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Musicians' Extracurricular Activities

Musicians such as Melissa Auf der Maur, Ellie Goulding, Scott Ian, and Paul Gilbert indulge in nonmusical passions to offset the daily musical grind

GRAMMYs/Dec 3, 2014 - 05:06 am

While the constant grind of being a professional musician is bound to keep one continually harried and hurried, many artists find time to indulge in outside passions that not only satisfy themselves, but often surprise their own fans.

Some geek out over nonmusical hobbies or their prized collections, while others indulge in a different art form or activity altogether. Cases in point: Lenny Kravitz owns and runs a commercial and residential design firm. Metallica's Kirk Hammett is an avid surfer. Grandmaster Flash collects ceramic mugs. Breeders' guitarist Kelley Deal likes knitting and has authored a book on the subject. Blur's Alex James is a cheesemaker. Surprised?

For bassist Melissa Auf der Maur, a different artistic slant allows for a new mode of expression. A photographer since age 12, Auf der Maur majored in photography at Concordia University and picked up the bass at age 19, but she thought it would be more realistic to be involved with rock music behind the lens. The reverse happened, and during her subsequent tenures with Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins she photographed not only herself but her surroundings on and offstage. Auf der Maur's work has been shown in various museums and featured in National Geographic's Music On…Photography series.

"I've always seen it as the one art form that wasn't sacrificed by any industry," Auf der Maur says of her photography. "I have never been exposed to managers or big publishing deals that can really disappoint you in how the artist most often comes last in those kind of situations. I sacrificed music a long time ago — I still love music, and I work to reclaim it in many ways — but my photography has remained pure and will continue to. I can do it until I'm 100, whereas I won't be playing a metal festival when I'm 98."

Anthrax and Damned Things guitarist Scott Ian feels similarly about his recent love for poker. "It's just become this thing that I have a great passion for, as much as I have for music," says Ian. "I feel like it's something I could do for the rest of my life because you can be 80 years old and sit at the poker table and play as long as you can still figure some math out in your head and still have enough of the sensibility to have a feeling when you're in the right spot or not. It's something that I'll never stop learning. It's the same as playing guitar or writing. I'll never stop learning music and I'll never stop learning poker as long as I live. You can never perfect it, you can just get better at it."

Shinedown guitarist and the Fairwell frontman Zach Myers enjoys bling of a different kind, having developed an interest in collecting watches back in 2008.

"It was just something I saw class in," says Myers. "All of a sudden I'd pay attention to people with nice time pieces and there was something classy about it. They are a very sexy accessory. I'm probably at about 30 watches right now."

Myers says he always looks for watches while on tour, and he looks forward to visiting Houston "where they have a Tourneau, which is an amazing watch chain." His three most prized watches are an International Watch Company Portuguese Perpetual Calendar, Panerai Luminor Black Seal and Breitling for Bentley (the latter was a present from Shinedown bandmate Brent Smith) "just because they are three that will always go up in value."

The list of other artists who are passionate about their hobbies is long and varied, including Steve Vai (beekeeping), Joni Mitchell (painting), Bruce Dickinson (flying planes), Geddy Lee (collecting baseball memorabilia), Jack White (taxidermy), Jeff Beck (building hot rods), and Miranda Lambert (salt-and-pepper shaker collecting), and Ellie Goulding (running).

Goulding took her passion to a competitive level by participating in Nike's Run to the Beat half marathon in September 2011, clocking in at No. 857 with a time of 1 hour, 42 minutes, 42 seconds. "The feeling that you get when you finish a run is like nothing else," said Goulding in 2011. "I want to keep feeling that high because it's better than any other high I've experienced."

Mr. Big guitarist and solo artist Paul Gilbert has always loved eating, and he credits adventurous parents, plus the need to feed himself in guitar school, as inspirational factors in his adult cooking adventures. He spent a couple years in Japan and greatly admires their chefs. The guitarist's passion for cooking has only grown, and it has served him well when traveling.

