A year after winning his first Grammy for “King Disease,” rapper Nas delivered his first solo Grammy performance, a career-spanning medley including songs that ranged from his 1994 debut album to his latest, “King’s Disease II,” which scored a nomination for best rap album this year.
It might seem odd that one of rap’s most celebrated lyricists is achieving these firsts now, almost three decades into his career.
But rapper and producer Sean “Diddy” Combs offered an explanation for this snub in a speech he gave at a pre-Grammys gala in 2020, in which he slammed the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). “Truth be told,” he said, “hip-hop has never been respected by the Grammys. Black music has never been respected by the Grammys.”
This criticism is rooted in historical fact. Othering of Black music goes as far back as Billboard’s “Harlem Hit Parade” chart, introduced in 1942. Black albums would eventually go on to be called “race records,” then “rhythm and blues,” then “soul” and eventually “urban contemporary” in the 1970s. Relegating Black music to these separate and unequal categories enforced a race-based system of musical segregation before the birth of hip-hop and NARAS’s decision to award Grammys for rap a decade and a half later.
As it grew in popularity during the 1980s, rap music was embroiled in controversy. In 1986, Run-DMC headlined a national arena tour for the group’s third album, “Raising Hell.” Stops at Madison Square Garden and in Long Beach, Calif., were marred by violence that police and media attributed to rap lyrics and culture.
This perception didn’t stymie hip-hop’s popularity, however. “Yo! MTV Raps,” the network’s first hip-hop show, debuted in 1988 with outstanding ratings, and it would go on to help spread hip-hop to global audiences.
Recognizing this growing popularity, NARAS added a rap category in 1989 — the best rap performance Grammy.