Jay-Z calls out Beyoncé's album of the year Grammys during acceptance speech

Jay-Z arrived at the 2024 Grammys Sunday (February 4) to accept the Dr. Dre Global Impact, bringing his wife Beyoncè and daughter Blue Ivy with him.

Taking the stage at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles with Blue Ivy giving his speech, Jay-Z first thanked the award's namesake — who was watching from the audience — by acknowledging Dr. Dre, saying that “all the doors you opened showed we could be rock stars.”

Jay-Z then thanked the Grammys' Black Music Collective for “all the work you do…how far we've come since Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff won their first Grammy in '89 and boycotted because [the award] it was not televised.” Afterwards, Jay joked that Smith and Jeff “went to a hotel and watched the Grammys… it wasn't a big boycott.” The camera then panned to Meryl Streep laughing out loud in the audience.

Then Jay-Z's speech started getting spicy. “Then, in '98, I took a page out of their book. I was nominated for best rap album, and DMX had two albums out that year, both of which were No. 1 — shout out to DMX — and he wasn't nominated at all, so I boycotted and” — he said with a laugh — “I saw the Grammys ».

Jay's message took a more serious tone as he continued, “I'm just saying, we want you to get it right. We love you all. we love you all. We want you to get it right, or at least get it close to right, and obviously it's subjective … because it's music and it's based on opinions, but some things — I don't want to embarrass this young lady” — referring to Beyoncè — “but has more Grammys than anyone and never won album of the year, so even by your own metrics it doesn't work. Think about it. Most Grammys and never won album of the year. This doesn't work.

“Some of you are going to go home tonight feeling like you've been robbed,” he continued. “Some of you might get robbed, some of you don't belong — when I'm nervous I tell the truth.

“But other than that, we have to keep showing up. And forget the Grammys for a second, in life – as my daughter sits and looks at me nervous as I am – just in life, you have to keep showing up and keep showing up. Forget the Grammys. You have to keep showing up until they give you all those awards you feel you deserve, until they call you “president,” until they call you “genius,” until they call you “the greatest of all time.” You feel me?”