"At the very least, I always make fresh orange juice [on tour]," says Gilbert, who enjoys fresh food that has been lovingly prepared. "I used to carry a heavy-duty juicer on tour and have 10 pounds of carrots on the rider every day, but now I just ask for oranges and carry a little hand-squeezer and a knife with me. Sometimes the venue will have a kitchen, and then I'll take a look to see if I can make something more substantial."

Gilbert recalls getting to one venue early and finding a refrigerator full of fresh vegetables and eggs, so he whipped up omelets for the whole band and crew, much to the chagrin of the caterer, who now guards her stash whenever he plays there. "She's a great cook, so I don't mind," says Gilbert. "Anyway, some rock musicians get in trouble for throwing TV sets out the hotel window. I get in trouble for making omelets and using up all the mushrooms."

(Bryan Reesman is a New York-based freelance writer.)

Living Legends: Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson On Pushing His Own Limits
Bruce Dickinson

Photo: John McMurtrie

interview

Living Legends: Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson On Pushing His Own Limits

On his new album 'The Mandrake Project,' Dickinson's first solo release in 18 years, the metal singer engages in a magical epic with multifarious influences.

GRAMMYs/Feb 28, 2024 - 02:30 pm

Bruce Dickinson performs heavy metal and flies it through the sky. 

As the charismatic and energetic singer of Iron Maiden, Dickinson has fronted the band for most of the last 42 years. The philosophical performer has been nicknamed the Air Raid Siren — which is amusing given that he has also been a commercial airline pilot and has flown Maiden’s private plane Ed Force One on tour. 

And Maiden has certainly taken flight with few landings. The British heavy metal legends have maintained a steadfast following for decades, from their classic ‘80s albums like Number of the Beast and Powerslave (which turns 40 this year) to the recent Book of Souls and Senjutsu. Their last four albums have gone Top 10 in America. But Dickinson has also recorded substantial solo material, and will be hitting the road for a two-month European tour starting in Paris on May 26.

His seventh and latest album, The Mandrake Project, is his first in 18 years and has been a decade in the making. The album combines varied metal elements free from the distinctive Iron Maiden gallop. "Resurrection Men" has a Spaghetti Western vibe, while "Fingers In The Wind" offers a Middle Eastern flavor. The gothic closing song "Sonata (Immortal Beloved)," which started gestating 25 years ago, is a slowly churning, 10-minute epic. 

Such musical exploration is common for Dickinson. Starting with his 1990 solo debut, Tattooed Millionaire, he's employed melodic hard rock, grunge, and heavy metal elements with lyrics that he might not explore within Maiden, where historical and fantastical themes tend to reign. Dickinson’s 1998 album The Chemical Wedding — which featured Maiden guitarist Adrian Smith, when both had been estranged from the band — is a superlative  heavy metal album from the ‘90s. 

The Mandrake Project has spawned a comic book series from Z2 Comics with the same name; the first issue is out now and 11 more quarterly issues are forthcoming. The story stars Dr. Necropolis who seeks to restore his brother’s soul from Hell. The first issue includes hallucinogens, sex magic, the defiant ghost of William Blake, and a manipulative scientist named Professor Lazarus. Dickinson spun off the story concept from the album, and he also co-wrote the story for "Revelations" in the Iron Maiden comic anthology inspired by their seminal album Piece Of Mind

Dickinson spoke to GRAMMY.com about his new album and comic, his creative solo career, and how he wants to challenge himself and his audience. 

Why did you decide to re-record "If Eternity Should Fail"—  a contribution you made to Iron Maiden’s Book Of Souls almost a decade ago — as "Eternity Has Failed"?

First of all, it was written as a solo track. In fact, the [new] album was going to be called If Eternity Should Fail back in 2014, and [bassist] Steve [Harris] borrowed it [for Maiden]. It was always my intention to repossess the track. 

All I've done really is a version of it that's more reflective of my tastes than the Maiden thing. I always wanted to do the Ennio Morricone [flute] bit at the beginning. 

At the same time, by developing the comic book, I'd also moved on a story that I could import back into the words, into the lyrics. According to the story of the comic book, Eternity has failed. Death is over and done with. I quite like that. I thought we can rejig it with a slightly different emphasis on it. Put a few bits of chanty stuff at the end. Generally it's a different groove to the Maiden groove. It's more of an even type groove. 

The Mandrake Project is not a concept album but spawned from the comic, and the first video connects with the story in the first issue. 

I wanted it all to hang together. I thought, it's a waste of money doing a video that doesn't cross over from one to the other. Now the irony of that video [for "Afterglow of Ragnarok"] is that ... I went, It has nothing whatsoever to do with anything on the comic. How am I going to do this? It was a dream by Necropolis in which he's taken his acid trip using Mandrake potion, and he dreams he's at the end of the world and sees the shaman foretelling his future. There's the weird mirror that he sees himself talking to himself and sees things. The mirror can also be a portal into the other world of his dreams, and back out of it at the end. 

So I wrote that up as a treatment for a video and then [realized] there is no way we can afford to shoot that video. So I turned it into an eight-page comic as a kind of a prequel to the comic [series]. And we'll give it away just to get people in the mood for what might be coming next. I did that with [writer] Tony Lee and with [artist] Staz Johnson, so it was kind of a dummy run for what was going to be each 34-page comic. 

Then, at the 11th hour, I find this director, Ryan Mackfall, and we get on great. We love all the same types of weird folk horror movies from Britain from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, and early Universal horror. He said, "I'll be able to shoot this and I'll be able to get it in on budget." I went, "That's great, mate, but what are you going to actually shoot?" He said, "Well, you've already done it. I'm going to shoot the comic." 

You were a child in the ‘60s, and that decade really informs a lot of your work: There’s the Hammer Horror vibe of your current videos. The organ work on this album reminds me of Deep Purple. Monty Python’s humor heavily influenced your two racy, aristocracy-lampooning Lord Iffy Boatrace novels. You love singer Arthur Brown, one of the original shock rockers. What is it about the ‘60s that keeps informing your work? 

I actually don't think about that. But if I had to think about it, I would say the ‘60s, up till the mid-‘70s, was a golden time because there were all these barriers being broken down in music. Nothing was impossible. Everything was possible. Everything was plausible. You had Mahavishnu Orchestra, and then on the other hand you had Led Zeppelin. Nobody excluded anything. Nobody said, "I can't listen to John McLaughlin because I listen to Motorhead." They're not mutually exclusive. It's all music. And in the ‘80s that got completely lost. Everybody was segmented up to their little silos, and it pissed me off. 

When I started doing this…the people I admired were not just rock stars. And because I effectively don't look like a rock star — tall, skinny and blonde…. I was much more about being a storyteller and an artist. Increasingly, whether it's a comic book or an autobiography, everything I do for public consumption is telling stories. And if you tell an interesting story in a way that makes people go, I didn't expect that twist, then I put that back into music. A lot of this album has got a lot of unexpected little twists that I hope bring a little smile to people's internal monologue. 

You were working on your second solo album Balls To Picasso when you heard Roy Z's Latin rock band Tribe of Gypsies recording in the adjacent studio and brought them in for your project. He's been your co-songwriter, producer, and guitar player on every album of yours since except one. Why do you two have such a great mind meld? 

Roy can be somewhat mercurial from time to time. To be fair, so can I. I’m trying not to sound pompous about this, but when we tap into something together, we tap into something that's bigger than the both of us. So as soon as that realization hits, we go, "Oh my God, put the mic on, capture that moment." But that initial moment of inspiration, when you’re both channeling something from somewhere — I don’t know whether it’s alien intelligence or whatever the hell it is — I don't question it. But you have to be there in person for it to happen and to notice it. But when it does happen with us, it happens quickly. Or not at all. 

Would it be fair to say that there's more of the arcane, the occult and the religious covered here than in Maiden? That seems to be where a lot of your personality and a lot of your interests lie. 

Definitely. I drop some things in with Maiden, but there are always some musical limits that are outside of the Maiden universe slightly. Morricone, surf guitar and stuff like that. If I said, "Steve, we need bongos, man, let's do some bongos" — he'd think I'd lost my mind. I have, but in a good way. So those are things that are expressions of my musical personality that are unalloyed by being in Maiden. 

