The 53rd Grammy Awards are now in the history books. Hip-Hop and R&B were well represented throughout the evening, so let’s the recap the performances from last night’s festivities.
LL Cool J began the show by introducing an impressive Aretha franklin tribute helmed by Yolanda Adams, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Florence Welch and Martina McBride. To say these ladies killed it would be an understatement. They each took turns on lead belting out soulful renditions of “Natural Woman,” “Respect,” “Spirit in the Dark,” “Until You Come Back to Me” and “Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves.” Christina Aguilera rebounded well for last week’s lyric gaffe with the National Anthem. Her only embarrassing moment was tripping while attempting to take a bow after her performance. This set kicked off the show with class and excellent singing.
GRADE: A
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Justin Bieber had a nice “passing of the torch” moment to kick off the teen star’s performance of “Never Say Never.” Would be it presumptuous of me to give Raekwon credit for Bieber’s use of ninjas? Jayden Smith did a Rey Mysterio like entrance, and it was cool seeing proud parents Will and Jada beaming at the son’s work. Usher is always sharp with his stage show, but it was hurt a bit by not being much differerent from his Super Bowl set just a week before. Started strong, but Usher’s deja vu brought the momentum down.
GRADE: B
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Janelle Monae, B.o.B. and Bruno Mars had a tough task ahead of them. How could they spice up “Nothin’ On You” after what would likely be the 12534252453th time? The trio delivered an orchestral rendition, and took turns in supporting roles for each of their subsequent songs (“Grenades,” “Cold War”). I’m mad I missed out on a Janelle Monae stage dive. And seeing Bruno and Janelle’s hair side by side was quite the sight.
GRADE: B+
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Has Ceelo kickstarted a competition with Lady Gaga on the outfit front? You know your getup is outrageous when its more of a spectacle than the fact you’re performing with Muppets. The comments on Twitter were priceless, with some saying he was the live version of the NBC logo. My lady said he looked like the Black Liberace. Nonetheless, no one can question Ceelo Green’s talent. The song does lose a lot of its punch with the censored version, though. Gwyneth Paltrow didn’t add much to this either. Maybe it’s because she was dressed normally.
GRADE: B
Rihanna is amazing to me. For someone as tone-deaf as Hellen Keller, and who yodels most of her notes, she still manages to make solid albums. She’s what I’d refer to as a “vocal stylist,” meaning a “singer” whose intangibles (look, story, dancing etc.) far outweighs their vocal talent. The live format is not kind to her voice, and Eminem picked up a lot of the slack with the energy he put into his lyrics. I am praying that these Alex da Kid beats do not become the “urban standard” like autotune previously was. I don’t think I’ll be able to take it. There should have been a “Detox Coming Soon” sign just for laughs to end this performance.
GRADE: C+
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Listening to Rihanna sing live is much easier to digest when she’s gyrating. That is all.
GRADE: B
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GRAMMY ARTIST TO GET FAMILIAR WITH
There were a lot of people asking “Esperanza who?” when she beat out the likes of Justin Bieber and Drake for Best New Artist. Esperanza Spalding is a highly talented jazz bassist who can sing in three different languages, and has worked with many of her genre’s most respected names over the last decade. At a mere 26 years old, her future is very bright. Check out her Grammy interview and get familiar with her work. All respect due to Bieber and Drake, but Ms. Spalding deserved her award hands down.
HEADSCRATCHING MOMENTS: The biggest for me was having Lady Antebellum doing a Teddy Pendergrass tribute. Second was no mention of Guru during the RIP tributes. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised by that one.
Below is a rundown of all the Hip-Hop Grammy Award winners.
BEST RAP SOLO PERFORMANCE– Eminem “Not Afraid”
BEST RAP PERFORMANCE BY A DUO OR GROUP– Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz “On to the Next One”
BEST RAP/SUNG COLLABORATION– Jay-Z & Alicia Keys “Empire State of Mind”
BEST RAP SONG– “Empire State of Mind”
BEST RAP ALBUM– Eminem’s Recovery
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 