Jay Rock

Jay Rock

Photo: Randy Shropshire/Getty Images

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Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future & James Blake Tie Anderson .Paak To Win Best Rap Performance | 2019 GRAMMYs

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Five artists take home Best Rap Performance with a tie win at the 61st GRAMMY Awards
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Feb 10, 2019 - 4:10 pm

Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future and James Blake tied with Anderson .Paak for Best Rap Performance at the 61st GRAMMY Awards, for "King's Dead" and "Bubblin," respectively. It is the first-ever GRAMMY wins for Rock, Future, Blake and .Paak, and the 13th career win for Lamar.

Rock accepted the award for the group and gave a speech during the GRAMMY Premier Ceremony. 

"I wanna give a big shoutout to my lil bro Kendrick for letting me be part of the [Black Panther] soundtrack. Shouts out to everybody that got nominated," Rock said in his brief speech. He talked more about the win in a follow up interview backstage.

The fellow nominees for Best Rap Performance were: Cardi B ("Be Careful"), Drake ("Nice For What") and Travis Scott featuring Drake, Big Hawk and Swae Lee ("SICKO MODE").

"King's Dead" is one of the singles from Black Panther: The Album, the project Lamar led in support of the 2018 hit film Black Panther. The track is also featured on Rock's third studio album, Redemption. "Bubblin" is a one-off single from .Paak, released before he dropped his third LP, Oxnard, in November.

Lamar earned his first career GRAMMY nominations at the 56th GRAMMY Awards for Best New Artist and Album Of The Year for Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. He won his first career wins—for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song for "I"—the following year at the 57th GRAMMY Awards. Rock earned his first nomination for his feature on "Money Trees," from Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.

Future earned his first nod for his feature on Drake's track "Grammys," from Views, which was nominated for Album Of The Year at the 59th GRAMMY Awards. Blake received his first nomination for Best New Artist at the 56th GRAMMY Awards, the same year Lamar was in the running.

.Paak, meanwhile, earned his first two career GRAMMY nominations for Best New Artist and Best Urban Contemporary Album for Malibu at 59th GRAMMY Awards. He made his GRAMMY stage debut that year, performing a medley alongside A Tribe Called Quest, Consequence and Busta Rhymes.

2019 GRAMMYs: Full Nominees And Winners List

Jay Rock

Jay Rock

Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images 

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Jay Rock: "This Is A Real Big Redemption For Me"

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The GRAMMY-winning rapper shares the powerful backstory behind his first win at the 2019 GRAMMYs
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Feb 15, 2019 - 11:06 am

Los Angeles rapper Jay Rock had a great 2018; he worked with longtime friend and label-mate Kendrick Lamar on a big single from Black Panther: The Album and released his third studio album, Redemption, which also included the hit song.

The track, "King's Dead," also features Future and James Blake and garnered two GRAMMY nods. It won Best Rap Performance at the 61st GRAMMY Awards, Rock's first-ever win.

In an exclusive backstage interview with Rock after his big win, he shares the organic nature of the collab and reveals the deeper significance of his first time at the GRAMMYs.

Jay Rock One-On-One Interview | 2019 GRAMMYs

"Big shouts out to Kendrick Lamar…We were working next door together and I just so happened to walk in while he was working on the Black Panther Soundtrack," Rock said. "I'm still speechless right now, I'm just overjoyed and excited."

Rock and Lamar have been working together since the early 2000s with Top Dawg Entertainment, the label they are both signed to. Rock explains that he was planning on attending the 58th GRAMMY Awards with Lamar, but didn't due to a bad motorcycle accident he was in the day of the show. That year Lamar earned 11 nominations and took home five wins—the most of any artist that night. Now, three years later, Rock had his big moment as they both earned a win.

"This is a real big redemption for me. Three years ago I was supposed to be at the GRAMMYs with the homey, with Kendrick and the TDE fam, unfortunately I got into that real bad bike accident. Now three years later I won a GRAMMY. It's crazy man, it's just so unreal."

Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future & James Blake Tie Anderson .Paak To Win Best Rap Performance | 2019 GRAMMYs

Teddy Walton

Teddy Walton

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Behind The Board: Producer Teddy Walton On Working With Kendrick Lamar & What Makes A Great Track

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The Memphis-based producer/songwriter explains his essentials for crafting the perfect song
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Feb 22, 2019 - 10:17 am

Producer/songwriter Teddy Walton, born Travis Walton, has a simple yet clear approach to making a great track, one of the essentials being that everyone is having fun, which Walton says is the most important part of making music.

