Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Win The 2014 Grammy Award For Rap Song & Album
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have cause for some early celebration at Los Angeles, California’s Staples Center. The Seattle, Washington pair’s 2012 album The Heist won Rap Album Of The Year and their breakthrough hit “Thrift Shop” won Rap Song Of The Year.
The wins were controversial when coupled with two additional wins for the platinum pair, for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance (also, “Thrift Shop”). The pair’s four wins stifled the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Drake, Eminem, and Jay Z, who opened the awards with wife, Beyonce.
To some Heads, these wins may have strong undertones of “Urban music’s” race identity in the mainstream (Justin Timberlake’s “Pusher Love Girl” also took R&B Performance honors). Another conversation may be the status of Hip-Hop, given Macklemore’s subject matters, as compared to other artists. What do you think?
Kendrick fans may take solace in the fact that iconic albums such as Eminem’s first Marshall Mathers LP, as well as Kanye West’s Graduation and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy were snubbed in their own voting.
With Album Of The Year still coming, do you think Kendrick Lamar has a shot at his moment in this variety of spotlight?
UPDATE: An ABC News report reveals the following: “Macklemore & Lewis’ wins, which include Best Rap Song and Rap Performance for ‘Thrift Shop,’ come after the Grammy rap committee almost ousted the duo from its categories. A source told The Associated Press that the Rap committee rejected the duo, but that was later overruled by the general Grammy committee.”