Jay-Z made quite an impact when he took the Grammys stage to receive the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award on Sunday night.
During his acceptance speech, the mogul took time to shade the Recording Academy for failing to award his wife, Beyoncé with Album of the Year even though she has racked up more statues than any other artist.
The 54-year-old had his superstar wife at the top of his mind when he started his speech as she looked on from the crowd.
“We want y’all to get it right. At least getting close to right. And obviously, it’s subjective. Y’all don’t gotta clap at everything. Obviously, it’s subjective because, you know, it’s music and it’s opinion-based,” he said.
“But, you know, some things — I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than anyone, and never won Album of the Year. Even by your own metric that does not work. Think about that. The most Grammys, never won Album of the Year. That doesn’t work.”
The couple’s eldest daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, 12, was by his side looking lovely in a gorgeous gown when he gave her a sweet shout-out.
“Thank you very much. I used to say it was a sippy cup for Blue, but Blue’s grown up now she doesn’t take sippy cups,” he began. “And she has her own Grammys.”
Jay-Z continued delivering his message from the podium and took his daughter’s hand before he wrapped it up.
“Some of you are going to go home tonight and feel like you’ve been robbed. Some of you may get robbed. Some of you don’t belong in the category,” he said. “When I get nervous, I tell the truth.”
Despite the not-so-subtle shade, Jay-Z did save a few words of encouragement before his speech was over.
“Outside of that, you know, we got to keep showing up and forget the Grammys for a second. Just in life. As my daughter just sits and stares at me nervous as I am. Just in life, you got to keep showing up. Just keep showing up. Forget the Grammys; you got to keep showing up until they give you all those accolades you feel you deserve. Until they call you Chairman, until they call you a genius, until they call you the greatest of all time,” he said. “You feel me?”
The Recording Academy has faced criticism for overlooking Black women for Album of The Year. It has been 25 years since Lauryn Hill won for her debut album, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” back in 1999. Only 11 Black artists have won in the award show’s 66-year history.
Check out his speech below:
