Tongues are still wagging over JAY-Z‘s Grammy snub on Sunday. JAY-Z, who already has 21 Grammys to his name, was nominated for 8 more Grammy awards. But Bruno Mars and rapper Kendrick Lamar split the prizes leaving JAY-Z with no awards for his critically acclaimed 4:44 album.
The 47-year-old rapper suffered the indignity of watching lesser artists parade onstage to pick up their trophies while he got nothing.
JAY-Z’s friends were quick to rush to his defense.
Aside from the usual excuse (racism), JAY-Z’s friends say the rap honcho was snubbed because he’s a businessman who released his album on Tidal instead of a record label.
“In my opinion, last nights [sic] snub only proved how powerful Jay-Z has become,” wrote DJ Scratch in an Instagram editorial post on Monday. “He’s won 21 Grammys but this is the first time in history an Artist went Platinum on his own platform (Tidal). No other digital platform (iTunes, Spotify, Amazon) could sell “4:44” until he gave the green light.”
Scratch added that JAY-Z “is a serious threat to the music industry” if he encourages a generation of Artists to become independent. “The record labels will literally die,” he said.
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