Drake Wins 1st Grammy, Nas Comes Up Short… Again

The 12th time was a charm for Drake. The Toronto actor-turned-rapper finally won his first Grammy Award after having been nominated 9 times previously and losing out on two of this three nominations at last night’s Grammy Award ceremony, reports Canada.com.

Drake’s win was no sho0-in this year either. The Young Money phenom won out over the very tough competition of Nas’ Life Is Good, Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor II, The Roots’ Undun, Rick Ross’ God Forgives, I Don’t and 2 Chainz’ Based on a T.R.U. Story.

According to Rolling Stone, “Drake couldn’t have picked a better time to celebrate success: He released a video for his new song ‘Started From the Bottom’ last night to coincide with his first Grammy win, in best rap album, for his 2011 release Take Care.

“Started From the Bottom is the first track the Canadian singer and rapper has released from his upcoming album, Nothing Was the Same. The video clip finds Drake bouncing in a white convertible in a blizzard, kicking back in a private jet and receiving a coveted promotion at work, where there’s a interlude while his friends hit on a customer in a low-cut top.

“It’s the second time Drake has collaborated on a video with Director X; they also worked together on his HYFR clip, which won best hip-hop video at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards. Drake is recording Nothing Was the Same in Toronto and Los Angeles with producer Noah ’40’ Shebib. The album, his third, is due this summer.”

Nas, however, didn’t have the same lucky fate with the number 12. He also had his twelfth and thirteenth career nominations last night and still came up empty-handed. His best shot appeared to be his entry in the rap/duo category with the late Amy Winehouse. Grammy trophy or not, Nas’ 1994 debut classic Illmatic is still considered by many hip-hop cognoscenti to be the best hip-hop album of all time.

 

 

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Back to top