Who Gives a F*** About A Grammy

"We don't give a fuck about a god damn Grammy", were the words uttered by Public Enemy on their seminal album It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back in 1989 and the words were far from subtle.

Truthfully, there has always been an uneasy relationship between Hip Hop and the most prestigious of award shows when it comes to music. An artist-led boycott of the Grammys led by Public Enemy during the early days of the Best Hip Hop Album award, led by Public Enemy was in response to the Grammys not televising this part of the award ceremony (that year DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were the recipients of the award, yet also took part in the boycott).

To their credit, the Grammy committee has made some strides in the past 20 years, obviously due to the popularity of the genre and the fact that the early generalizations about the genre (about rap "not" being music) were unfounded, have led to the award show having slightly more credibility in the hip hop community. This is not to say brothers in L.A. or Brooklyn are tuning in to watch the ceremony; most don't care. With the numerous amount of "Black" award shows that abound to muddy the waters, there's no emphasis on the Grammys amongst the hip hop underground. But for established artists, I would argue that the awards still are held in a greater light to them. In short its the validation of mainstream success.

And for the most part, it is.