After a tumultuous start to 2025 that saw wildfires wreak havoc across Los Angeles and leave a path of destruction, the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards almost didn’t happen. However, the show must go on as they say, and music’s biggest night took place in L.A. as scheduled. Despite some initial misgivings about the Recording Academy proceeding with the program, this year’s ceremony was a love letter to Los Angeles, a fundraiser to support MusicCares’ wildfire disaster relief efforts and the unexpected cultural reset we needed. The GRAMMY Awards took our minds off of the chaos of January and recognized the artistry and excellence of numerous Black artists and musicians on the second day of Black History Month.
After getting called out by Jay-Z last year, GRAMMY voters finally did the right thing and awarded Beyoncé Album Of The Year for COWBOY CARTER. Before winning that long-overdue award at the night’s end, Bey made history (and gave us a hilarious new meme) when she became the first Black woman to win Best Country Album for COWBOY CARTER and Best Country Duo/Group Performance with Miley Cyrus for their duet “II MOST WANTED.”
Beyoncé retained her title as the artist to win the most GRAMMYs, but she wasn’t the only one adding more statues to her trophy case. The night’s big winner was Kendrick Lamar who C-Walked away with five GRAMMY Awards for his certified hit song “Not Like Us.” Although K. Dot didn’t perform – he’s saving his energy for his upcoming Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show – he appeared on stage to collect Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year. As if sweeping all the categories his scathing Drake diss was nominated in wasn’t enough, Kung Fu Kenny kept trolling by wearing a Canadian Tuxedo to the GRAMMYs.
Between Kendrick and Beyoncé, Black artists won three of the four major awards of the night, which aired during the televised portion of the GRAMMYs. However, most of the awards in the R&B, Rap & Spoken Word Poetry field were given out during the Premiere Ceremony earlier in the day, except for Best Rap Album. Doechii took home that award during the live show, and the first-time GRAMMY winner gave a powerful acceptance speech.
“I know that there is some Black girl out there, so many Black women out there that are watching me right now, and I want to tell you, you can do it. Anything is possible!” the “Persuasive” rapper and singer triumphantly stated. Moments later, she made jaws drop with a stunning performance of “DENIAL IS A RIVER” and “CATFISH” during the New Artist nominee showcase. Fellow nominees in the category, which included Shaboozey, Teddy Swims and Raye, also delivered performances that displayed their prodigious talents.
During the Premiere Ceremony, which was streamed on YouTube and the GRAMMY website, Muni Long sang her hit song “Made For Me.” Although it wasn’t her strongest performance, she still showed why she deserved to win Best R&B Performance, an award that she easily walked away with. Elsewhere in the R&B categories, Lucky Daye copped his second GRAMMY Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance for “That’s You,” SZA earned her fifth GRAMMY for Best R&B Song for “Saturn,” Chris Brown got Best R&B Album for 11:11 (Deluxe) and, in a surprising tie decision, Avery*Sunshine’s So Glad To Know You and NxWorries’ Why Lawd? both took home GRAMMYs for Best Progressive R&B Album. A win is a win, and this was both Avery’s and Knxwledge’s of NxWorries first GRAMMY victory.
Another first-time winner was Sheila E. who finally won a GRAMMY for her song “Bemba Colorá” featuring Gloria Estefan and Mimy Succarin the Best Global Music Performance category. Also joining the first-timers club was Rapsody who brought home Best Melodic Rap Performance with Erykah Badu for their collaboration “3,” Tank And The Bangas who landed a GRAMMY for Best Spoken Word Poetry Album for their set The Heart, The Mind, The Soul and Tems whose “Love Me JeJe” won Best African Music Performance, her first solo GRAMMY.
Other highlights included jazz bae Samara Joy snagging two more awards for Best Jazz Performance for “Twinkle Twinkle Little Me” and Best Jazz Vocal Album for A Joyful Holiday. Meshell Ndegeocello won her second Best Alternative Jazz Album GRAMMY (and third overall) for No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin. Cory Henry grabbed his first solo GRAMMY for Best Roots Gospel Album for Church after winning numerous awards as a member of Snarky Puppy. Gospel music royalty CeCe Winans took home her 16th and 17th GRAMMYs for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song for “That’s My King” and Best Gospel Album for More Than This. Dave Chappelle also won his sixth Best Comedy Album GRAMMY for The Dreamer.
- Advertisement -Alicia Keys’ jukebox musical Hell’s Kitchen won Best Musical Theater Album, and she was this year’s recipient of the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. Presented to her by Queen Latifah, Keys expressed her thanks for the accolade and struck a timely chord during her speech. “This is not the time to shut down the diversity of voices. We’ve seen on this stage talented hardworking people from different backgrounds with different points of view, and it changes the game,” Alicia said in response to increased attacks and rollbacks of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the United States. “DEI is not a threat, it’s a gift. And the more voices, the more powerful the sound. When destructive forces try to burn us down, we rise from the ashes like a phoenix. And as you see tonight, music is the unstoppable language that connects us all.”
Black artistry dominated the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards, and Black artists were rewarded for their hard work and talent. (See below to see what we mean.) The Recording Academy still has more work to do to recognize the breadth and depth of Black music, but change is gradually happening. We hope the GRAMMY Awards can keep this same energy, excitement and entertainment value moving forward.
