Jay-Z graced the 66th Annual Grammys with his presence after watching his wife, music superstar Beyoncé become the most-awarded musician in the show's history at last year’s ceremony. Of course, there’s been friction between the Recording Academy and the rapper, dating back to the early days of music career. This year, the music mogul received a career-defining award at this year’s ceremony. And, in keeping with his persona, during the show, the mogul drank champagne out of his latest Grammy Award, giving me the Big Hova Energy I didn’t know I needed in the process.
The rap music icon was honored with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the 2024 Grammy Awards, in recognition of his decades-long career and impact on the music industry. He attended with his superstar wife and oldest daughter, Blue Ivy. Of course, the superstar had to celebrate the momentous occasion by making a toast with his friends at the music awards ceremony. CBS and the Recording Academy captured the celebratory moment, posting it on their Instagram accounts and congratulating the artist in the process:
Hova drinking from the trophy is just so on-brand, but I certainly appreciate his enthusiasm. It's honestly infectious, and you can also understand why he'd be so eager to celebrate. It seems the Global Impact Award is simply another award to him, given he's the most-awarded rapper in Grammy history (with 24 wins). As a fan, I've seen Jay-Z be somewhat blasé about awards ceremonies for years and rarely ever attend them without a reason. He was never seemed to put in stock in recognition from governing bodies but, to me, it feels like he still appreciates them.
The music mogul has dropped the tough guy persona from his early career to that of a more relatable and self-aware businessman. Still, drinking champagne from a Grammy is just the norm, as Hov even referred to music’s top honor as a “sippy cup” for his then-year-old daughter at the 2013 Grammys.
As mentioned though, the relationship between Jay-Z and the Recording Academy hasn’t always been friendly. After his mainstream breakthrough with his third album, Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life, the rap star protested the 1999 Grammys after the ceremony didn’t nominate fellow New York rapper DMX. Hova went home empty-handed in 2018 despite being the most-nominated artist that year. Of course, he’s won more Grammys since then.
This year, he used his Grammy speech to call out the organization for having never not awarded Beyoncé the coveted Album of the Year Grammy. Watch his brutally honest (and somewhat funny) full-circle speech in the clip below.
If there's one thing that's clear at this point in time, it's that Jay-Z is going to be him, and I'm not mad at him. I can't say that I'll ever drink alcohol straight out of a trophy of some sort, to be clear. However, that's the kind of upbeat boss energy that just about anyone could apply to their lives. Here's to continued success on his part!
Now that the Grammys are done, Jay-Z can focus back on his other ventures. He produced the mostly well-received biblical comedy The Book of Clarence, which is currently in theaters. He’s also gearing up to produce the Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show featuring music superstar Usher , which airs on Sunday, February 11 at 6:30 p.m. ET as part of the 2024 TV schedule. It'll be a match-up between the San Francisco 49ers and the Taylor Swift-associated Kansas City Chiefs,. You can also stream the event using a Paramount+ subscription.
