Standing beside daughter Blue Ivy, Jay-Z addressed Grammy voters and executives with a callout that's been a long time coming: It makes absolutely no sense that Beyoncé is the most nominated and most awarded Grammys artist and yet she's never won its highest, most comprehensive honor, Album of the Year. Unless, of course, you're an institution known for its implicit and systemic biases against non-white musicians.
“When I get nervous, I tell the truth," Jay-Z said at the Grammys 2024 to an audience of artists and execs, including a cowboy hat-clad Beyoncé who was there to celebrate her husband's achievement. The Grammys honored Jay-Z on Sunday evening with the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, and he used his acceptance speech as an opportunity to call attention to the awards' documented shortcomings in acknowledging some of the most impactful figures of and contributions to pop culture.