It was a truly emotional night for rap fans who tuned into the 2014 Grammy Awards. What seemed to be a promising night for hip-hop — with newcomers Kendrick Lamar and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis tied for seven nominations each — turned out to be a little sour, despite the triumphs.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis started their sweep early in the night, and by the end of the show they had earned four Grammys for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance and, of course, Best New Artist.
Kendrick Lamar, on the other hand, walked away with zero awards. Zero. And this didn’t sit too well with his supporters. There was no doubt that Macklemore & Ryan Lewis deserved to be honored for their record-breaking year, but while rap fans sent their congratulations, many of them still felt that Kendrick Lamar was cheated. Especially those who really thought that he deserved to win Best Rap Album for his theatrical major-label debut good kid, m.A.A.d city.
Kendrick’s TDE labelmate, Schoolboy Q, was one of the most outspoken on Twitter, simultaneously giving props to Macklemore and threatening vengeance if K. Dot wasn’t properly rewarded. “If kendrick doesn’t win a Grammy I’m Fading da industry braH none of y’all safe,” he tweeted. “And all u busters tHats in attendance tHats didn’t vote for KENDRICK r str8 mark az n—-!!!. Dnt act like Macklemore didn’t deserve a lot jus Dot did also!!! Now ima sHut my big moutH cuHz I talk 2 mucH #OXYMORON.”
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HipHopWired editor Chris Thomas shared more support for Kendrick, , “I’m not mad at Macklemore winning anything BUT Rap AOTY. He can have the rest. That one should be reserved for who affected the culture most.” RapRadar blogger, B. Dot, on the other hand, was still in awe of Macklemore’s achievements on Sunday night,
writing, “A rapper & DJ released an independent album & took home 4 Grammy awards because of it. Amazing. #hiphop.” As the debate spiraled, some fans encouraged others to be happy for Macklemore (like Kendrick would be), while hardcore K. Dot fans comforted themselves by nothing that their hero would be around for a long time to come, and hopefully with plenty of Grammy awards to come.
“Macklemore and K Dot have love for each other. Why can’t their fans?!” @ProPanda wrote. “If they [hop] on a track, I guarantee y’all will call it fire.”
Earlier in the night, MTV News caught up with Kendrick Lamar on the red carpet, where he addressed debates that Macklemore shouldn’t have been included in the rap categories. He was fully supportive, as the two had even exchanged congratulatory texts before the show.
“It’s other people’s opinions. Whatever he put his heart out to do, you know he raps and people receive it as that, it’s just opinions,” Kendrick told MTV News correspondent Sway Calloway. “He just needs to do him. I wouldn’t listen to what nobody got to say.”
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