Words by Darralyn Buford
Thanks to Beyoncé, Jay-Z put an ending to his longtime boycott of the Grammys. According to The Los Angeles Times Jay-Z declined performing at the award show Sunday night.
Grammys executive producer, Ken Ehrlich, said “We had a conversation that we thought was going to lead to a performance and really only two weeks ago, he basically said he’d rather not. He wanted to come and enjoy the show. This is not a man who has been under-tributed. His life has been full of these moments; he’s given us a couple great ones too.”
Leading up to Sunday’s ceremony there were rumors of a performance that would trace rap’s origins in New York starting with the Sugarhill Gang‘s “Rapper’s Delight” and bowing with Jay’s Grammy-winning “Empire State of Mind,” according to a source close to production.
During the Pre-Grammy Gala Saturday night, Jay-Z said the Grammys left a sour taste in his mouth when DMX was robbed from the nominations after releasing two albums that sold over 900,000 copies. Over time, Jay-Z became less interested in the the awards, until Beyonce’s Dangerously In Love was nominated, which ended his boycott.
