S. Samuel
Washington music duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have the entire hip-hop world in awe this weekend after dominating the "Rap" categories at Sunday's Grammy Awards ceremony.
With a slew of nominations in various categories, Mack and Ryan left their competition going home empty-handed.
Best New Artist: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Best Rap Performance: “Thift Shop,” Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Best Rap Song: “Thift Shop,” Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Best Rap Album: “The Heist,” Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (E! Online)
Rap superstar Jay Z and producer Pharrell Williams also snatched up some trophies.
Pharell Williams was named non-classical producer of the year, his work on among others Robin Thicke‘s “Blurred Lines” and Daft Punk‘s “Get Lucky.” Rock icon Led Zeppelin won their first Grammy for best rock album, “Celebration Day,” from a concert they did seven years ago. Weird stuff like that is common at the Grammys. The video for “Suit and Tie,” Justin Timberlake‘s collaboration with Jay Z (the big nominee with nine) was named best music video. (SGV Tribune)
Recently, Mack joked about being ready to experience rap star Kanye West stealing his moment if he won “Best Rap Album.”
“Then he’s got a point. [In the Best Rap Album category], we’re up against Kendrick, who made a phenomenal album. If we win a Grammy for Best Rap Album, Hip-Hop is going to be heated. In terms of [that category], I think it should go to Kendrick [Lamar]. He’s family. TDE is family, and I understand why Hip-Hop would feel like Kendrick got robbed [if he didn’t win]. I’m not trying to compare albums; I think you can make an argument for both. With that being said, I am a huge supporter of what Kendrick does. And because of that, I would love to win in a different category. We obviously had massive success on commercial radio, and I think that, in ways, The Heist was a bigger album, but Kendrick has a better rap album.” (The Source)
Mack also acknowledged critics and hip-hop heads being too quick to judge based off his massive “Thrift Shop” single’s success.
“People are going to be skeptical. I’m a white dude from Seattle. People are rightfully skeptical of white people making Hip-Hop. They’re gonna say, “Let me hear him rap. Let me hear an interview.” Before we sold a million copies of the album, when it was just “Thrift Shop,” before it became massive, they were putting us in a box. The song almost got too big. People weren’t able to see the rest of the album for what it was. They put us in the one-hit wonder box.” (The Source)
Although Jay Z dominated all nominees, Macklemore did not trail far behind with seven nods.
Jay Z easily led Grammy Award nominations announced Friday with nine, but left-of-center rappers Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Kendrick Lamar were among a group of new stars who took many of the major nominations. Macklemore and Lewis’ gay marriage anthem ”Same Love” was among song of the year nominees and the Seattle rap crew joined Los Angeles rapper Lamar with seven nominations apiece, including best album and best new artist of the year. Pharrell Williams had four major nominations among his seven and Justin Timberlake also had seven. (Boston)
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