First of all, it seems as though the original Queen of Soul Urethra Franklin is a little bit
"perturbed" to say the least, following the high-octane (i love that adjective) performance of Beyonce and Tina Turner. At the beginning of the performance, Beyonce paid homage to several female pioneers in music, including the great Urethra Franklin. Then Beyonce introduced Tina Turner, with whom should would be sharing the stage (See: High-Octane Performances) by saying "Ladies and Gentleman, stand on your feet and give it up for the Queen, Tina Turner!"Later, Urethra Franklin commented on how she felt slighted by the introduction, particularly the fact that Turner, and not Franklin, was referred to as "Queen". She released the following statement: "I am not sure of whose toes I may have stepped on or whose ego I may have bruised between the Grammy writers
and Beyonce, however, I dismissed it as a cheap shot for controversy."Let me first say that I have the utmost respect for a woman who truly is a pioneer of the industry and has been for many decades (how many artists can say they have been on top for years, much less decades). AAAAANNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDD, I have yet to jump on the Beyonce bandwagon, despite the fact that her popularity has surpassed every other performer in the music industry today. (I don't know why I'm not "Crazy in Love" for her, maybe its because I can't understand the lyrics to any of her songs. If I'm at the club and something like "Freakum Dress" or "Deja Vu" comes on, then I'm a little more grateful....but still) But all in all, not even I can deny that she is the present and the future of R&B, and she is becoming a pioneer in her own right for the way that she is setting trends and raising the bar for performers to come. She is a beautiful, talented black woman, and like it or not, one day, she will be referred to as The Queen. So it definitely bothers me when the well-fed Urethra Franklin takes her own cheap shot who is doing nothing more than trying to follow in the footsteps of one of her own idols. And is there anyone out there who doesn't think that Beyonce was wrong in her characterization of Tina Turner? So I say this to Urethra: its not a competition, and no matter how big you get, there is still plenty of room in the limelight for others. So play nice. And for once, how about you show some respect for one of the many artists whom you paved the way for...
Second - Kanye West Outburst #475089661- During his acceptance for the Grammy award for Best Rap Album, Mr. West decided to ignore the suggested time limit for his speech. About 8 years ago, awards shows decided that it would be clever to nudge the winners off stage by playing soft classical music in the background, to give them the hint. They realize that these performers have ego's bigger than Urethra Franklin, and they all have an overwhelming sense of entitlement when it comes to self-recognition. So this "music-in-the-background" was a clever idea to remedy the long-winded winners....
But not really.
Just a few moments earlier, Mr. West performed his hit single "Stronger" followed by "Hey Mama" a dedication to his late mother. (I won't get into the details on how great his performance was, instead just review my previous entry on the Grammy's). Everyone knew about his late mother and the likelihood that he would be emotional during his show and during any subsequent award speeches.
"And the winner is....Kanye West". He walks on stage. He begins thanking everyone who helped him get to where he is. Usual Kanye Fashion. He begins to talk about his late mother. The music begins. Wrap it up Kanye! I look up and think to myself "Are they really gonna do him like that?" Then, in some weird telepathic shift in the cosmos, he heard me. Kanye looks up into the camera, and says "Are yall really gonna do me like that?" The music continues. Kanye keeps talking. The music gets louder. Kanye looks up and shows the anger on his face, but he keeps talking about his mother. The music gets even louder. Kanye stops, looks directly into the camera and says "It would be in good taste to stop the music." They got the hint. The music stops. The crowd applauds him. He pays respect to his mother. He walks off stage. The show goes on.
So before any of you unsympathetic haters out there decided to bash Kanye again, let me just reiterate: The show goes on. It was not a big deal. It did not disrupt the timing of the show, it was the best part of the show, and like he said , it was in good taste to turn the music off so that the man could talk! Sure he has had more than his fair share of selfish rants in the past, but this wasn't dissatisfaction about him losing awards that he should have won. This wasn't about him performing on the little stage instead of the big stage (See: THANKSGIVING and KID'S TABLE). This wasn't him calling George Bush a racist. And this wasn't him talking about how great he is. This was a grieving young man who just wanted 20 more seconds to acknowledge his deceased mother for her role in making him the person he has become. If you truly believe that such a statement is rude or in bad taste, then may God have mercy on your soul.To lighten the mood, here are a few more attention-getting lines that might have gotten them to stop the music....
5. "I must admit, I'm a lip syncer."
4. "I'm Gay. (but we all know that he's not)"
3. "I wanna thank you Jay-Z. But lets be real jigga. Everyone knows that you hooked up with Rihanna. Your body language says it all."
2. "Barack Obama does not care about black people."
1. " You're cutting me off right now?!? This is GARBAGE! And the producers of this show are GARBAGE! COME AFTER ME! I'M A MAN! I'M 40!"
Finally - On an even lighter note, OBAMA DEFEATS CLINTON. No, no, no the presidential race is not over. But in a symbolic victory which could not come at a better time
in our nation's history, Barack Obama beat a Clinton. That's right, he won the Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album from his best-selling book, The Audacity of Hope, beating out Fmr. President Bill Quagmire, I mean Bill Clinton. Giggity-giggity-giggity!*Interesting Fact: Among the nominees that Obama beat out were Fmr. President Jimmy Carter, and Fmr. Republican Nominee for President, Arnie Vinick.
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