- Advertisement -67th Annual GRAMMY Awards won by Black artists (listed by field and category):
General Field
1. Record Of The Year
“Not Like Us”
Kendrick Lamar
2. Album Of The Year
COWBOY CARTER
Beyoncé
3. Song Of The Year
“Not Like Us”
Kendrick Lamar, songwriter (Kendrick Lamar)
Field 3: R&B, Rap & Spoken Word Poetry
20. Best R&B Performance
“Made For Me (Live On BET)”
Muni Long
21. Best Traditional R&B Performance
“That’s You”
Lucky Daye
22. Best R&B Song
“Saturn”
Rob Bisel, Cian Ducrot, Carter Lang, Solána Rowe, Jared Solomon & Scott Zhang, songwriters (SZA)
23. Best Progressive R&B Album (tie)
So Glad To Know You
Avery*Sunshine
Why Lawd?
NxWorries (Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge)
24. Best R&B Album
11:11 (Deluxe)
Chris Brown
25. Best Rap Performance
“Not Like Us”
Kendrick Lamar
26. Best Melodic Rap Performance
“3”
Rapsody featuring Erykah Badu
27. Best Rap Song
“Not Like Us”
Kendrick Lamar, songwriter (Kendrick Lamar)
28. Best Rap Album
Alligator Bites Never Heal
Doechii
29. Best Spoken Word Poetry Album
The Heart, The Mind, The Soul
Tank And The Bangas
Field 4: Jazz, Traditional Pop, Contemporary Instrumental & Musical Theater
30. Best Jazz Performance
“Twinkle Twinkle Little Me”
Samara Joy featuring Sullivan Fortner
31. Best Jazz Vocal Album
A Joyful Holiday
Samara Joy
34. Best Latin Jazz Album
Cubop Lives!
Zaccai Curtis, Luques Curtis, Willie Martinez, Camilo Molina & Reinaldo de Jesus
35. Best Alternative Jazz Album
No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin
Meshell Ndegeocello
38. Best Musical Theater Album
Hell’s Kitchen
Shoshana Bean, Brandon Victor Dixon, Kecia Lewis & Maleah Joi Moon, principal vocalists; Adam Blackstone, Alicia Keys & Tom Kitt, producers; Alicia Keys, composer & lyricist (Original Broadway Cast)
Field 5: Country & American Roots Music
40. Best Country Duo/Group Performance
“II MOST WANTED”
Beyoncé featuring Miley Cyrus
42. Best Country Album
COWBOY CARTER
Beyoncé
48. Best Traditional Blues Album
Swingin’ Live At The Church In Tulsa
The Taj Mahal Sextet
49. Best Contemporary Blues Album
Mileage
Ruthie Foster
Field 6: Gospel & Contemporary Christian Music
52. Best Gospel Performance/Song
“One Hallelujah”
Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Erica Campbell & Israel Houghton featuring Jonathan McReynolds & Jekalyn Carr; G. Morris Coleman, Israel Houghton, Kenneth Leonard Jr., Tasha Cobbs Leonard & Naomi Raine, songwriters
53. Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
“That’s My King”
CeCe Winans; Taylor Agan, Kellie Gamble, Lloyd Nicks & Jess Russ, songwriters
54. Best Gospel Album
More Than This
CeCe Winans
55. Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
Heart Of A Human
DOE
56. Best Roots Gospel Album
Church
Cory Henry
Field 7: Latin, Global, Reggae & New Age, Ambient Or Chant
62. Best Global Music Performance
“Bemba Colorá”
Sheila E. featuring Gloria Estefan & Mimy Succar
63. Best African Music Performance
“Love Me JeJe”
Tems
64. Best Global Music Album
ALKEBULAN II
Matt B featuring Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
65. Best Reggae Album
Bob Marley: One Love – Music Inspired By The Film (Deluxe)
Various Artists
Field 8: Children’s, Comedy, Audio Books, Visual Media & Music Video/Film
68. Best Comedy Album
The Dreamer
Dave Chappelle
73. Best Song Written For Visual Media
“It Never Went Away” (from American Symphony)
Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Jon Batiste)
74. Best Music Video
“Not Like Us”
Kendrick Lamar
75. Best Music Film
American Symphony
Jon Batiste
Field 10: Production, Engineering, Composition & Arrangement
85. Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
“Bridge Over Troubled Water”
Jacob Collier, Tori Kelly & John Legend, arrangers (Jacob Collier, Tori Kelly & John Legend)
86. Best Arrangement, Instrument And Vocals
“Alma”
Erin Bentlage, Sara Gazarek, Johnaye Kendrick & Amanda Taylor, arrangers (säje featuring Regina Carter)
Field 11: Classical
88. Best Opera Recording
“Saariaho: Adriana Mater”
Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor; Fleur Barron, Axelle Fanyo, Nicholas Phan & Christopher Purves; Jason O’Connell, producer (San Francisco Symphony; San Francisco Symphony Chorus; Timo Kurkikangas)
92. Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
Beyond The Years – Unpublished Songs Of Florence Price
Karen Slack, soloist; Michelle Cann, pianist
