Recording Academy President Comments On Drake Pulling His Grammy Nominations

Television viewers should not expect to see Drake at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in January. The Canadian rapper/singer let the Recording Academy know he is not interested in being honored by the music industry organization.

Drake Blasted The Grammys In Recent Years

Drake took a pretty hard stance about the unimportance of winning a Grammy Award. After winning the trophy for Best Rap Song (“God’s Plan”) in 2019, the OVO Sound frontman essentially told his peers they should not care about winning a golden gramophone.

“My point is you’ve already won if you have people singing your songs word-for-word, if you’re a hero in your hometown. Look, if there are people who have regular jobs who are coming out in the rain, in the snow, spending their hard-earned money to buy tickets to come to your shows, you don’t need this right here. I promise you, you already won,” said Drake that night.

Drake’s “Crew Love” collaborator The Weeknd was completely shut out of nominations last year. In response, Drake posted on Instagram, “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 artist that [exists] now and the ones that come after.”

With those recent takes about the Grammys, it came as a surprise to some people when Drake apparently submitted his recent work for nominations this year. He originally earned a Best Rap Performance nod for “Way 2 Sexy” featuring Future and Young Thug. Drake also picked up a Best Rap Album nomination for Certified Lover Boy.

Harvey Mason Jr. Is Asked About Drake’s Withdrawal

Reports of Drake withdrawing his Grammy nominations from the final-round ballots began circulating last week. Drake and his management team apparently made the decision. The Recording Academy accepted their request.

There were still a lot of questions about Drake’s latest actions. Hollywood Unlocked recently spoke to Recording Academy President Harvey Mason Jr. about the Hip Hop megastar pulling his two lead-artist nominations.

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“Anytime an artist has a concern or comment about our process we take it very seriously, and I take it very seriously,” responded the founder of Harvey Mason Media. “I’m a producer and songwriter, as you know.”

Mason continued, “So when someone is unhappy or has an issue with something, we have to take a look at it. And our process is based on membership, and the members drive the process. So, anyone who says something, I have to listen to and as a team, we all take it very seriously.”

Drake is currently a 4-time Grammy winner. His 2011 project, Take Care, won Best Rap Album. “Hotline Bling” also won Grammys for Best Rap/Sung Performance and Best Rap Song in 2017. In total, he has scored 47 career nominations.