Baby-Mama-Grammy-Drama

The drama preceding the 50^th Grammy Awards led to many questions: Who’s attending? Who’s performing? Who’s going to watch? Who’s going to be let into the country? After the most boring and least watched (4.8 Nielsen Ratings) Golden Globes ever, Big Daddy Clive gathered his children and called roll to make sure that viewers had something to see and more importantly, something to listen to. (This is after all, the Grammys.) And the obedient children, with Beyonce and Dave Grohl as the line leaders, marched onto the stage at the Staples Center and delivered a performance to the 17.3 million viewers who tuned in last Sunday night.

My favorite and most moving performer of the night was Kanye West who performed “Stronger” from “Graduation” (2007) and “Hey Mama” from “Late Registration” (2006). His performance was a tribute to his hip-hop and personal heroes. Red flames shot up behind the rapper as he started to flow “Stronger” against Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” His moves were not Jackson’s but those of a futuristic robot—bending, bobbing, and snapping to the bass—and he repeatedly asked the crowd: “Is this what you’ve been waiting for?”

The mood shifted dramatically when Kanye began “Hey Mama.” When the neon lights receded and the bright-white shades were shed, the lone spotlight focused in on a son who loves and misses his Mama. “Last night I saw you in my dreams, now I can’t wait to go to sleep. And this life is all a dream, so my real life starts when I go to sleep. This life, this night, this Grammys, is all a dream, and my real life starts when I go to sleep. My Mama, Mama, Mama.” The audience gave him a standing ovation.

If I can be so bold as to make a bald statement, it is this: Kanye West will be talked about the morning after any award show he chooses to attend. After the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards, Ben Sisario of the New York Times called Kanye “a sore loser” when he railed against the panel after losing Best Video, and let’s not forget the time Kanye swore he would “never return to MTV” after losing big (0-5) in the 2007 MTV music awards. Today, the buzz is that Vince Gill, winner of Best Country Album, “dissed” Kanye during his acceptance speech. This is, in my humble opinion, false.

“I just got an award given to me by a Beatle,” Gill said after Ringo Starr handed him the Grammy for his album “These Days.” Gill then said “Have you had that happen to you Kanye? Just kidding.” He was and Kanye knew he was, and he acknowledged Gill’s smartass comment with a smirk. If Kanye thought Gill had meant harm, he would have said something about it: Kanye always does.

Kanye did manage to spit and spin at the podium during his acceptance speech after winning Best Rap Album for “Graduation.” But when Kanye finally got around to thanking his “Mama” (Mrs. West died after cosmetic surgery in 2007), the muzak attempted to cut him off. Pissed at the sound guy, he said, “Now would be a good time to cut the music.” The sound guy heeded the order, Kanye finished his piece, and as he walked away from the podium, the audience got a good view of the words “MAMA” he had shaved into the back of his head.