Kendrick Lamar's 'Not Like Us' Could Be First Diss Track To Win A Grammy
Harvey Mason Jr. talked about the possibility of a diss track like Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" winning a Grammy.
On Monday, TMZ Hip-Hop interviewed the 56-year-old CEO of The Recording Academy at LAX to ask about the likelihood of a diss track like Lamar's getting a Grammy nomination or win, from the perspective of the Academy.
"Obviously, it's a hot record. It's amazing artistry [and] great writing. The talent in that record [is] incredible... I don't see any reason why it couldn't be. It's all about the quality of the record. It's really about the members. If the members like it, they'll be nominated," responded Mason Jr.
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"I think the voting members of the academy appreciate greatness, appreciate what's hot [and] what's going on. That's a relevant record. It's impacting on so many levels with so much creativity and talent. I like to believe that the Academy members recognize that. They do, appropriately."
He was also asked whether there would be a problem or not within the Academy since diss tracks have "some heavy bombs."
(Photo : Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
"There have been some incredible diss records. Anything's possible. I gotta tell you the Academy what I'm proud about. We work really hard to try and stay relevant, and what's going on in music and more and more diss records started happening," he said.
"But all of our awards come from our members. [If] they say, 'Hey, we want a diss track category,' and they vote on it and if they like it and they want it, it happens. So you never know what's going to happen. If the members want it, it will be nominated."
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At one point, he also noted that the "Not Like Us" artist was not an outsider to the Academy, with his 17 wins and 50 nominations throughout his career so far.
(Photo : Rick Kern/Getty Images for Samsung)
The 37-year-old Pulitzer Prize for Music awardee released his latest diss track for Drake earlier in May, and it has since gained over 94.69 million YouTube views.
If K Dot's track gets votes from the Academy members in the next Grammy Awards, it will become his 51st Grammy nomination or even his 18th win -- and the Academy's first diss track to win the prestigious award.
