Beck’s latest record pulled off a surprising upset at this year’s Grammy Award Ceremony, and Kanye West took it upon himself to bask in the glow of the victory.
UPDATE: There was a method to Kanye West’s repeated brand of madness. As it turns out, Kanye was rushing the stage in protest of Beck’s album winning Album of the Year. According to Kanye, “Beck needs to respect artistry and he should have given his award to Beyonce…” It appears that Kanye West is, at a minimum, disappointed with the results of the Grammys and can’t take it anymore. It’s no secret that the Grammys, like their film counterpart, the Academy Awards, can be out of step with public opinion, and it’s also no secret that Beyonce’s record was an amazing one (probably her best record to date), but Beck put out a fantastic album of his own, and even though the Grammys may have missed a step or two this year, that doesn’t seem to completely justify West’s tirade against both Beck and the Grammys. However it will be interpreted in the coming weeks, it can be assured that the Grammys will never stop being entertaining well after the awards are dished out.
I just know that the Grammys, if they want real artists to keep coming back, they need to stop playing with us. We ain’t gonna play with them no more. “Flawless,” Beyoncé video. And Beck needs to respect artistry and he should have given his award to Beyoncé and at this point, we tired of it. Because what happens is when you keep on diminishing art and not respecting the craft and smacking people in the face after they deliver monumental feats of music, you’re disrespectful to inspiration. And we as musicians have to inspire people who go to work every day. And they listen to that Beyoncé album and they feel like it takes them to another place. Then they do this whole promotional event, that, you know, they’ll run the music over somebody’s speech, the artist, because they want a commercial advertising. Like no, we not playing with them no more. And by the way, I got my wife, I got my daughter, and I got my clothing line so I’m not going to do nothing to put my daughter at risk — but I am here to fight for creativity. That’s the reason why I didn’t say anything tonight. But y’all know what it meant when ‘Ye walked on the stage.”
Despite the wealth of fantastic records that were released in 2014, there were few in the music industry that had Beyonce’s eponymous record set to win Album of the Year at this year’s Grammy’s. Despite the elaborate creative production that went into the record, it was Beck’s Morning Phase record that won out this year. Boasting a sound that highlights Beck at his creative best, the Grammys saw fit to give the underdog the mantle at this year’s awards ceremony. Powered by production that feels like early-day Beck and bolstered by songs like “Heart Is A Drum,” Morning Phase feels like the Beck we all know and love, and apparently, the forces that govern the Grammys agreed.
Things got a little bizarre after Beck received the award and got a congratulatory hug from Prince. Once Beck had the award in hand, Kanye West rushed the stage as he did once before with Taylor Swift, and, as he also did with Taylor Swift, he decided to let Beck finish. West turned to the camera, waved, and then immediately headed off stage, seconds after rushing it. Whether the event was planned ahead or not, West’s stage rushing has caught a good deal of attention on the internet, as vines have turned up out of the woodwork capturing the moment perfectly. Adding to the humor of the moment was Beck’s reaction, as he was practically encouraging West to come back on stage and share the moment with him, seemingly telling West, “Come back! Come back! Where are you going?” All in all, it was a funny moment, and a perfect way to cap off the ceremony. West himself performed at the ceremony earlier, giving a sparse rendition of his latest song “Only One.”
West also released another collaboration with Paul McCartney and Rhianna earlier this year called “FourFiveSeconds,” the second collaboration that West has thus far released alongside “Only One”.
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