Everybody Black: 2018 GRAMMY Awards
Issa Rae set the tone for the 2018 awards season when she coyly declared "I'm rooting for everybody Black," after a reporter asked who she was rooting for at the 2017 Emmy Awards red carpet. This phrase has inspired me to recap my favorite awards shows with my own commentary of happenings at each show and roundup a collective list of all of the Black winners of the night.
From the moment the nominees were announced, the 2018 GRAMMY Award Show was anticipated to be the Black music renaissance similar to the Black film renaissance that ensued during the 2017 Academy Awards. We hoped to end the night bopping away celebrating wins by SZA, JAY-Z and Kendrick Lamar. The Recording Academy voters, however, had other plans as our faves left empty-handed, including SZA and JAY-Z.
Bruno Mars swept the awards show taking home trophies for all seven of the categories he was
nominated for. Somehow, this has caused quite an uproar on Black Twitter as many of our people consider Bruno to be an appropriator of Black culture despite his constant praise and reverence of Black artists who have influenced his own artistry. In my eyes, Bruno is welcome to the cookout - especially after he and Cardi B delivered a high-energy, In Living Color inspired performance of the Finesse remix.
My favorite performance of the evening, though, goes to Wild Thoughts performed by DJ Khaled, Rhianna and Bryson Tiller. Being a Miami native, I was immediately drawn in to the the vintage Art Deco set and styling. There were a few cultural highlights that Black Twitter helped to quickly identify, such as the "Gwara Gwara" South African dance trend. My fave dance moment was when the trio of ladies wearing big red hats hit a synchronized booty bounce as Bryson sang behind them.
Kendrick Lamar's opening performance proved why he was named Rolling Stone's "Best Rapper Alive." The performance was - for lack of a better word - DAMN! K.Dot gave us brilliant imagery and choreography throughout the performance with surprise appearances by Dave Chappelle and U2. I hope SZA took notes because her overall performance was a bust for me.
The most soulful of the night was definitely Childish Gambino's performance of Terrified. He made me sit up in my chair and pay full attention to his satellite stage-set performance after a chaotically dull main stage performance of Despacito. The way Childish Gambino two-stepped in a circle fully locked into his own groove made me jump up and hit my own step. In true Disney fashion, the performance was closed out with a duet by the two Simbas with the young actor JD McCrary, who plays "Young Simba" alongside Gambino who's playing Adult Simba in the upcoming Lion King live action movie.
While, the 2018 Grammy Awards show was quite the extravaganza that we'd all hoped for, I walked away satisfied by what we did get out of the industry staple event.
Here's a list of #EverybodyBlack who took home an award:
GENERAL FIELD
Record Of The Year
WINNER: "24K Magic" - Bruno Mars
Album Of The Year
WINNER: 24K Magic - Bruno Mars
Song Of The Year
WINNER: "That's What I Like" - Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters
R&B
Best R&B Performance
WINNER: "That's What I Like" – Bruno Mars
Best Traditional R&B Performance
WINNER: "Redbone" – Childish Gambino
Best R&B Song
WINNER: "That's What I Like" - Christopher Brody Brown, James Fauntleroy, Philip Lawrence, Bruno Mars, Ray Charles McCullough II, Jeremy Reeves, Ray Romulus & Jonathan Yip, songwriters
Best Urban Contemporary Album
WINNER: Starboy – The Weeknd
Best R&B Album
WINNER: 24K Magic – Bruno Mars
RAP
Best Rap Performance
WINNER: "HUMBLE." – Kendrick Lamar
Best Rap/Sung Performance
WINNER: "LOYALTY." - Kendrick Lamar Featuring Rihanna
Best Rap Song
WINNER: "HUMBLE." - Kendrick Lamar
Best Rap Album
WINNER: DAMN. - Kendrick Lamar
JAZZ
Best Jazz Vocal Album
WINNER Dreams And Daggers - Cécile McLorin Salvant
WINNER Rebirth - Billy Childs
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
WINNER Bringin' It - Christian McBride Big Band
GOSPEL/CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN MUSIC
Best Gospel Performance/Song
WINNER "Never Have To Be Alone" - CeCe Winans; Dwan Hill & Alvin Love III, songwriters
Best Gospel Album
WINNER Let Them Fall In Love - CeCe Winans
AMERICAN ROOTS MUSIC
Best American Roots Performance
WINNER "Killer Diller Blues" - Alabama Shakes
Best Contemporary Blues Album
WINNER TajMo - Taj Mahal & Keb' Mo'
REGGAE
Best Reggae Album
WINNER Stony Hill - Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley
WORLD MUSIC
Best World Music Album
WINNER Shaka Zulu Revisited: 30th Anniversary Celebration - Ladysmith Black Mambazo
COMEDY
Best Comedy Album
WINNER The Age Of Spin & Deep In The Heart Of Texas - Dave Chappelle
NOTES
Best Album Notes
WINNER Live At The Whisky A Go Go: The Complete Recordings - Lynell George, album notes writer (Otis Redding)
PRODUCTION, NON-CLASSICAL
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
WINNER 24K Magic - Serban Ghenea, John Hanes & Charles Moniz, engineers; Tom Coyne, mastering engineer (Bruno Mars)
MUSIC VIDEO/FILM
Best Music Video
WINNER "Humble." - Kendrick Lamar (The Little Homies & Dave Meyers, video directors; Jason Baum, Dave Free, Jamie Rabineau, Nathan K. Scherrer & Anthony Tiffith, video producers)
