It’s Grammy weekend, and, while I don’t personally follow the award show – I know that it’s kind of a big deal. I’m gonna hit on a few of the bigger awards, and let you know who I’d pick if I were a member of the committee (which I’m definitely not). Here goes:
Record of the Year:
Nominated: Redbone/ Childish Gambino; Despacito / Luis Fonsi + Daddy Yankee; The Story of O.J. / Jay-Z; HUMBLE / Kendrick Lamar; 24K Magic / Bruno Mars
Who I’d take: I’m split between Kendrick and Childish Gambino; both albums are fucking killer – Kendrick continues to make headway and climb rank within the hip-hop world with this record, and is now selling out massive arenas and headlining festivals, whereas Childish did a complete departure from what we’d come to expect from him. Instead of making another hip-hop album, he traded in his old sound for something brand new and put out one helluva R&B record.
Odds are the Academy will pick Kendrick, and for the sake of needing to pick someone, I’ll go with that.
Album of the Year:
Nominated: Awaken, My Love / Childish Gambino; 4:44 / Jay-Z; DAMN / Kendrick Lamar; Melodrama / Lorde; 24K Magic
Who I’d take: Kendrick, straight-up — with an honorable mention to Lorde.
Best New Artist:
Nominated: Alessia Cara, Khalid, Lil Uzi Vert, Julia Michaels, SZA
Who I’d take: If I had it my way, I’d absolutely take Alessia Cara. If you’re not familiar, you should be. My favorite track of her’s is probably “Here” but you may know her better for “Scars To Your Beautiful.“
Best Pop Vocal Album:
Nominated: Kaleidoscope EP / Coldplay; Lust for Life / Lana Del Rey; Evolve / Imagine Dragons; Rainbow / Kesha; Joanne / Lady Gaga; Divide / Ed Sheeran
Who I’d take: Personal bias on this one, I’d go with my man, Ed. I’ve met him a couple times, as I work for the label he’s signed to – and I saw him perform last year in both a small and intimate setting and then in a massive arena. He’s among the biggest stars in the world, but is still incredibly kind and humble – and despite your feelings toward him and his Game of Thrones cameo, he can still inspire goofy former-life songs by Julian Velard (I just had to drop this in here).
Best Rock Song:
Nominated: Atlas, Rise! / Metallica; Blood in the Cut / K.Flay; Go to War / Nothing More; Run / Foo Fighters; The Stage / Avenged Sevenfold
Who I’d take: Foo Fighters, absolutely. Remember how I love Dave Grohl? That, and I either don’t like or am not familiar with all of the rest in this category!
Best Rock Album:
Nominated: Emperor of Sand / Mastodon; Hardwired… To Self-Destruct / Metallica; The Stories We Tell Ourselves / Nothing More; Villains / Queens of the Stone Age; A Deeper Understanding / The War On Drugs
Who I’d take: I’m gonna go off the grid and say Paramore’s new album should win this. I know, I know.. It isn’t even nominated – but it’s better than all of the above.
Being forced to pick one from the above list, though, I’d go with The War on Drugs.
Best R&B Song:
Nominated: First Began / PJ Morton; Location / Khalid; Redbone / Childish Gambino; Supermodel / SZA; That’s What I Like / Bruno Mars
Who I’d take: Childish, easily. This new record was a massive departure from his usual sound, and he did it so effortlessly and beautifully. It’s extremely hard not to appreciate Donald Glover.
Best Urban Contemporary Album:
Nominated: 6LACK / 6LACK; Awaken, My Love! / Childish Gambino; American Teen / Khalid; Ctrl / SZA; Starboy / The Weeknd
Who I’d take: Just to spice things up, I’ll go with The Weeknd on this one – also probably the popular choice.
Best Rap Song:
Nominated: PRBLMS / 6LACK; Crew / Goldlink ft. Brent Faiyaz & Shy Glizzy; Family Feud / Jay-Z ft. Beyonce; LOYALTY / Kendrick Lamar ft. Rihanna; Love Galore / SZA ft. Travis Scott
Who I’d take: Kendrick, but I honestly think that Jay will get this one.
Best Rap Album:
Nominated: 4:44 / Jay-Z; DAMN. / Kendrick Lamar; Culture / Migos; Rapsody / Laila’s Wisdom; Flower Boy / Tyler, The Creator
Who I’d take: Personally, I would pick Tyler. I love this album. Popular choice, and who will realistically win: Kendrick.
Spencer is King of the Chill’s music contributor. If he’s not dog-sitting during his time off, you can find him cruising through New York City on his bike. Oddly, he enjoys his pizza with a tall glass of orange juice.
