The Black community gathered around our virtual living rooms and took to social media to celebrate, trash talk and vibe out to the 65th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony and all it entailed. The ceremony was stacked with memorable moments including red carpet looks, jokes from the host, Trevor Noah, heartfelt memorial tributes in honor of fallen stars, and even the running joke of Queen Bey arriving fashionably late and making history on arrival.
Some of the most iconic moments from the Grammy’s happened before the ceremony officially began with the pre-ceremony and red-carpet festivities. We watched Laverne Cox elegantly host the red carpet in a dazzling black and bronze gown, chopping it up with stars that graced the carpet on music’s biggest night.
Looks were served with some of our favorites showing up and showing out! Cardi took the carpet by storm in the first of two stunning looks, a blue, couture cut-out gown, hand-made by Indian Fashion designer, Gaurav Gupta.
Lizzo never fails to dazzle, hitting the carpet in a bright orange Dolce and Gabbana gown and hooded cape. It’s giving Spring!
Aunt Mary came through with hips out, in a crystal cut-out gown and her signature high boot style, sporting a pair in silver to complete the look.
On top of the iconic looks, iconic moments were made early in the night with the announcement of Viola Davis’s first Grammy win for her audiobook Finding Me. This win earned the actress EGOT status, an honor held by only 2 other black women and 18 people total.
Although she was hardly missed being the topic of many conversations, Beyoncé missed the official announcement of her 32nd Grammy win for best R&B song for Cuff It, while stuck in traffic, the running joke led by Noah as he hosted. Arriving fashionably late in another one of the best looks of the night, the moment was just as iconic as she later accepted Grammy wins for best dance-electric music recording of Break My Soul, best traditional R&B performance for Plastic Off of the Sofa and best dance-electric album for “Renaissance.” Although many were disappointed she didn’t collect Album of the Year, history was still made with Knowles breaking and surpassing the record for most Grammy wins ever.
The girls were making history all night with the celebration of Tems’ first Grammy win for best melodic rap performance for Wait for U, making her the first Nigerian female artist to win the award. We also looked in awe as 23-year-old Jazz singer, Samara Joy, took home a Grammy for best new artist.
In an overall celebration of Black excellence, hip-hop legends old and new took the stage in a tribute celebration to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, and Dr. Dre was honored with the first-ever (and titular named) Dr. Dre Global Impact Award.
We also received a Motown tribute performance by Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, and Chris Stapleton accompanied by—sons of Boyz II Men’s Wanya Morris—the R&B group WanMor. And many looked on, holding back tears, as Quavo delivered an emotional tribute debuting his song Without You alongside gospel group, Maverick City Music, in memory of his late nephew, Takeoff.
With a few tiffs and snubs, we’ll charge to the game, the night was still another ultimate display of the resiliency of black excellence and creativity, with wins for Lizzo, Muni Long, Kendrick Lamar, Steve Lacey, and Dave Chapelle among others. To seal in all the black folk magic happening all night long, DJ Khaled closed the 2023 awards show with the ultimate grand finale, of a performance of GOD DID, alongside Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, John Legend, Jay-Z, and Fridayy.