He has worked with a range of underground and big-name artists, including hip-hop heavy-hitters Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar and Nipsey Hussle. Walton first worked with Kendrick on "LOVE."—from the GRAMMY-winning album DAMN.—and most recently with on "King's Dead," which won Best Rap Performance at the 61st GRAMMY Awards.

Teddy Walton Shares How He Got Behind The Board

Walton also explains how growing up in Memphis, Tenn. has influenced his music and who he is as a person, allowing him to work well with all kinds of artists. He got his start working with his brother, rapper June, and while they didn't really grow up in a musical family, they learned together, releasing an album called EVOL in 2012.

No matter who he works with, Walton keeps the setup simple, working mostly with a laptop out of his home.

He elaborates on how he likes to work organically and connect the dots as he works: "While I'm making the beat I'm thinking up some words. That's just me, really, I can't even finish the beat if I don't really know that at least the hook's gonna be tight."

He also talks about his two biggest musical influences—his brother and Kendrick—and how working with June has shaped who he is today.

Watch an exclusive interview with Walton above to learn more about his craft.

Behind The Board: Harvey Mason Jr. On The Role, Meaning Of Being A Producer

Kacey Musgraves

Kacey Musgraves

 

Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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Kacey Musgraves Wins Album Of The Year For 'Golden Hour' | 2019 GRAMMYs

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Kacey Musgraves takes home Album Of The Year at the 61st GRAMMY Awards
Jennifer Velez
GRAMMYs
Feb 10, 2019 - 8:46 pm

Kacey Musgraves won Album Of The Year for Golden Hour at the 61st GRAMMY Awards. "It was really important for me to bring my version of country music to a different group of people," she said onstage while accepting the award.

By The Way, I Forgive You by Brandi Carlile, Scorpion by Drake, H.E.R. by H.E.R., Beerbongs & Bentleys by Post Malone, Dirty Computer by Janelle Monáe and Black Panther: The Album, Music From And Inspired By by Various Artists were the other category nominees.

Musgraves announced her arrival in 2013 with the release of her major label solo debut album Same Trailer Different Park. The album contained the hit singles "Merry Go Round," "Blowin' Smoke" and "Follow Your Arrow." Musgraves was also on the pop and country charts that year as a co-writer of Miranda Lambert's hit "Mama's Broken Heart."

She later won her first GRAMMY for Best Country Album for Same Trailer Different Park at the 56th GRAMMY Awards. She made her debut on the GRAMMY stage that same year when she performed "Follow Your Arrow."

Full Winners List: 61st GRAMMY Awards

Dua Lipa

Dua Lipa

Photo: Lester Cohen/Getty Images 

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Silk City & Dua Lipa Win Best Dance Recording For "Electricity" | 2019 GRAMMYs

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Silk City & Dua Lipa take home Best Dance Recording at the 61st GRAMMY Awards
Ana Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Feb 10, 2019 - 5:00 pm

Silk City, aka Diplo and Mark Ronson, along with featured artist Dua Lipa, won Best Dance Recording for "Electricity" at the 61st GRAMMY Awards.

This is Lipa's first GRAMMY win; she also won Best New Artist later in the evening. It is Diplo's third career GRAMMY and Ronson's seventh, as he also took home another win as a songwriter on Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper's "Shallow."

Silk City & Dua Lipa Win Best Dance Recording

During the speech, Diplo gave a shoutout to all of the collaborators on the record, along with the fellow nominees, who he is a "huge fan" of all of them.

Fellow nominees for Best Dance Recording for 2018 were Above & Beyond featuring Richard Bedford ("Northern Soul"), Disclosure featuring Fatoumata Diawara ("Ultimatum"), Fisher ("Losing It") and Virtual Self ("Ghost Voices").

Silk City and Lipa released "Electricity" in September 2018. The song has since become a popular hit, peaking at No. 5 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.  

Lipa is a first-time GRAMMY nominee and winner. Diplo earned his first two career wins at the 58th GRAMMY Awards for Jack Ü, his collab with Skrillex. They won Best Dance Recording for "Where Are Ü Now" featuring Justin Bieber and Best Dance/Electronic Album for Skrillex And Diplo Present Jack Ü. 

Ronson's previous GRAMMY wins include recognition as a producer on Amy Winehouse's 2006 studio album, Back To Black.

Full Winners List: 61st GRAMMY Awards