Jay-Z recorded a huge loss at the Grammys in his own backyard Sunday night, despite receiving more nominations than any other artist.
A day after calling President Trump a “superbug,” the “Empire State of Mind” rapper — who led all artists with eight nominations — lost to big winners Kendrick Lamar, whose “Damn” won rap album of the year, and Bruno Mars, whose “24K Magic” earned him album of the year honors.
Jay-Z got robbed. That’s it. Goodnight #grammys
— Sowmya Krishnamurthy (@SowmyaK) January 29, 2018
Bruno Mars won six Grammys including song of the year for his hit single “That’s What I Like,” and both record and album of the year for “24K Magic.”
His win denied rappers Kendrick Lamar and Jay-Z the honor of becoming the first hip-hop artist in 14 years to win the coveted album of the year award.
“These songs were written with nothing but joy, with love, and that’s all I wanted to bring with this album, seeing everybody dancing,” Mars, 32, said.
He also paid tribute to his album of the year rivals – Jay-Z, Lamar, Childish Gambino and Lorde – saying: “Thank you, guys, for blessing the world with your music.”
Lamar, 30, regarded as one of the most innovative rappers of his generation, won five prizes mostly in rap categories for his album “DAMN.” and single “Humble.” Rap became the biggest music genre in the United States in 2017, Nielsen Music reported.
Veteran Jay-Z, whose soul-baring album “4:44” had gone into the show with a leading eight nominations, won nothing and chose not to perform at the three-hour show.
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