A Minorrrr Grammy Recap

Dope performances. Lots of love for LA. Weird and swanky outfits. Little-to-no drama. It was a solid night at the Crpyto.com Arena. Here are a few of my favorite moments from the evening:

• Imagine showing up to a wedding and leaving before the ceremony is even over. You get all dressed up, shake some hands, but miss out on all the actual fun of a wedding celebration. Oh, and your date is naked. That’s essentially what Kanye did at the Grammys. I have not been able to confirm or deny whether he was kicked out, but nonetheless he made a statement and missed out on all of the fun. Helluva weekend when you add in his Saturday night twitter rant that included a lewd Kamala tweet.

• Kendrick absolutely cleaned up, winning four Grammys and kicking off an epic week before he flies to New Orleans for the Super Bowl halftime show. Turns out winning rap battles is very lucrative. I was wondering if and how he’d take a dig at Drake, and he did so in a perfect manner: wearing a Canadian tuxedo.

• Doechii, aka “Hip Hop Madonna,” also had a groundbreaking night, between her epic performance of 'Denial Is a River' and 'Catfish' and being only the third woman to win a Grammy for Best Rap Album. She also delivered one of my favorite speeches of the night: “I know that there is some Black girl out there, so many Black women out there that are watching me right now and I want to tell you: You can do it. Anything is possible. Anything is possible.”

• I couldn’t believe that Beyoncé, in all her 30 plus Grammys, had never won Album of the Year until last night. I was hoping that she’d take a dig at the country music establishment after winning Best Country Album, but her hardware speaks for itself.

• My favorite performances:

  • Sabrina Carpenter showed she has moves, a sense of humor, and originality.

  • I didn’t really know who Benson Boone was prior to the Grammys (until I heard his song and realized I’ve heard it a hundred times on IG), but he crushed his performance. He started his set sitting at a table with J Lo during a Trevor Noah bit and had Jenny from the Block thinking about pulling her own May December experience with his tuxedo being ripped off, backflips, and crotch grabs. Timothée and Benson may have convinced me to grow a mustache.

  • Boone kicked off an incredible back to back to back wave of performances by the Best New Artist nominees. Raye was the closer and she came out like Mariano Rivera. She showed off her incredible, smooth vocal range and shut the place down like Mariano’s cutter.

• My favorite GIF:

Starting Five

Album of the Week

Acts of Faith by SAULT

“The UK’s most mysterious collective” released their 11th studio album on streaming services on Christmas. They keep a low profile, with little-to-no promotion or interviews. When I first heard SAULT, I thought, “Who the hell is this with this beautifully enchanting vocals?” before realizing it’s Cleo Soul. Then I realized she’s collaborating with Kid Sister, Chronixx, and Jack Peñate to bring this wonderful neo-soul, funky, gospel music into our lives.

Featured Tracks

• Bad Bunny also released a short film to coincide with DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS. Gentrification, aging, living in the moment, a trippy little frog: a few of the themes and characters you’ll find.

• Hi, my name is The Albumist and I am an Eagles fan. I have been and will continue to be very anxious about the Birds facing the Dark Lord Patrick Mahomes on Sunday, so I decided I am going to bump up-beat music and dance to get the vibes up for the 90 minutes before kick off. Here’s The Albumist’s Super Bowl LIX Tailgate Dance Party.

Peace, love and positivity.