Jay-Z takes aim at the Grammys for never giving Beyonce Album of the Year: 'Doesn't work'

Jay-Z surprised viewers watching the Grammys when he took aim at the Recording Academy for never awarding his wife, Beyonce, with the Album of the Year award despite having the most Grammys of any artist.

The rapper was receiving the Dr Dre. Global Impact award when he made the speech.

Speaking about the Grammys' history with rappers, Jay recalled being nominated for Best Rap Album in 1998, but he boycotted the awards because DMX released two albums that year, both of which were number one, but they weren't nominated at all.

"I'm just saying, I just want y'all to get it right," he said. "We love y'all, we want y'all to get it right, at least get it close to right."

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"Obviously, it's subjective because, you know, it's music and it's opinion-based, but you know, I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than everyone and never won Album of the Year," he said of his wife. "So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that. The most Grammys; never won Album of the Year. That doesn’t work."

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He continued, "You know, some of you gonna go home tonight and feel like you've been robbed. Some of you may get robbed, some of you don't belong in a category!"

The crowd was left shocked by his comments, with the rapper adding, "That's it! When I get nervous, I tell the truth!"

Jay-Z then shared a little motivational tip, telling the crowd, "Outside of that, we gotta keep showing up and forget the Grammys for a second, just in life... You gotta keep showing up, forget the Grammys, you've gotta keep showing up, until they give you all those accolades you feel you deserve. Until they call you chairman, until they call you a genius, until they call you the greatest of all time. You feel me?"

What Grammys has Beyonce won?

Beyonce is the most nominated female artist in Grammy history, she has received 88 nominations throughout her career and has won the most Grammys of any person, with 32 wins.

The singer won several Grammys with Destiny's Child and continued winning awards throughout her solo career.

Fans were left shocked in 2017 after the star was nominated for nine awards, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year, but only won two awards for Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best Music Video for 'Formation'.

Beyonce broke the record for most Grammys won in 2021 when she won the awards for Best Music Video, Best R&B Performance, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song.

Last year, she also won several awards for tracks from her Renaissance album, including Best Dance/Electronic Recording, Best Traditional R&B Performance, Best Dance/Electronic Music Album and Best R&B Song.

Viewers react to Jay-Z's speech

Viewers shared their reactions to Jay-Z's speech on Twitter, with one user writing, "#GRAMMYs was getting boring so I’m glad Jay-Z came and stirred the pot a little."

"But seriously though, that Jay-Z speech was legendary," another said. "And not just the Album of the Year read in defense of Beyoncé. Lots of shots fired in the entire statement. The speech itself deserves a Grammy lol. LOVE to see this side of Jay making a comeback."

"Jay-Z went up there and said f*** the Grammys, but thanks for the award though lmaoooo," a third said.

"Jay-Z said while we at it let me get this off my chest and went in roasting the #Grammys," someone else added.

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"Jay-Z won't be at the Grammys next year... He spoke to much truth!" another said.

"I get and actually agree with Jay-Z’s point of Beyonce being snubbed AOTY. But also to imagine some of these artists having their biggest night at the Grammys and to hear him say 'some of y'all don’t deserve to be in a category' seems a little mean?" one added.

Others referenced Kanye West's infamous speech during the 2009 MTV VMAs, when he didn't allow Taylor Swift to accept the award for Best Video by a Female Artist, telling the crowd, "I’mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time! One of the best videos of all time!"

"Jay-Z went up there and said, 'My wife had the greatest album of all time!'" one user said.

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