Tyler, The Creator secured his first Grammy win on Sunday night by taking home the Best Rap Album award for IGOR. While this may mark a monumental moment in his career, he stills has some reservations about the Recording Academy and he aired them out during a post-show press conference. The 28-year-old multi-hyphenate was asked to share his thoughts on the Grammys' voting practices, as this is a trending topic in the wake of accusations of bias within the Recording Academy made by its recently-ousted head, Deborah Dugan. Tyler replied:

“I’m half and half on it. On the one side I am very grateful that what I made can be acknowledged in a world like this… but it sucks that whenever we, and I mean guys that look like me, do anything that’s genre-bending or anything, they always put it in a rap or urban category. And I don’t like that ‘urban’ word. It’s just a politically correct way to say the n-word, to me. So when I hear that, I’m just like, why can’t we just be in pop? So I felt like — half of me feels like the rap nomination was a backhanded compliment."

Many believe that IGOR not being recognized in the Album of the Year category is representative of this issue highlighted by Tyler. Diddy also called out the Grammys' racist history when receiving his "industry icon" award at the Clive Davis Pre-Grammy Gala on Saturday night. "Truth be told, hip-hop has never been respected by the Grammys," he said. "Black music has never been respected by the Grammys.”

In a time of extreme divisiveness, there is one thing unifying the masses: the yearning for a new Rihanna album. It has been four years since her last release, Anti, and her fans are struggling to cope with this protracted hiatus. Despite all the classics she has given us and the endless list of creative endeavors she takes on, RiRi is consistently hounded for The Album. The lack of gratitude for her hustle and extensive oeuvre is astounding and someone had to speak up. That someone turned out to be Ari Lennox. 

Ari Lennox is quickly becoming one of the most entertaining artists on social media and she proved that with another hilarious IG Live moment. After being asked by a viewer how she felt about Rihanna not releasing music, Lennox went off. “I feel like… I look around me and see a world of glutinous f*cks,” the Shea Butter Baby singer started her R-rated rant. “Listen, Rihanna has been dropping hits, since she was a lil 16-year-old baby, Ponde-ing it all on the goddamn motherf*cking a** Replay. She never stops. This woman found love. This woman got a goddamn makeup company. This woman got a goddamn fashion line. This woman just became a billionaire f*cking sensation goddess and you little glutinous f*cks have the nerve to be screaming and crying about the fact that Rihanna hasn’t dropped any music?”

While Lennox may have indulged in hysterics for comedic effect, she spoke no falsehoods. She went on to describe how ecstatic (literally) we will all be when the music finally arrives, so there’s no point in complaining about the wait. Watch Lennox’s full testimony below, and remember to respect and appreciate Rihanna always. 

On Sunday, January 27th, Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna passed away in a tragic helicopter crash. As millions struggled to process the shocking news, many took to social media to pay homage to Kobe’s impact. Many in the hip-hop industry found inspiration in his legacy, including a few of the game’s fellow legends. Lil Wayne, himself considered to be among hip-hop’s most influential and well-respected artists, shared a few words alongside a touching image.

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images 

“Forever love,” writes Weezy, next to a picture of himself and the Mamba. “824.” Two dominant figures in their respective fields, it’s clear that both men held the other in high esteem. Wayne even celebrated Kobe on wax with “Kobe Bryant” from 2009 mixtape Tear Drop Tune 2. “He the greatest on the court and I’m the greatest on the verse,” rapped Weezy, on the track that will likely be in heavy rotation these coming days.

Rest in peace to Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, and the seven other passengers who died in Sunday’s devastating crash. 

Flatbush, N.Y., native 22Gz, a pioneer of the exploding Brooklyn drill scene, displayed his uncanny lyricism with some rapid fire word plays on a recent Funkmaster Flex freestyle show on New York’s Hot 97 radio station. The 22-year-old rapper, who beat a 2017 charge of murder in Miami, started out by rapping over fellow Brooklyn star Fivio Foreign’s viral “Big Drip” beat. His freestyle dripped with references of Brooklyn landmarks like Ebbets Field, the one-time home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Marcus Garvey housing projects, and the Barclays Center — proof that Brooklyn runs deep in his veins. While still keeping up with the drill vibe, he then launched some tongue-rolling rhymes about the Patriots and Aaron Hernandez, the former football star who was convicted and sentenced to life for murder. “Throwing Bullets like the Patriots but what I’m airing(Aaron) makes me wanna hang it up.”  

22Gz — or “the Brooklyn drill general,” as he called himself on air, a nod to his OG-ness — broke on the New York scene in 2017 when he dropped his hit song, “Suburban.” It was one of the earliest Brooklyn drill beats that soon impressed music fans and industry professionals, and his sound even caught the attention of hip-hop front-runner Kodak Black. In 2018 Kodak Black signed 22Gz to his label, Sniper Gang Records, an independent label that operates under the Atlantic Records umbrella. Kodak Black is currently sitting on a 46-month prison sentence, but 22Gz is keeping the label alive by dropping new tracks such as “Sniper Gang Freestyle” and “Suburban Pt. 2.” 