I'm always on the lookout for some of Z’s musical textures, basically, in terms of sounds and things like that. It's a different way of working. It's more like two kids in a sandbox with me and Roy, and nothing is excluded. Ever. And anything's on the table if we want to have a go at something. 

Over 20 years ago, there were rumblings about The Three Tremors, a proposed vocal trio between you, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, and Ronnie James Dio. How did that evolve, and why did it ultimately not happen? 

We had promoters salivating and people could see dollar signs. It was a great idea, but I didn't want to do it unless it was not just a commercial great idea, but an artistic great idea. I love Rob, I love Ronnie. And why they would want me, I don't know. Then Ronnie unfortunately got sick and passed away. So it was mooted that maybe [original Queensrÿche singer] Geoff Tate might fill in. We had a few meetings with Geoff, and I think the minds didn't quite meet in the way that I thought they should, so it was obvious that probably wasn’t going to work. 

By this point, however, Roy and I had already written two tracks for a potential album which used the voices of three singers in different ways during the songs. The intention was to write a whole album of material like that. I think that would have been quite cool, but the problem was it was a lot harder than it sounds.

"Tyranny of Souls" [which became the title track to Dickinson’s last solo album] was one of those tracks, and "Shadow of the Gods" [on the new one] was another. We didn't get any further than that. I did demo versions of those songs in which I actually did little imitation voices of Rob and Geoff to give an idea of where their lines would be in the song. So when the project didn't happen, I said, "Let's just record both those songs anyway." 

Maiden have made a massive impact on the metal world. One can argue that you are as influential as Metallica. Have you thought about why people keep coming back to the music and are so loyal after nearly 45 years? 

Stylistically, Maiden are, I think it's fair to say, unique. Nobody sounds like us. Even people who copy us, they still don't sound like us. And that's because we're not perfect. When people copy things, they try to make them perfect. But if the thing you're copying is imperfect to begin with, you can't copy it. You'll never be as imperfect as the thing you're trying to copy. It’s the same with The Rolling Stones who are far from perfect, but they're so perfectly imperfect, that they are the identity. 

I don't know how this happens, but [with] the six of us now together it sounds like Maiden and nobody else sounds like us. It's instant. You can hear it. Also, because we are authentic. That's quite rare in the modern world because everybody's so desperate. It's sad in a way that streaming and everything is just ripping the guts out of creativity. So if people want to be successful, they have to try too hard. Whereas you should be able to just relax and have fun and be successful. They have to go and do this and do that, and jump through hoops and manufacture their authenticity now. 

That's the biggest curse of being a creative now. If you come up with something that's unique people go, "Oh, yeah, but your problem is it doesn't sound like everybody else." 

Living Legends: Chicago's Robert Lamm On Songwriting and Longevity

2024 GRAMMYs: Kylie Minogue Wins First-Ever GRAMMY For Best Pop Dance Recording For "Padam Padam"
Kylie Minogue attends the 66th GRAMMY Awards Pre-GRAMMY Gala

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images

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2024 GRAMMYs: Kylie Minogue Wins First-Ever GRAMMY For Best Pop Dance Recording For "Padam Padam"

Kylie Minogue beat out David Guetta, Anne-Marie, and Coi Leray; Calvin Harris featuring Ellie Goulding; Bebe Rexha and David Guetta, and Troye Sivan. This is the first-ever win in this brand-new category.

GRAMMYs/Feb 4, 2024 - 09:02 pm

Kylie Minogue has taken home the golden gramophone for Best Pop Dance Recording — an all-new category — at the 2024 GRAMMYs, for "Padam Padam."

Minogue came ahead of of David Guetta, Anne-Marie and Coi Leray ("Baby Don’t Hurt Me"); Calvin Harris featuring Ellie Goulding ("Miracle"); Bebe Rexha and David Guetta ("One in a Million"); and Troye Sivan ("Rush").

