Ocean and Drake ignited the LL Cool J-hosted Grammy Awards Sunday (February 10) by landing their own trophies and leaving one-time music rival Chris Brown, amongst many others, in the dust.
Young Money‘s Drake finally received his first-ever Grammy award for 2011’s Take Care, beating respectable competition from Nas to Lupe Fiasco.
Drake’s “Take Care” took home the Grammy for Best Rap Album at the 2013 awards, beating out Lupe Fiasco’s “Food & Liquor II,” Nas’ “Life Is Good,” The Roots‘ “Undun,” Rick Ross’ “God Forgives, I Don’t” and 2 Chainz‘ “Based on a T.R.U. Story.” Nas was probably the slight favorite in pre-awards speculation, if only for his reputation as a classic rapper. Last year, Kanye West‘s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” took home the award. (Huffington Post)
Odd Future‘s Frank Ocean enjoyed some camera time after winning “Best Urban Contemporary Album.”
After his performance, Grammy voters went with Team Frank in the urban contemporary album battle. Frank Ocean won the Grammy for his “Channel Orange,” but made no reference to his spat with fellow nominee Chris Brown. He kept his thank yous short — his mother, Def Jam and Odd Future Records. (E! Online)
Some media outlets have gone as far as to suggest fellow nominee Chris Brown revealed his dismay toward Ocean following the winning announcement.
Did Chris Brown and Frank Ocean bring their beef to tonight’s Grammy Awards? When Frank took home the Urban Contemporary Album award for Channel Orange, several people in the audience stood up to cheer…but not Chris Brown, who was sitting front and center. Brown stayed seated near Rihanna. Chris, as well as Miguel, were also nominated for the same award so perhaps it was his way of showing that he didn’t agree with the winner? (RapFix)
Additional notable winners Sunday night included Beyoncé, Usher and Jay-Z.
R & B Performance : “Climax,” Usher/Traditional R & B Performance : “Love on Top,” Beyonce/R & B Song : “Adorn” Miguel Pimentel/Best Gospel Album : “Gravity,” Lecrae/Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: “No Church in the Wild,” Jay-Z and Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean and The Dream/Best New Artist: fun./Album of the Year: Babel, Mumford & Sons (E! Online)
Along with winning a Grammy, rap mogul Jay-Z joined comeback hitmaker Justin Timberlake for their “Suit & Tie” on-stage performance.
Justin Timberlake brought sexy back to the Grammys – with a little help from Jay-Z. Proving there was little rust after seven years of moonlighting as an actor, Timberlake had the Staples Center crowd on its feet as he performed two songs from his upcoming album “The 20/20 Experience.” Midway through the song – which was aired on the CBS telecast in sepia tones for a retro look to match the song’s ’70s vibe – Timberlake was joined on stage by Jay-Z, who rapped on the single. (New York Daily News)
Outside of high-profile performances from Rihanna and Taylor Swift, R&B diva Alicia Keys heated up the Grammy Awards.
In the spirit of GRAMMY collaborations, Maroon 5 hit the stage with Alicia Keys, who stepped out from behind the piano to beat her own drum. Maroon 5 began their performance with “Daylight,” with frontman Adam Levine giving a spirited rendition. But the tune changed when Alicia Keys appeared pounding out her own drum beat to her song, “Girl On Fire.” She moved from behind the drums to belt out her tune, as Levine provided additional vocals. (CBS Local)
