Let’s face it. for the last five or six years, the BET Awards have been killing all music shows in terms of entertainment and “oh-no-they-didn’t” moments. Yet, last night CBS brought a little BET to their usual snoozefest and slayed (more on Beyonce in a minute). Love you Uncle L, but I actually thought Carpool Karaoke host James Corden did a smashing job. He made us laugh, he poked fun at celebs and he brought the right amount of energy to the stage. Besides those wonderful Brits (Corden, Adele, Ed Sheeran), there were actually some authentic Black moments during the 59th annual Grammys, which made them pretty good.
Below are the Top Five:
1. Tribe Called Quest & Busta Rhymes Went Straight Brooklyn On ’Em
Source: Christopher Polk / Getty
Unlike Lady Gaga and her tepid and bo-ring Super Bowl performance, some artists know that we are living in precarious times. Artists have traditionally been the front line against facism and inequality and Tribe Called Quest including Jarobi, Busta Rhymes, Consequence and Anderson .Paak not only brought back that actual boom-bap when they performed We The People of Tribe’s new album, but Busta called out “President Agent Orange”—twice—and kept shouting “Resist!” All ended on the Black Power fist stance and that fire in mi belly for rap was back just like that.
2. A radiant Beyonce proved she is amazing no what the circumstance.
Source: Kevin Winter / Getty
What could be Blacker than Miss Tina introducing Beyonce and bragging about her girls – each won Grammys on Sunday (Solange won for Best R&B Performance for Cranes in the Sky) before introducing Queen Bey. Though many would say Beyonce was robbed – after being nominated for a record 9 Grammys, she only took home 2, in the “urban” (read black) and video categories. But that performance? It was, like Lemonade, the visual album: breathtaking, gorgeous, black-girl centered, delicate, powerful, amazing (though her levitating backwards in a chair six feet off the ground while pregnant was slightly scary). Ef what you heard, Beyonce’s grown womaness looks good on her, and to be totally petty, that performance made Katy Perry’s look cheap. Take that chair ladies Beyonce used to levitate, have a seat (yes you, Gaga), and pay attention.
2.5 Adele gave Beyonce all the props and then some
After sweeping Beyonce for Song, Album and Record of the Year, Adele brought Queen Bey to tears with these amazing words: “The Lemonade album, Beyoncé, was so monumental, and so well thought out, and so beautiful and soul-bearing. And we all got to see another side of you that you don’t always let us see, and we appreciate that. And all us artists adore you. You are our light.” She continued, “And the way that you make me and my friends feel, the way you make my black friends feel, *is empowering, and you make them stand up for themselves. And I love you. I always have. And I always will.” (And for some reason, I believe Adele really “does” have black friends.)
3. Morris Day and The Time Rocked Out
Source: Kevin Winter / Getty
4. Chance The Rapper Took Folks to Chuuuuch
When Morris Day and The Time took to the stage to kick off an amazing Prince tribute, I thought the channel was on BET. Besides that fact that “the time” done caught up to folks (yes, Morris looked a wee bit long in the tooth, but still good and Jerome was still the same . . . mostly) it was a real, black old school hit in primetime. Why?! Halleujah!
Source: Kevin Winter / Getty
Lil Chino did that. Chance the Rapper not only won two Grammys without having a “real” album out, but he didn’t just bring a choir to the Grammys to back him (that’s been so overdone.) He brought da chuuuch with him. With the blackest choir and singers ever to bless a Grammy stage, it was like praise and worship time up in there—but with him spitting fire lyrics. From Nicole Steen and Tamela Mann to Kirk Franklin, Jesus was present in the Staples Center and it was glorious to watch.
5. Blues Got Its Props On a Major Grammy Stage
Source: Christopher Polk / Getty
Pet peeve – rock music is the supposed “foundation” of American music, or at least it’s the genre that gets the most props (see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, rock bands raking in kabillions, when you get “free” stations there are always 30 rock ones, and one “black” one, etc.) But the real foundation of rock music is the blues. In fact, the main three chords that mark blues riffs are present in nearly all rock songs. And you know who started the blues . . . and thus birthed rock. That would be black folk. When Gary Clark Jr. did a short but sweet set with veteran soul man William Bell, a rendition of the classic song, “Born Under a Bad Sign” (which Bell co-wrote) I was transported to a juke joint. And I was sucking on a rib bone, drinking strong liquor with cornbread on the side. And it was marvelously black. The thrill was not gone. It was so very present.
Bonus: Rihanna Sipping on a Jewel Encrusted Flask All Night
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQdROsllKYA/?tagged=rihanna
Wild gyal Ri-Ri didn’t get much in the way of actually Grammys, but she still had a good time channeling the real person in us all by giving up some pretty funny facial expressions, say, during a Bruno Mars performance.
The piece de resistance was when Rihanna was caught saying, “Time for another shot” and then took one. Work!
SEE ALSO:
All The Pre-Grammy Party Goodness You Missed
Tribe Called Quest’s Super Political Grammy Performance
The Top 5 Blackest Moments At The 2017 Grammys was originally published on newsone.com
