Today, we’re celebrating the momentous achievement of Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff, who won the first rap GRAMMY in 1989. The duo, who were known for their popular hip-hop and R&B hits, were nominated for Best Rap Performance for their single “Parents Just Don’t Understand” at the 31st Annual GRAMMY Awards.
When they won the award, it was a major milestone for hip-hop and rap music, which had been largely overlooked by the mainstream music industry. Smith and Jeff’s win was a huge victory for the genre and showed that rap was finally being taken seriously.
However, the duo chose to boycott the ceremony and did not attend the event. The reason for their boycott was that the GRAMMYs had failed to recognize rap music as its own genre. Instead, rap was lumped in with other categories such as R&B and pop.
Smith and Jeff felt that rap deserved its own category and that it should be given the same respect as other genres. They also felt that the GRAMMYs were not recognizing the true talent of the rap artists.
The boycott was a success and the following year, the GRAMMYs created the Best Rap Performance category. Since then, rap has become one of the most popular genres in music and has won numerous awards.
Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff’s boycott of the 1989 GRAMMYs was a pivotal moment in the history of rap music. It showed that rap was a legitimate genre and deserved to be recognized and respected. Their boycott was a success and paved the way for future rap artists to be recognized and honored for their talent.
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