Hov received the annual Dr. Dre Global Impact Award during last night’s Grammy 2024.
In his acceptance speech, Jay-Z honoured Dr. Dre for paving the way for hip hop stars in the music industry:
Thanks to Dr. Dre. He’s somewhere here. Oh, there he is! Andre Young, thank you, sir. All the doors that you opened. Showed us that we can be rock stars. Seeing you on Rolling Stone. When you came out West, you took it to a whole new level. Put us on the covers of Rolling Stone. Put us around the world, you and Snoop. All that y’all did, all these records y’all broke — thank you for this. Honoured to accept it. And thank you to the Black Music Collective for all the work that you guys do.
He spent the rest of his speech chastising the Recording Academy committee for never giving his wife the Album of the Year award, but that’s his choice.
Meanwhile, Black Music Collective (BMC) was launched in 2020 as the body dedicated to amplifying Black voices within the Recording Academy and the wider music community. They work on increasing Black artist’s representation within the industry and among the Grammy nominees. In practical terms, it translates into supporting young talents with scholarships and developing best practice policies for the Academy. And, of course, into honouring remarkable Black artists who have left an indelible mark on the music industry across genres and cultures. BMC called it the Global Impact Award, and last year, honouring Dr. Dre, they renamed it after his name.
Watch Jay-Z’s speech below:
