Kelly Rowland has nothing but love and praise for JAY-Z, and the message he shared during his time on stage at the GRAMMYs on Sunday.
Rowland walked the red carpet at the premiere of Bob Marley: One Love at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles on Tuesday — ahead of it’s Feb. 14 release — and she spoke with ET’s Kevin Frazier about JAY-Z’s comments criticizing the Recording Academy for snubbing his wife, Beyoncé, in the past.
“Shawn Carter is one of the greatest men I know and his words ring so loud to me,” shared Rowland with a smile. “I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
“I’m just really happy for a lot of things that he said,” added Rowland. “I think that he made a lot of artists feel very seen and very heard in those minutes that he took on stage.”
The “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” rapper took to the GRAMMYs stage alongside his 12-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy, during the star-studded show, and accepted the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. During his speech, the Brooklyn native zeroed in on The Recording Academy’s big misses — including snubbing DMX in 1998, and also his wife.
“We want you all to get it right,” JAY-Z said. “We love y’all. We want you to get it right. At least get it close to right. And obviously it’s subjective because it’s music. And it’s opinion-based.”
Though he never mentioned her name because he didn’t want to “embarrass her,” JAY-Z said it’s a huge injustice that the most decorated artist ever — with a record 32 GRAMMY wins — has never won Album of the Year. And JAY-Z wanted to let The Recording Academy know about it with the world watching.
“I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more GRAMMYs than anyone and never won Album of the Year,” said the rapper in reference to Beyoncé, who watched from the crowd with a somber look on her face. “So, even by your own metrics that doesn’t work. Think about that — the most GRAMMYs, never won Album of the Year. That doesn’t work.”
As for Beyoncé herself, Rowland suggested that it truly made no sense to her how she hadn’t won Album of the Year.
“I feel like she is an icon… and that’s for a reason — it’s because she starts trends. She is innovative, her thoughts are big and bright and she just jumps for them and does it,” Rowland marveled. “I think that her albums are a reflection of that, and it should be really celebrated in that way.”
“I’m not saying that because it’s my sister, I’m saying it because it’s the truth,” Rowland added. “I’ve seen the blood, sweat and tears that she puts into these projects, and her thoughts and her heart and her passion and her soul.”
Check out the video below for more on JAY-Z’s remarks at this year’s GRAMMYs.
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