It’s unclear whether Jay-return Z’s to the Grammys stage was motivated by his five nominations this year, but it’s obvious that “God Did.”
Bringing churchgoers who enjoy music On their DJ Khaled-produced duet “God Did,” which they performed at the 65th Grammy Awards on Sunday, the 53-year-old Brooklynite rocked the mike with hip-hop superstars Rick Ross, 47, Lil Wayne, 40, rap newcomer Fridayy, and singer John Legend, 44.
Three nominations were given to the mega hit for Song of the Year, Best Rap Song, and Best Rap Performance.
And the jaw-dropping performance signaled HOV’s much anticipated return as a headliner at the awards ceremony, where he previously sang “Drunk in Love” with Beyoncé, 41, his wife, in 2014.
But the Recording Academy and Jay, who has the distinction of having received the most Grammy nominations of any artist (up until Queen Bey surpassed him this year with 88 of her own), have not always agreed.
The mogul actually boycotted the Grammys for years, starting in 1999 when he won his first of 24 awards for “Best Rap Album” for his well-regarded compilation “Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life.”
By the way, I boycotted the Grammys for [DMX] for the first time, Jay said in 2021 on HBO’s “The Shop: Uninterrupted.”
He said, referring to the late “Lose My Mind” rapper, “We both came out that year, he didn’t get nominated.
Jay-Z said, “I wasn’t there for my first Grammy win because I won that year for [Best] Rap Album. I didn’t even enter the place because I supported DMX by walking out. There was some rivalry, but there was also a lot of love.
At Clive Davis’ pre-Grammy party in 2018, he admitted, “I realized, ‘Man, art is really subjective and everyone is doing their best, and the Academy, they’re human like we are. They are subjectively voting on stuff they enjoy.
