February 7th 2024.
Kelly Rowland is fully supportive of Jay-Z's powerful acceptance speech at the Grammy's, where he called out the Recording Academy for consistently overlooking his wife Beyoncé for the Album of the Year award. The speech delivered by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter on Sunday night went viral as he received the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. In a powerful moment, he brought his eldest daughter Blue Ivy on stage with him as he subtly addressed the Recording Academy's history of snubbing Black artists.
Jay-Z referenced Will Smith's 1988 boycott of the Grammy's for not airing the Best Rap Performance category and his own boycott a decade later when DMX was not nominated for Best Rap Album, despite releasing two No. 1 albums that year. He used these examples to highlight the repeated snubs against his wife, who has been nominated for Album of the Year multiple times but has yet to win, despite being the most decorated artist in Grammy history with 32 wins. "We love y'all. We want y'all to get it right," Jay-Z stated, adding, "I don't want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than anyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn't work."
He continued, "Think about that. The most Grammys, never won album of the year. That doesn't work." Jay-Z's full speech was shared on social media, and Beyoncé's Destiny's Child group member Kelly Rowland spoke to Entertainment Tonight about her admiration for his advocacy for his wife and other Black artists. "Shawn Carter is one of the greatest men I know, and his words rang so loud to me," Rowland expressed.
She also mentioned that she "couldn't be more proud" of Jay-Z for using his platform to bring attention to important issues. "I'm just really happy for a lot of things that he said. I think that he made a lot of artists feel very seen and very heard in those minutes that he took on stage," she added. Rowland also noted that Jay-Z had mentioned he meant "no disrespect" to the Recording Academy, but he was simply being honest. "I feel like [Beyoncé] is an icon. She is innovative, her thoughts are big and bright, and she just jumps for them and does it. I think that her albums are a reflection of that and should be celebrated in that way," the "Say My Name" singer shared.
Beyoncé was not nominated for any Grammys this year, and her album "Renaissance" lost the Album of the Year award to Harry Styles' "Harry's House" the previous year. This is not the first time Beyoncé has lost this award, as she has been nominated multiple times but has yet to win. In 2010, she lost to Beck for "I Am... Sasha Fierce," in 2015 she lost to Taylor Swift for her self-titled album, and in 2017 she was beat by Adele's "Lemonade." It has been 25 years since a Black woman has won the Album of the Year award, with Lauryn Hill's "Miseducation" being the last to receive this honor. Jay-Z's powerful speech has sparked important conversations about representation and recognition in the music industry, and we can only hope for change in the future.
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