Jay-Z has been praised by the BeyHive after his wife was snubbed for Album of the Year at the Grammys having shared a powerful speech as he collected an award.
The 54-year-old rapper took to the stage last night (4 February) with daughter Blue Ivy as he was recognised with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award – an accolade introduced last year to mark the 50th anniversary of hip hop, and designed to honour artists for ‘dedication to the art form that has greatly influenced the industry’.
As he accepted the award, Jay-Z was sure to give a shout-out to wife Beyoncé, who was proudly watching on from her seat, channelling her inner cowgirl with a white Stetson and bling Louis Vuitton jacket and matching skirt.
It came as he reflected on his boycott of the 1998 Grammys, when DMX wasn’t nominated for Best Album of the Year, going on to criticise the Recording Academy for not recognising a certain ‘young lady’ in the same category – which was ultimately won by Taylor Swift this year.
Jay-Z called on the Grammys to ‘get it right’, adding: “At least getting close to right. And obviously it’s subjective.
“[…] Obviously it’s subjective because, you know, it’s music and it’s opinion-based.”
Beyoncé was nominated the Best Album gong last year after the 2022 release of Renaissance.
While she’s not released anything since to put forward for this year’s awards season, Jay-Z pointed out that she’s never actually won the coveted award, despite having the ‘most ever’ in general – having made history at the 2023 ceremony when her total number of wins racked up to 32.
“But, you know, some things – I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won album of the year,” he continued.
“So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that. The most Grammys, never won album of the year. That doesn’t work.
“You know, some of you gonna go home tonight and feel like you’ve been robbed. Some of you may get robbed. Some of you don’t belong in a category. No, when I get nervous I tell the truth.
“But outside of that, we got to keep showing up. Forget the Grammys for a second, just in life.
“As my daughter sits and stands with me as nervous as I am. Just in life, you got to keep showing up.”
Jay-Z added: “Until they give you all those accolades you think you deserve. Until they call you chairman. Until they call you a genius. Until they call you the greatest of all time.”
Beyoncé fans praised the star on X for his fierce comments, with one writing: “Jay-Z spoke REAL.”
Another said: “It’s pretty shameful that Beyoncé has never won album of the year.”
A third wrote: “I gagged when I heard that.”
A fourth added: “I don’t care about Beyoncé or Jay-Z but this was just funny and adorable Good for him standing up for his lady.”
