Grammys – Scoremore Shows

ScoreMore Alumni – 2016 Grammy Awards

Over the past few years, we’ve been lucky to have worked with some incredible artists. Last night at the 58th Annual Grammy Award’s, 14 of those artists were recognized for their achievements in the music industry. Whether they were nominated or took home a trophy, we congratulate these folks for their hard-work, passion, and drive to create. We’re proud to have worked with and grown with these talented individuals that are so dedicated to their craft. Check out the following ScoreMore alumni winners below.

Best Rap Album: To Pimp a Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar

Best Music Video: Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood”

Best Dance Recording: Skrillex, Diplo and Justin Bieber – “Where Are Ü Now”

Best Dance/Electronic Album: Skrillex and Diplo – Skrillex And Diplo Present Jack Ü

Best R&B Performance: The Weeknd – “Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey)”

Best Urban Contemporary Album: Beauty Behind The Madness – The Weeknd

Best Rap Performance: Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: Kendrick Lamar featuring Bilal, Anna Wise, Thundercat – “These Walls”

Best Rap Song: Kendrick Lamar, Kawan Prather, Sounwave, Pharrell Williams – “Alright”

2016 Grammy Nominations

Feel sorry for anyone who tried to release a new single/project today; today’s buzz was all about the Grammy nominations. Particularly because of recent upsets in rap categories (Macklemore over Kendrick, Iggy even being nominated, etc.) rap fans have been on edge for the past couple of years about nominations and winners. This year however, people seem generally pleased. Seemingly to make up for a past snub, although actually just because of a fantastic album, Kendrick Lamar leads everyone with a stunning 11 nominations. That’s not just in the rap categories; Kendrick has more nominations than any other artist this year, with Taylor Swift and The Weeknd unsurprisingly coming in next with 7 each.

Other notable nominees include Flying Lotus (of course featuring Kendrick Lamar) for Best Dance Recording with “Never Catch Me,” and Kehlani and The Internet, each with nominations for best Urban Contemporary album. Kehlani’s nom is especially impressive considering the fact that You Should Be Here is technically a mixtape. Hiatus Kaiyote (!), Jeremih, and of course The Weeknd stand out in the Best R&B Performance category, and everything you’d expect to appear in the rap categories is pretty much covered. One surprise is Drake’s “Back To Back” for Best Rap Performance, which felt like just an Internet-hyped diss track. Apparently the Academy felt differently. Perhaps the most difficult category for hip-hop fans is Best Rap Album. We don’t talk enough about how incredible this year was for rap music. Forest Hills Drive. IYRTITL. To Pimp A Butterfly got rave reviews from pretty much every publication. Anything Nicki Minaj spits is fire. And a Dr. Dre comeback after 15 years?! Much deserved for every artist nominated, and it’s going to be a tough one. Let’s just hope that unlike last year, the rap categories are televised. These artists have had way too much of an impact on 2015 to not be recognized. Check the rest of the nominees here. The Grammy Awards will be held on February 15th, 2016.

2015 Grammy Recap

“Music’s Biggest Night” happened last night, and thankfully this year, no one is ready to protest in the streets over this year’s rap winners.

The biggest winners in the rap genre were Kendrick Lamar and Eminem. K Dot can finally be called a Grammy winner (even though we’re all in agreement that he was hardcore snubbed last year) with his wins for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance for “i.” Best Rap Album went to Em for Marshall Mathers LP 2, and he also won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for “The Monster” along with Rihanna. Jay-Z also had a win for Best R&B Song (and Best R&B Performance) for his duet with Beyonce, both of whom are no strangers to the Grammy stage.

Now let’s talk about the elephant. The Kendrick win is a win for everyone in the hip-hop community, but in order to know that that even happened, you’d have to do your own research. Why? Because no rap awards were presented at this year’s Grammys.

Really? It’s 2015, and the Grammys included Pop, Country, R&B, and Rock, but the award for “The Monster” which according to Billboard was the number 16 song for all of 2014 was not even televised. Maybe the hip-hop community might’ve settled for a presentation of Best Urban Contemporary Album (winner: Pharrell Williams for Girl), which includes Frank Ocean in its list of past winners. But that wasn’t presented either.

There isn’t enough time to present every winner, but if they needed to cut one of last night’s TWENTY-THREE performances to showcase a rap award, then that’s what they should’ve done. Back in ’89 when the Grammys thought hip-hop was just a trend, the award to DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince for Best Rap Performance was not televised. Now 26 years later, it’s undeniable that hip-hop is a global phenomenon. So why doesn’t this top genre get its moment to shine alongside the others? By the way, in 1989 the rap nominees were unified enough to boycott the Grammys until they got their moment. Could that be possible today? It’s something to consider.

See the full list of Grammy winners here.