Questlove Announces 50th Hip-Hop Anniversary Tribute Performance At 2023 Grammys

This Sunday (Feb. 5), Hip-Hop's 50th anniversary will be honored at the 2023 Grammys. Questlove will be co-curate the "Hip-Hop 50" tribute performance. Questlove says, "Some of the biggest names from the genre coming together to celebrate hip-hop history — its past, its present, its future."

"For five decades, hip- hop has not only been a defining force in music, but a major influence on our culture," said Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. "Its contributions to art, fashion, sport, politics, and society cannot be overstated. I’m so proud that we are honoring it in such a spectacular way on the GRAMMY stage. It is just the beginning of our year-long celebration of this essential genre of music."

While the Grammys hasn't officially announced the artist lineup OkayPlayer reports that the artists that are set to perform include: Big Boi, Busta Rhymes with Spliff Star, De La Soul, DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Missy Elliott, Future, GloRilla, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Mele Mel & Scorpio/Ethiopian King, Ice-T, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, The Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Rahiem, Rakim, Run-D.M.C., Salt-N-Pepa and Spinderella, Scarface, Swizz Beatz, and Too $hort.

The Grammys have given fans a taste of what is to be expected this Sunday. For the "In Memorium" segment, Quavo will be performing "Without You" with the Maverick City Choir in tribute to his late nephew and groupmate Takeoff.

Jay-Z is rumored to perform with DJ Khaled for their nominated track "God Did." They're up for three awards including "Song of the Year," "Best Rap Song," and "Best Rap Performance." The track also features Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, John Legend, and Fridayy.

Harry Styles and Bad Bunny are also rumored to perform. However, other A-list nominees such as Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, and Taylor Swift say it is "unlikely" that they will perform. The Grammys have not made any official announcements yet.

The Recording Academy just announced the nominations for the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, which will take place on Feb. 5 at 5pm PT/8pm EST at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Kendrick Lamar, Future, Jack Harlow, and DJ Khaled swept the rap categories as Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, and Steve Lacy received multiple nominations in the R&B categories.

The Academy is often seen as archaic and outdated when selecting nominees, especially in hip-hop. Popular artists such as Drake and The Weekend no longer even bother to submit their music to the Academy, and Silk Sonic joined them this year in bowing out.

Take a look at some artists we believe were snubbed during the 2023 Grammys nominations:

Nicki Minaj was very vocal about how her No. 1 single "Super Freaky Girl" should be in the rap category for the 2023 Grammy Awards comparing her upbeat ballad to Latto's "Big Energy." However, fast forward to the big Grammy nomination reveal day, "Super Freaky Girl" was not nominated at all while Latto's "Big Energy (LIVE)" was nominated for "Best Melodic Rap Performance."

Another "femcee" who was absent during the 2023 Grammy nominations was the Hot Girl coach Megan Thee Stallion. Megan had a pretty good year with the release of her sophomore album Traumazine and having two standalone hits, "Plan B" and "Sweetest Pie" with Dua Lipa. "Her" and "Anxiety" from Traumazine should have also been top contenders for a nomination.

Kanye West ended up with a total of 0 nominations at the 2023 Grammys, which is quite a shocker for his artistry, but in light of his recent controversies, perhaps not. Despite his Donda 2 being on Stem Player, the rapper could have easily been nominated for “Life of the Party” featuring Andre 300 which appeared on Donda (Deluxe) and "City of Gods" with Fivio Foreign and Alicia Keys which is on Donda 2 but was released as a single. "City of Gods" also appears on Fivio Foreign's debut album B.I.B.L.E. which Ye executive produced.

NBA YoungBoy released six projects this year which included Colors, Realer 2, 3800 Degrees, and three albums The Last Slimeto, Better Than You (joint with DaBaby), and Ma, I Got A Family yet none were considered for a Grammy nomination.  Popular tracks such as "Hit" and "Neighborhood Superstar" with DaBaby, as well as his standalone "I Hate YoungBoy" should have been considered for a Grammy.

Denzel Curry expressed his disapproval of the Academy's rap category on Twitter writing, "But For The Rap Album Category I can literally Name you 10 other albums that were actually good congrats to kdot and push but all that other s--- come on bruh…" Curry didn't flat out say that his album Melt My Eyez See Your Future deserved a nomination but his fans and we can agree that it was definitely snubbed. "Melt" and "Walkin" should have easily scored a "Best Rap Song" nod, but unfortunately the 27-year-old did not get any nominations this year.

JID was another rapper that was left out of the 2023 Grammy nominations this year. The Dreamville rapper fell short of a nod this year, although tracks "Dance Now" featuring Kenny Mason and "Surround Sound" ft. 21 Savage and Baby Tate from his LP The Forever Story were some of the best songs of the year.

SZA was not nominated for any Grammys this year despite taking home her first trophy last year on Doja Cat's "Kiss Me More." In 2021, SZA dropped her first No. 1 hit, "I Hate U" and was featured on Summer Walker's "No Love" which both fell flat of a Grammy nod.

Not sure if the Academy was aware, but Summer dropped Still Over It last year, and we are not over this snub! Despite Summer's obvious reign in R&B, the singer has never been nominated as a lead artist. However, she snagged a songwriting nom for her work in Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers which is nominated for "Best Rap Album" and "Album of the Year."

Although Ella Mai was nominated for one Grammy for Babyface's “Keep On Fallin'” in the Best Traditional R&B Performance category, her work for Heart On My Sleeve was not considered at all. "DFMU," "Not Another Love Song," and "How" should have been contenders for Best R&B Song.

Ari Lennox's Age/Sex/Location was one of the best R&B projects of the year, yet the D.C. native did not get any nominations for the 2023 Grammys. Her No. 1 hit "Pressure" and single "Hoodie" should have been shoe-ins for Grammy consideration.