The win marks Minogue’s second GRAMMY win after six career nominations. She had previously won Best Dance Recording for "Come Into My World."

The Australian pop star — along with producer Peter "Lostboy" Rycroft and mixing engineer Guy Massey — are the first-ever winners of the Best Pop/Dance Performance category. It was one of three new categories introduced at the 66th GRAMMYs; the other two are Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical and Best African Music Performance. 

Lostboy took the stage to accept the award on behalf of himself, Minogue, and Massey. 

"Padam Padam" charted at No. 7 on Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic chart; it was a much bigger hit in the UK, where it was a No. 1 hit. The song was embraced by the LGBTQ+ community on both sides of the Atlantic. 

"It's hugely important to me and so touching," said Minogue of her popularity with LGBTQ+ fans in an interview with GRAMMY.com earlier this year. "I hope that for that community and beyond, I just want to say I am open-minded and I want people to be happy in themselves. That community needed support and still needs support. I'm here. And they padamed for me."

Keep checking this space for more updates from Music’s Biggest Night!

2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Winners & Nominees List

Here Are The Nominees For Best Pop Dance Recording At The 2024 GRAMMYs
{From Left To Right] Bebe Rexha, Calvin Harris, Kylie Minogue, David Guetta, and Troye Sivan

list

Here Are The Nominees For Best Pop Dance Recording At The 2024 GRAMMYs

Take a look at the inaugural list of nominees for Best Pop Dance Recording — one of three new categories at the 2024 GRAMMYs — which features hits from dance legends and pop superstars.

GRAMMYs/Nov 12, 2023 - 05:31 pm

One of three new categories debuting at the 2024 GRAMMYs, Best Pop Dance Recording will be hotly contested in its first year.

The inaugural round of Best Pop Dance Recording nominees features not one, but two [David Guetta](https://www.grammy.com/artists/david-guetta/12848) collaborations ("Baby Don’t Hurt Me" with Anne-Marie and Coi Leray, and "One In A Million" with Bebe Rexha), and the long-awaited reunion of [Calvin Harris](https://www.grammy.com/artists/calvin-harris/3679) and [Ellie Goulding](https://www.grammy.com/artists/ellie-goulding/19043) on "Miracle." The new category also features two earworms from Australian pop dance exports: [Kylie Minogue](https://www.grammy.com/artists/kylie-minogue/14940)’s "Padam Padam" and [Troye Sivan](https://www.grammy.com/news/troye-sivan-something-to-give-each-other-new-album-rush-road-to)’s "Rush." 

Ahead of the 2024 GRAMMYs on Feb. 4, 2024, get to know the five nominees in this newly minted category.

David Guetta, Anne-Marie & Coi Leray -"Baby Don't Hurt Me"

In a year defined by dance producers putting a modern spin on dance music’s past, David Guetta reached back to 1993 to interpolate Haddaway’s dance-pop hit, "What Is Love," for "Baby Don’t Hurt Me." The song is a fitting follow-up to Guetta and Bebe Rexha’s 2022 hit, "I’m Good (Blue)", which winkingly rekindled Eiffel 65’s Eurodance anthem, "Blue (Da Ba Dee)".

"Baby Don’t Hurt Me" brings Haddaway’s irresistible hook into 2023 with distinctive verses from British vocalist Anne-Marie (who memorably joined Marshmello on 2018’s smash  "Friends") and fast-rising Boston rapper Coi Leray. 

Paired with a video that references ‘90s clubbing and cult movie A Night at the Roxbury, "Baby Don’t Hurt Me" is a familiar sugar rush that plays to the individual strengths of its perhaps unlikely trio. 

**Calvin Harris featuring Ellie Goulding - "Miracle"**

Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding are a dance music dream team, having previously released "I Need Your Love" (2012) and "Outside" (2014). After waiting almost a full decade to reunite, the pair returned in 2023 with their third collaboration, "Miracle."

