The Grammys* are always sure to make headlines and this year was no exception. KRS-One refused to participate in the Grammys Hip Hop is 50 celebrations last year and asked the question, “What happened to the other 49 years?” The Blastmaster was proven right when the Grammys presented all the Hip Hop awards before the televised broadcast, which was the exact thing that the Fresh Prince and Jazzy Jeff and Jay Z boycotted years ago. Maybe the Grammys will turn back to Hip Hop at the 100th anniversary.

There were good and bad Hip Hop moments. Atlanta’s Killer Mike, who released the album Michael in 2023, won three awards, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance for ‘Scientists & Engineers’ and Best Rap Album. Then, right before the awards were about to start, he was arrested and taken out of the arena. Videos posted to social media showed the 48-year-old cuffed up on the way out.

When asked about it the morning after, Killer Mike played coy to radio host Tigger’s questions. “I won a Grammy,” Killer Mike said to the question of what happened. “We party all night. Shout out to my record label. Ain’t nothing had happened, man. But we winners. That’s it.” When pressed, Mike said, “We hit a speed bump and then we hit back to the party.”

The other exciting Hip Hop news was that Jay-Z got the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. He came up and gave a speech that was more Henny Jay than Billionaire Jay. He asked why his wife has more Grammys than anyone else and hasn’t won Album of the Year [while Taylor Swift won her FOURTH!!!! More than anyone ever]. He joked about how he boycotted the Grammys and still watched it from a hotel room. And then to top it off, he put some Henny in the Grammy and drank from it. We need Henny Jay-Z to make a new album now.

*LiFTED’s predictions were two for five this year.