Tyler, the Creator labels his Grammy win a "backhanded compliment"
On a night that saw pop star Billie Eilish clear up shop with five separate awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year, Californian-born artist Tyler, the Creator also had a successful night as his 2019 record ‘IGOR’ earned him his first ever Grammy for Best Rap Album.
Having previously been nominated for the same award with his 2017 album ‘Flower Boy’ as well as Album of the Year for his contributions to Frank Ocean’s ‘Channel Orange’, Tyler finally walked home with the top spot after beating the likes of 21 Savage’s ‘i am > i was’ and Meek Mill’s ‘Championship’ records.
However, when asked backstage by a reporter about the controversy surrounding the Grammy Awards and the accusations of racial prejudice when it came to voting, Tyler reportedly said: “On one side I’m very grateful that what I made can be acknowledged in a world like this. But also—it sucks that whenever we—and I mean guys that look like me—do anything that’s genre-bending or anything—they put it in a rap or urban category.”
“Half of me feels like the rap nomination was a backhanded compliment,” he added.
British electronic duo The Chemical Brothers also had a night of success winning awards for Best Dance Recording with their track ‘Got To Keep On’ and Best Dance/Electronic Album with their 2019 record ‘No Geography’, which we sat down with the boys to discuss last year.
The pair have now totalled six Grammy wins in their career so far with previous accolades including Best Dance/Electronic Album in 2005 with ‘Push The Button’, and again in 2007 with ‘We Are The Night’.
Latina queen Rosalía also made the headlines beating nominees such as Bad Bunny and iLe to win the award for Best Latin Rock, Urban, or Alternative Album with her 2018 LP ‘El Mal Querer’.
The singer was also nominated for Best New Artist, coming off the back of a successful night at the Latin Grammy Awards where she won several prizes including Album of the Year and Best Urban Song for the track ‘Con Altura’. Her track ‘Dio$ No$ Libre Del Dinero’ also figured in our The 50 Best Tracks of 2019 list.
Amongst the winners, rising Jamaican sensation Koffee took home the award for Best Jamaican Album with her record ‘Rapture’, and Anderson .Paak won Best R&B Performance and Best R&B Album with his ‘Ventura’ LP.
Read next: The 50 Best Albums of 2019