An out-and-out trance-meets-Eurodance throwback (think inspirations like Robert Miles' "Children"), "Miracle" aims straight for the nostalgic pleasure centers. Harris told Apple Music that he needed Goulding's "angelic" vocal talents, and the British singer skillfully plays off the song's maximal production. Working alongside his longtime studio partner Burns, Harris packs the rave euphoria into a crisp three minutes, right through to the unexpected breakbeat outro. 

The non-album single signaled a new phase for Harris, and follows 2022's Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 as well as his ravier experiments as Love Regenerator. In July, Harris returned to the trance sounds of his teen years with "Desire" featuring Sam Smith, proving these faster tempos are not just a passing phase. 

**Kylie Minogue - "Padam Padam"** 

Now 16 albums into a glittering career, Kylie Minogue is a true icon of international pop. However, not even the most ardent Kylie fans could've predicted her 2023 glow-up, courtesy of viral sensation "Padam Padam." 

The song first came to Minogue in a demo version by Norwegian singer/songwriter Ina Wroldsen and UK producer Lostboy, which immediately caught her ear. "Straightaway, I was in," she recalled to GRAMMY.com, noting that she knew it was "perfect for me."

The first single from the Australian singer's latest album, Tension, the instantly danceable beat and one-word hook of "Padam Padam" inspired countless TikTok videos and memes. "I finally get TikTok. Yes, I've been slow but I finally am there," Minogue admitted upon Tension's release.

Minogue also celebrated the queer community and Gen Z's embrace of her runaway hit. "I hope to continue having fun with that," she added. "It was really organic. I don't think you can force that. It happened and I loved every second of it."

**Bebe Rexha & David Guetta - "One In A Million"**

Ever since co-writing Eminem and Rihanna's "The Monster" in 2013, Brooklyn-born Bebe Rexha has mastered the art of collaboration. Over a prolific decade, including three albums of her own, the pop singer/songwriter has teamed up with a diverse range of artists, including Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, Florida Georgia Line and Dolly Parton, to feature on her songs.

In the pop dance world, French hitmaker David Guetta is Rexha's most reliable collaborator. After striking gold on 2022's "I'm Good (Blue)" — which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the top of 2023 — the pair returned with a new standalone single, "One In A Million."

With a piano line that evokes Guetta's own "When Love Takes Over," "One In A Million" channels the giddy feeling of new love over a racing beat. The song arrived in a typically whirlwind year of collaborations for Guetta, who also mined the past alongside Jason Derulo, Oliver Tree and Zara Larsson. 

**Troye Sivan - "Rush"**

After a long wait between solo releases, Australian pop chameleon Troye Sivan boldly announced a new era with "Rush." Released at the height of summer as the lead single from Sivan's third album, Something To Give Each Other, "Rush" instantly hit its mark as a celebration of queer pleasure-seeking. In a statement, Sivan described the single as an accumulation of "all of my experiences from a chapter where I feel confident, free and liberated."

The song's lusty bassline, exultant piano-house keys and chanted chorus perfectly play off Sivan's falsetto, creating a heady mood of dance floor abandon. (Fittingly, the Berlin-shot music video is a parade of sweaty bodies in motion.) A ready-made anthem, "Rush" set the stage perfectly for the assured and life-affirming *Something To Give Each Other*, leaving no doubt that Sivan is thriving in 2023. 

The 2024 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 66th GRAMMY Awards, returns to Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, and will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5-8:30 p.m. PT.

The Recording Academy and GRAMMY.com do not endorse any particular artist, submission or nominee over another. The results of the GRAMMY Awards, including winners and nominees, are solely dependent on the Recording Academy's Voting Membership.

2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Winners & Nominees List

GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016
Kendrick Lamar

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

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GRAMMY Rewind: Kendrick Lamar Honors Hip-Hop's Greats While Accepting Best Rap Album GRAMMY For 'To Pimp a Butterfly' In 2016

Upon winning the GRAMMY for Best Rap Album for 'To Pimp a Butterfly,' Kendrick Lamar thanked those that helped him get to the stage, and the artists that blazed the trail for him.

GRAMMYs/Oct 13, 2023 - 06:01 pm

Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

Looking for more GRAMMYs news? The 2024 GRAMMY nominations are here!

He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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