*Bill Bellamy is calling out the Grammys for getting the Song of the Year and the hip-hop tribute all wrong.
As TMZ reports, the comedian says the Grammys voting system rarely matches public opinion. This year saw Bonnie Raitt’s “Just Like That” take home the Song of the Year award, beating out Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” and Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5”.
Bellamy also takes issue with the Grammys’ 50th-anniversary hip-hop tribute lacking West Coast artists. The performance failed to recognize many iconic female rappers such as MC Lyte, Da Brat, Foxy Brown, and Lil Kim.
Per TV Line, the tribute’s all-star lineup included: Big Boi, Busta Rhymes with Spliff Star, De La Soul, DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Future, GloRilla, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Mele Mel and Scorpio/Ethiopian King, Ice-T, Lil Baby, The Lox, Method Man, Missy Elliott, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Questlove, Rahiem, Rakim, The Roots, Run-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa and DJ Spinderella, Scarface, Swizz Beatz, and Too $hort.
READ MORE: Bill Bellamy Defends Dave Chappelle: ‘Everyone’s So Sensitive’
Meanwhile, many social media users agree that the Grammys dropped the ball with the hip-hop tribute. One Twitter user wrote, “Please explain to me how you have a 50 yr hip hop tribute without any Sugar Hill Gang, Tribe, Biggie, Tupac, Snoop, Eminem, Mob Deep, Jay-Z, Bad Boy, DMX…so many omissions. Who made this decision???? Horrible. #Grammys2023“.
Another added, “The tribute wasn’t horrible. It had its epic moments. But the decision to omit legends of hip hop culture like Biggie & Tupac at a minimum, alive or not, was horrible.”
A third commented, “You can’t have hip-hop history without Biggie & Tupac. Not possible. Also, Eminem & Snoop. Giants of the genre.”
The Roots drummer Questlove co-curated the 50th-anniversary hip-hop set at the Grammys this month. He announced the performance in a video shared online.
“I’m really really thrilled to announce that there’s gonna be a special segment on the Grammy telecast, this Sunday night, honoring hip-hop’s 50th,” he said in the clip, Rolling Stone reports. “Can you believe 50? It’s going to be an absolutely amazing moment with some of the biggest names from the genre coming together to celebrate hip-hop history — its past, its present, its future.”
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