"Everyone Is Mad About Macklemore & Ryan Lewis' Grammy Wins"....
According to the Huffington post, Twitter is all abuzz, claiming Macklemore and Ryan Lewis aren't "real" rap. I would venture to guess, if you asked anyone from the age of 8, my daughters age to 60, my mothers age, what genre of music it is? Their answer would, undoubtedly be, rap.
I'm not sure where these people have been for the past 54 years of the Grammy's, but feeling somehow "gipped" in certain genres is not a new issue.
If all things were right in the world of music awards, 'Queens of the Stone Age' would have won "Best Rock"- everything this year. Led Zeppelin won for "Best Rock Album"? We're in 2014, folks. I think, written in 2013 should be a new stipulation. Taylor Swift should be out of the whole Country genre, to give some actual Country artists a hope in hell. Coldplay should be out of the "Rock" genre. They're not very likely to ever win "Best Rock" - anything, competing with the likes of 'The Black Keys' and 'Foo Fighters' as they have been in past years.
Groups, bands and artists such as 'Daft Punk', 'Arcade Fire', Adel, Lorde, Foo Fighters and 'The Black Keys'; just to name (a very) few, would always win awards and we wouldn't be so overwhelmed/proud/ecstatic/stunned when they do. Because, I'll say it.... They deserve them more than Jay-Z and Kanye. Now, I'm not saying this for personal preference. Just so you know, Jay-Z is my unofficial boyfriend. I adore him and everything he has ever done. I say this because there needs to be variety. It can't just be the same mega-star beating out everyone in their path year after year. And as much as everyone seems to love to hate Kanye, I don't think him having or not having talent is up for debate. The man has a gift, like it or not.
My take on the 56th annual Grammy awards are as follows:
Daft Punk deserved every award they received and their performance was nothing less than pure joy to watch. Between the artists loving life up there on the stage, to the stage design itself, to the audience getting down! Watching that audience, you would have thought you were watching wedding footage from a dance floor. Everyone seemed to know and love each other for a moment. No one seemed to care what anyone else was doing, how they looked or who was who for a few minutes in time. It was wonderful to witness.
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis' performance was one of the most touching moments in music history, to me. Their song, "Same Love" will be remembered forever. For anyone who thinks they're too mainstream or too pop; The last time I checked, a white male rapping about gay rights and marriage equality is pretty controversial and out of the box. No less, in a time where almost nothing can be viewed as controversial.
They didn't win because they are white or poppy or safe. They won because it's a great album with great songs.
Who gets to judge what's "real rap" anyway? That's not what the Grammys are for or ever have been about. If you're a rap snob and know everything there is to know and listen to the deep cuts of everything and know who got inspired by who and who started it all, well then I don't even know why you're watching the Grammys. You're going to be disappointed every time.
Have I been disappointed that certain artists don't get the recognition they deserve? Of course. I was, just last night when 'Imagine Dragons' won over 'Queens of the Stone Age'. It was a travesty to me. But that's just me. I would never go on a hate-rant about 'Imagine Dragons'. That's just... Not nice. Not very cool at all, if you ask me.
I'm going to look on the bright side. 'Daft Punk' beat out 'Robin Thicke, Rihanna, J.T., and Pink when I would have never imagined they could. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis beat out Jay-Z, Wiz-Khalifa, Kendrick Lamar, Drake and Eminem.
I'm going to view that as two points for the team. I'm going to walk away looking at that as a big fat win. I'm going to look at that as an example of the American Dream at its finest. The "little-guy" came out on top.
I walked away, inspired. Isn't that what it's all supposed to be about?
