December 07, 2004 @ 11:18 am

Online Exclusive: Kanye West Dominates the GRAMMY Awards

by: Peter Gaston

This February, America's most popular musical styles might finally get the respect they deserve. Urban artists will stake a bigger claim this year than ever before at the prestigious Grammy Awards, with Kanye West, Usher, Alicia Keys, and the legendary Ray Charles dominating the nominations for the Feb. 13 ceremony.

"This year's nominees truly reflect a trend of music makers participating in multiple aspects of the creative process, while also often collaborating with a diverse slate of other artists in various genres," said Neil Portnow, president of the Recording Academy, the organization behind the Grammy. "All of this ensures that Grammy Sunday will once again deliver music's biggest night filled with unique, special, and unforgettable performances." West, who also helped moderate the announcement ceremonies today at Hollywood's Music Box, led the way with ten nominations, including Album of the Year for The College Dropout and Song of the Year for "Jesus Walks"; no hip hop artist has ever won the Song of the Year Grammy, an award given to songwriters. "My Boo" cohorts Usher and Keys racked up eight noms a piece; Usher's mega-selling Confessions LP and singles "Yeah!" and "Burn" received noms, while Keys rode the strength of her sophomore disc, The Diary of Alicia Keys, and singles "If I Ain't Got You" and "You Don't Know My Name." However, these achievements by urban music's younger artists might be overshadowed by honors for one of its elder statesman. Since he passed away in June, Ray Charles has been remembered fondly, particularly in a film about his life starring Jamie Foxx and via an album of duets, Genius Loves Company. That album--also nominated for Album of the Year--helped earn Charles seven nominations, namely for duets with Elton John ("Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word") and Norah Jones ("Here We Go Again"). Less traditional R&B acts definitely made an impact on this year's nominations, with Jill Scott, Angie Stone, and Anthony Hamilton earning nominations in R&B categories usually dominated by the Brian McKnights, R. Kellys, and Janet Jacksons of the world. A particularly interesting race for Best Male R&B Performance finds mainstream artists Usher, McKnight, and Kelly facing Hamilton and the legendary Prince, who earned five nominations of his own. The two-year-old Urban/Alternative category also boasts a tough competition between N.E.R.D., Mos Def, Musiq, Jill Scott, and the Roots; perhaps there's a solid base of Grammy voters residing in the Illadelph. The Best Rap Solo Performance category is all for the fellas this year, with Eminem, Lloyd Banks, Jay-Z, Twista, and Kanye West receiving nominations, as is the Best Rap Album category where the Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, Nelly, and Kanye West will battle. Not surprisingly, the collaboration categories--Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration--feature 2004's biggest jams, with Terror Squad's "Lean Back," Snoop and Pharrell's "Drop It Like It's Hot," Jadakiss' "Why," Twista's "Slow Jamz," and Usher's "Yeah!" among the nominees. The 47th Annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live on CBS from L.A.'s Staples Center on Sunday, Feb. 13, and performers and presenters will be announced in the coming months. Some selected Grammy categories: Record of the Year: "Let's Get It Started," Black Eyed Peas "Here We Go Again," Ray Charles & Norah Jones "American Idiot," Green Day "Heaven," Los Lonely Boys "Yeah!," Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris Album of the Year: Genius Loves Company, Ray Charles & Various Artists American Idiot, Green Day The Diary of Alicia Keys, Alicia Keys Confessions, Usher The College Dropout, Kanye West Song of the Year: "Daughters," John Mayer, songwriter (John Mayer) "If I Ain't Got You," Alicia Keys, songwriter (Alicia Keys) "Jesus Walks," C. Smith & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West) "Live Like You Were Dying," Tim Nichols & Craig Wiseman, songwriters (Tim McGraw) "The Reason," Daniel Estrin & Douglas Robb, songwriters (Hoobastank) Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: "I Want You," Janet Jackson "If I Ain't Got You," Alicia Keys "I'm Still In Love," Teena Marie "Whatever," Jill Scott "U-Haul," Angie Stone Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: "Charlene," Anthony Hamilton "Happy People," R. Kelly "What We Do Here," Brian McKnight "Call My Name," Prince "Burn," Usher Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: "Lose Your Breath," Destiny's Child "Show Me The Way," Earth, Wind & Fire featuring Raphael Saadiq "Say Yes," Floetry "Diary," Alicia Keys featuring Tony! Toni! Toné! "My Boo," Usher & Alicia Keys Best Urban/Alternative Performance: "Sex, Love & Money," Mos Def "Are You Experienced?", Musiq "She Wants To Move," N.E.R.D "Star," The Roots "Cross My Mind," Jill Scott Best R&B Song: "Burn," Bryan Michael Cox, Jermaine Dupri & Usher Raymond, songwriters (Usher) "Call My Name," Prince, songwriter (Prince) "My Boo," Jermaine Dupri, Alicia Keys, Usher Raymond, Manuel Seal & Adonis Shropshire, songwriters (Usher & Alicia Keys) "Yeah!", Chris Bridges, Sean Garrett, LaMarquis Jefferson, Robert McDowell, James Phillips, Jonathan Smith & Patrick J. Que Smith, songwriters (Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris) "You Don't Know My Name," Alicia Keys, Harold Lilly & Kanye West, songwriters (Alicia Keys) Best R&B Album: My Everything, Anita Baker I Can't Stop, Al Green The Diary Of Alicia Keys, Alicia Keys Musicology, Prince Beautifully Human: Words & Sounds Vol. 2, Jill Scott Best Contemporary R&B Album: Afrodisiac, Brandy Damita Jo, Janet Jackson It's About Time, Christina Milian Confessions, Usher Hurt No More, Mario Winans Best Rap Solo Performance: "On Fire," Lloyd Banks "Just Lose It," Eminem "99 Problems," Jay-Z "Overnight Celebrity," Twista "Through the Wire," Kanye West Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: "Ch-Check It Out," Beastie Boys "Let's Get It Started," Black Eyed Peas "Don't Say Nuthin'," The Roots "Drop It Like It's Hot," Snoop Dogg & Pharrell "Lean Back," Terror Squad Best Rap/Song Collaboration: "Why," Jadakiss featuring Anthony Hamilton "Dip It Low," Christina Milian featuring Fabolous "Slow Jamz," Twista featuring Kanye West & Jamie Foxx "Yeah!," Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris "All Falls Down," Kanye West & Syleena Johnson Best Rap Song: "Drop It Like It's Hot," Calvin Broadus, Chad Hugo, S. Thomas & Pharrell Williams, songwriters (Snoop Dogg & Pharrell) "Hey Mama," Will Adams & Anthony Henry, songwriters (Black Eyed Peas) "Jesus Walks," C. Smith & Kanye West, songwriters (Kanye West) "Let's Get It Started," Will Adams, Mike Fratantuno, Jaime Gomez, George Pajon, Jr., Allan Pineda & Terence Yoshiaki, songwriters (Black Eyed Peas) "99 Problems," Shawn Carter & Rick Rubin, songwriters (Jay-Z) Best Rap Album: To the 5 Boroughs, Beastie Boys The Black Album, Jay-Z The Definition, LL Cool J Suit, Nelly The College Dropout, Kanye West To Read Vibe's review of Kanye West's Grammy nominated album, The College Dropout, click here To listen to Usher's Grammy nominated song, "My Boo," click here

Article tags: Online, Exclusive, Kanye, West, Dominates, GRAMMY, Awards 

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