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By Maya Mackey
Sunday, February 2nd, 2025 pushed Black HIstory forward in the realm of musical entertainment. To the shock of many fans (and haters), Beyonce finally won the most coveted award of the night – Album of the Year. In case you haven’t been following this story, Beyonce is now the fourth Black woman to ever achieve this accomplishment and the first in 26 years.
Lauryn Hill was the last Black woman to win Album of the Year with her first and only solo project, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” Beyonce has been nominated four times for AOTY–once for her 2008 release “I am…Sasha Fierce.” She lost to Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” album. Then she was nominated and lost 3 consecutive times for “BEYONCE,” “Lemonade” and “Renaissance.”
She has lost to Beck, Adele and Harry Styles. Adele said herself that she “couldn’t accept this award. Lemonade was monumental. The way this album made me feel and more importantly, the way this album made my Black friends feel is empowering and you make them stand up for themselves. You’re the artist of my life!” She, of course, still kept the award despite the flowery speech. Jay-Z chose to call out the Recording Academy more critically when he accepted his own Grammy – the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the 2024 Award Ceremony.
“I don’t want to embarrass this young lady,“ Jay-Z said, “but she has more Grammys than everyone, and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that. The most Grammys (ever, yet) never won album of the year. That doesn’t work.”
Jay-Z’s defense and advocacy for his wife had a lot of Beyonce fans riled up in the best way and clearly he convicted the academy because she has finally won what she deserved for Self-Titled and Lemonade years ago. Even more shocking is that she also won Best Country Album, a more contentious victory. Still. the sweet reality to come of both of these wins is that her Black collaborators and long-term country artists, Shaboozey, Brittney Spencer, Tanner Adell, Tiera Kennedy, Willie Jones and Linda Martell will also receive Grammys and most importantly a huge platform/base for more people to discover and support their music.
Other Black history made that night include Kendrick Lamar winning five times over for “Not Like Us”, the Drake diss that took over the world. Literally. The song calls out Drake (who is mixed race) a colonizer for dipping in and out of Atlanta “when you need a few dollars”, a culture vulture for using ATL rappers lingo to spread to his multi-racial fanbase and most notably a pedophile for his questionable actions around teen girls. Kendrick Lamar will also be performing at the Superbowl this Sunday, February 9th. It’s safe to say, Drake will get whacked one last time in front of millions. Godspeed.
Lastly, Alicia Keys was awarded this year’s Global Impact Award for her music career as a singer, songwriter, and producer, and now creator/producer of her own Broadway musical: “Hell’s Kitchen”–an ode to the New York neighborhood that raised her, and also for her legacy as a humanitarian. Alicia Keys has been a loud advocate for Africa, child hunger, and eradicating poverty.
Black History Month is off to a fantastic start! And we hope this month continues to embolden us, inspire us, enliven and gift us with the strength, love and recognition that we have always deserved.
