drake grammys

Fans resoundingly support Drake's move to withdraw from the 2022 Grammys

Drake has made the watershed move to withdraw from the upcoming Grammys, for which he was nominated for Best Rap Album (Certified Lover Boy) and Best Rap Performance (Way 2 Sexy). 

And, though fans would have surely loved to see him win in either/both categories, they're avidly supporting the Toronto superstar in his and his management's decision.

The announcement came on Monday, with the Recording Academy honouring the request, leaving the categories with only four contenders each rather than adding any nominees this late in the game.

Though he has yet to expand on why he pulled out of the running for 2022, Drizzy has expressed his feelings about the Academy and the awards show in the past.

The public will remember that his pal and fellow Black Toronto artist the Weeknd likewise boycotted the event last year, calling the awards corrupt and saying "you owe me, my fans and the industry transparency" after he received zero nominations for his fourth studio album, After Hours.

And, as with Drake this year, people backed the singer's decision.

After that incident, the 6ix God stepped up in support, calling for the Grammys to be replaced with "something new that we can build up over time and pass on to the generations to come."

"I think we should stop allowing ourselves to be shocked every year by the disconnect between impactful music and these awards and just accept that what once was the highest form of recognition may no longer matter to the artists that exist now and the ones who come after," he said in a statement, noting the lack of nominations for other performers of colour that he felt should have been recognized at the 2021 show, such as Lil Baby, Pop Smoke, Partynextdoor and Popcaan.

Drake also had some pertinent comments after accepting his award for Hotline Bling, which won Best Rap Song in 2017.

"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," he said in a radio special.

The following year, his team purposely didn't submit anything off of his album More Life to the awards.

He expressed his concern about the integrity of the awards in 2019, letting fans know after he yet again won Best Rap Song in 2019 that "we're playing in an opinion-based sport not a factual-based sport."

"This is a business where sometimes it's up to a bunch of people who might not understand what a mixed race kid from Canada has to say."

Drake also famously declined to perform the show that year.

Lead photo by

@champagnepapi


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