The 4th of February saw the 66th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony take place, and some exciting acts managed to grab some awards, most notably Killer Mike of Run The Jewels for his sixth studio album, Michael.
Last year, the Atlanta emcee (real name Michael Render) put out his critically acclaimed project, which featured various legendary artists rap and sing alongside the lyricist to create magic. From CeeLo Green to André 3000 and JID, the body of work saw figures such as Zane Lowe hail Render for his creativity.
That said, at this year’s ceremony, Render was honoured for his work and took home the coveted award for ‘Best Rap Album.’ His song ‘Scientists & Engineers’ also earned him two Grammys for ‘Best Rap Song’ and ‘Best Rap Performance.’
In 2003, Render earned a Grammy for ‘Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group’ alongside Outkast as a featured artist on their single ‘The Whole World’. However, these are the first set of awards the rhymer has received as a solo artist.
However, Render wasn’t the only emcee to receive a Grammy award on the 4th. Chicago act Lil Durk also earned a Grammy for his song ‘All My Life.’ The track, produced by Dr Luke, was his first nomination and successfully landed him the award for ‘Best Melodic Rap Performance.’ J Cole was a featured artist on the song.
As Render received his awards, he gave a speech proclaiming, “Atlanta, it’s a sweep! You cannot tell me that you get too old, you can’t tell me it’s too late, you can’t tell me dreams [don’t] come true. It is a sweep.”
In November, when he found out about his various nominations, the Run The Jewels emcee penned an open letter to his family, writing, “To my Mother, Denise, and Grandparents: I know y’all are with our ancestors, talking to the Lord and lobbying for me!”
It continued, “Miss Bettie, you and Willie Burke are gonna be proud. I promise. Denise aka Mommy, thank you for allowing and encouraging my love of art and music. You especially encouraged my love of hip-hop. Lord willing, I’m gonna bring home some trophies as a tribute to y’all, baby!”
You can see Render receiving his awards below.