While freestyling on Hot 97, Funk Flex’s scrunched up facial expressions and constant looks around the room, showed that he was clearly feeling 22’s rhythm. It is exciting to see this growing trend of drill rap emerge from Brooklyn with new artists like Pop Smoke and Fivio Foreign. But let’s not forget about the “general” and the others like Sheff G and Sleepy Hallow who helped put Brooklyn drill on the map.

Ahead of Sunday evening, the Grammys lined up a tribute to the late Nipsey Hussle nearly a year after his shooting death in March of last year. Tragically, his tribute would find itself making room for two as he was ultimately projected alongside Kobe Bryant after the basketball legend passed away earlier in the day. 

The lineup of artists set to honor Nip's found itself being all-too-fitting, however, as Los Angeles' YG and Roddy Ricch found themselves among collaborators Meek Mill, DJ Khaled, John Legend and gospel mainstay Kirk Franklin as they led an emotional rendition of Khaled's "Higher" featuring Legend and Nip before the crowd gathered inside of the Staples Center.

Rhymesayers Entertainment has made major strides as an independent label, especially when it comes down to putting on for Twin Cities hip-hop. Although the local scene hasn’t grown in prominence in the way a New York, Atlanta or an L.A. is, their independent grind has continuously put a spotlight on otherwise underground talent.

Since 2008, the label has sponsored the annual Soundset hip-hop festival in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. As it grew over the past twelve years, some of rap’s biggest names have hit the stage such as Lil Wayne, Pusha T, DaBaby, DMX, Gucci Mane, Travis Scott, and of course, Atmosphere, among many other names. However, it looks like after 12 years, they’re taking a break in 2020.

“Following twelve successful years, we are officially announcing that Soundset will not take place in 2020. We made the difficult decision to take this year off in order to assess what Soundset will become in the new decade.” a letter on their website reads. “Soundset has brought a diverse lineup of national and local Twin Cities artists together for a one-day celebration that represents Hip Hop culture in Minnesota.”

It continues, “We sincerely appreciate the artists, the partners, the crew, and most importantly, the fans who continue to make everything we do possible.”

The letter adds that they’ll be focusing on the Rhymesayers 25th anniversary set later this year. 

After peaking on the 19th spot of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart last year, Billboard disqualified Lil Nas X's single "Old Town Road" from the chart claiming that the song did not 'fit the genre.' Now, billions of streams later, peaking at the number one spot in ten different countries, and staying number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs chart for a record-breaking nineteen weeks, Lil Nas X is the most prominent figure in all of music today. 

Now, to add insult to injury, Lil Nas X has won a Grammy for the song's visuals for Best Music Video. The video presented as an 'official movie' featured cameos from some notable personalities including Chris Rock, Haha Davis, Rico Nasty, Diplo, Jozzy, Vince Staples, and Young Kio, the song's producer. The five-minute production starring Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus on the run after an alleged bank robbery. The "Panini" performer eventually finds himself out of place in the hood while Billy Ray Cyrus makes his way to a bingo hall to perform his notorious verse. 

The video directed by Calmatic has made Recording Academy history as the 62nd annual Grammy Award winner for Best Video. After it was announced that the video was the winner, Lil Nas X and company approached the stage in obvious hysteria. Calmatic took to the mic first thanking his supporters, family, and colleagues. Lil Nas X took to the mic following the director's speech clearing his throat and simply stating:

"Thank You." 

The 20-year-old multifaceted artist proceeded to walk off stage before racing back to the mic to say 

"And thank you to my man, Saul, right here, he's amazing and Cal, you're incredible."

Some may not like it but Lil Nas X went from a struggling artist to a Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter in a single year all thanks to "Old Town Road." Check out Lil Nas X's acceptance speech below as well as the list of Grammy winners, here. 

The 62nd annual Grammy Awards kicked off with one electrifying performance from Lizzo as she songstress ran through her top hits of the past year, highlighting one of the past year's greatest success stories. 

Soon after, however, host Alicia Keys would take to the stage to pay her respects to Kobe Bryant inside Staples Center, or as Keys referred to it, the "house that Kobe Bryant built." 

She made reference to the tragic passing of Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven other individuals who lost their lives in a fiery helicopter crash Sunday morning in Calabasas. It a quick turnaround in response to the news, Keys was soon joined onstage with Boyz II Men to lead the legendary R&B group in a rendition of their "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday" hit.  

Last year, 21 Savage had one of the most bizarre moments in hip-hop history when he was arrested and detained by ICE and it was discovered that the Atlanta-based rapper is an immigrant from the United Kingdom. All of this took place just days after the release of the music video for his single "a lot." At the time, the 27-year-old emcee was coming off of the success of his sophomore studio album, I Am > I Was (2018), and his single featuring Dreamville head honcho, J. Cole had just began to dominate throughout the music industry.

When Eminem released Revival in 2017, his fans and critics alike were wary of the rapper's relevance to today's broad musical climate. The following year, the Detroit-native responded to criticism of the record with the release of Kamikaze (2018) and proved to the masses that his pen was just as prominent as it ever was. Now, one week following the drop of his surprise LP, Music To Be Murdered By (2020), Billboard has revealed that Eminem's latest musical offering has officially debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums Chart.