Drake Talks His 2017 Grammy Wins: “I Don’t Even Want Them”

Christina Lee | February 19, 2017 11:24 am
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Count Drake among those who took issue with the 2017 Grammys. “I won two awards last night, but I don’t even want them, ’cause it feels weird,” he says in an interview with Nation of Billions, which was taped immediately the Grammys but aired during last night’s episode of OVO Sound.

Drake won two awards this year, both (deservedly) for “Hotline Bling.” What feels weird to him, he says, is both trophies were for hip-hop categories: Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Performance. Echoing what hip-hop fans said that night, Drake points out that he doesn’t even rap in “Hotline Bling,” which made those wins perplexing to him:

“… I have quite an eclectic make up, I am mixed, I am Jewish. But I feel like, at the end of the day when it comes to everything else I’m black. I am referred to as a black artist. Last night at that awards show, I’m a black artist. I’m apparently a ‘rapper’ even though ‘Hotline Bling’ is not a rap song. The only category that they can manage to fit me in is a ‘rap’ category, maybe because I’ve rapped in the past, or because I’m black — I can’t figure out why.

Just like I can’t figure out why ‘One Dance’ wasn’t nominated, maybe because they can’t… I mean, well it’s just there’s pop obligations that they have and I fluked out. I fluked out and got one of the biggest songs of the year that is a pop song and I’m proud of that, you know. I love the rap world, I love the rap community, but you’re right, I write pop songs for a reason. I wanna be like Michael Jackson. I wanna be like artists that I looked up to. Those are pop songs but I never get any credit to that.

This isn’t the first time that Drake has taken issue with the Grammys. To announce Nothing Was the Same, he released a trailer where he talks about winning Best Rap Album for Take Care, though ultimately feeling conflicted because, like with most hip-hop categories, his win wasn’t televised. The following year, he awarded his “Hood Grammys” picks on Instagram, giving props to artists like Bobby Shmurda.

Drake’s hour-long interview also addresses his beef with Meek Mill and revisits those ghostwriting allegations in detail, mainly by putting the blame on mixtape mastermind DJ Drama for all the hoopla. Listen below, or read the full transcript at Nation of Billions.

Me and my chain are just here to collect the trophies for Work and Anti…howbowdah

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