The 31st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 22, 1989 at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles; this is when the first award for Best Rap Performance was presented to DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, aka Will Smith, for “Parents Just Don’t Understand”. The ceremony was not without controversy; nominees Jeff and Smith led a boycott in protest of the awards presentation not being televised, and some members of the rap community felt that more qualified artists were overlooked. Since this historic moment in Hip Hop, rappers Jay Z, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar are now two time winners of this award.
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