Black History Made at the 2023 Grammys [Updated]

Black people stay winning and the 2023 Grammys are no different.

Dr. Dre global impact award

Dr. Dre not only won the first-ever Global Impact Award at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, but he also got the award named after him.

Dre’s impact on hip-hop is undeniable. He is partly responsible for three dynasties in hip-hop, including N.W.A., Death Row Records and Shady/Aftermath. The mark he’s left is historical.

So there should be no surprise he was honored, especially in his hometown of Los Angeles.

Beyoncé makes Grammy history

It’s official, Beyoncé is the greatest Grammy winner in its 65-year history.

After taking home the award for best dance/electronic album for her hugely popular 2022 album, Renaissance, Queen Bey passes Hungarian-British conductor George Solti for the most Grammy awards in recording academy history with 32.

She also became the first Black woman to win in the best dance/electronic album category. Her acceptance speech for the award had everyone in tears, including her.

Before Sunday’s Grammys telecast hit CBS, Queen Bey took home a Grammy for best dance/electronic recording for “Break My Soul” and best traditional R&B performance for “Plastic Off the Soda.

Near the beginning of the telecast, Beyoncé also won the Grammy for best R&B song for her super viral song, “Cuff It.”

Beyoncé could add to her total as she leads all nominees with nine, and is still up for album of the year, record of the year and song of the year, so it’s safe to say that Beyoncé will add to her already large room of Grammy awards.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop

The recording academy isn’t perfect, artists in the rap industry may know that more than others. But, it’s pretty freaking cool that they celebrated the 50th anniversary of hip-hop by having some of the legends of the genre perform some of their greatest hits including Grandmaster Flash, Public Enemy, Rakim, Queen Latifah, Method Man, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot, Nelly and many more.

Literally, every rap legend who had a part in making hip-hop what it is today was a part of it.

The performance also included some of the young artists in the game including Lil Baby, GloRilla and Lil Uzi Vert.

LL Cool J introduced the segment and Black Thought opened it with a dope spoken word poem.

Viola Davis achieves EGOT status

To begin the historical night, Viola Davis became the latest member of the heralded EGOT club, taking home the award for Best Audio Book, for her memoir Finding Me. She was so excited, she couldn’t even hold it in, telling the audience, “It has just been such a journey. I just EGOT!”

Davis becomes just the third Black woman to achieve EGOT status and just the 18th person overall. Talking about making history.

While the Grammys are meant to celebrate all artists across all genres, this night is shaping up to be a celebration of Black excellence. We love it!