Prince, The Clash and Frankie Valli were among those who received Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Grammys’ Special Merit Awards.
The ceremony took place on Saturday night (February 1) at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles, one night before the main Grammy Awards on Sunday night.
Hosted by the Recording Academy, the honour is given to artists who have made significant contributions to the music industry, and this year the award was also presented to funk artist Frankie Beverly, gospel singer Dr. Bobby Jones, prog blues musician Taj Mahal and rapper Roxanne Shante.
Recipients of the Trustee Awards were composers Erroll Garner and Tania Leon and producer Glyn Johns, while acoustic pioneer Dr. Leo Beranek picked up this year’s Technical Grammy Award.
Among those honouring Prince at the ceremony were Jimmy Jam, formerly of The Time, a Minneapolis band closely associated with the Purple One in his early career. “He had the best work ethic of anybody I ever met,” Jam said. “What that lesson taught me was that he saw me as better than I saw myself. I want to enlighten other people to their greatness.”
Public Enemy’s Chuck D was on hand to accept the award for punk icons The Clash, who read out a message from the band’s surviving members Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon. “As you heard our voice, we also heard yours,” concluded the message.
The 67th Grammy Awards go down tonight (February 2) at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Comedian Trevor Noah will host the event for the fifth consecutive year and Beyoncé leads the way with 11 nominations, making her the most nominated artist in the awards’ history.
See the full list of this year’s nominees here.
The show will air live on CBS from 8pm EST in the US. Paramount+ subscribers with the Showtime add-on can also stream this year’s Grammys live at the same time. Fans in the UK will need to tune in from 1am on Monday, with Paramount+ streaming the ceremony live internationally.
Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Chappell Roan, and Sabrina Carpenter are all scheduled to appear. British artists Cynthia Erivo, RAYE, and Coldplay’s Chris Martin will also be joining the lineup.
Music legend Stevie Wonder will be leading a tribute to the late Quincy Jones alongside Janelle Monáe. This year, the ceremony will be helping to raise funds for those who suffered due to the recent Los Angeles area wildfires.
A$AP Rocky has been quiet during his legal battle. The rapper has not said a word entering the court or a word during his trial. Barring some brief praise for his friend and blog rap peer Kendrick Lamar. A$AP has made sure to be careful when it comes to what he says. His facade dropped, however, during a shocking exchange on Friday. The rapper told a witness not to answer a question during an interrogation. It was a shocking moment on several front, and is generally considered a bad sign during a criminal trial.
The awkward moment was captured on film. A$AP Twelvy, a member of Rocky's A$AP Mob, was being asked what the meaning of a specific photo was. The rapper made it clear he wasn't sure what it meant, but in the midst of his answer, Rocky spoke out. Prosecution interrupted the line of questioning and then redirected the focus to A$AP Rocky's question. "Did you hear the defendant when asked question loudly say," he asked. "Do not answer it." Twelvy admits he heard something but claimed he wasn't sure what was said from Rocky's side of the courtroom.
The prosecution suggested that A$AP Twelvy was being coy about his knowledge due to the fact that A$AP Rocky told him not give an answer. The rapper attempted to downplay Rocky's comment, saying he didn't even hear what was said. Prosecution doubled down, and attempted to get an answer out of the A$AP Mob member. The video account of the exchange is cut off when the judge decides to take a break from the interrogation.
Twelvy's controversial exchange is an unexpected development. The rapper appears to be on A$AP Rocky's side, and even testified that he did not open fire on A$AP Relli the way that Relli is claiming. Twelvy told the court that Rocky actually fired a starter pistol that he kept on him during the alleged encounter with Relli. "He walked around with a prop, like a starter pistol," Twelvy stated. "I seen it on several occasions." The rapper then claimed that the gun was clearly identified as fake before said confrontation went down. "He told him to shoot that fake-ass gun," Twelvy added.