When Beck snatched Album of the Year for Morning Phase over Beyonce’s self-titled fifth album, Kanye stormed the stage, much to the horror of Mr & Mrs Carter (watch their faces drop before they break into laughter/relief below). This time it was a dummy run, with Yeezy exiting without ranting in the anti-Taylor Swift fashion he did at the 2009 VMAs (who knew then that she’d become the Taylor we all know today?). It seemed like a jolly self-deprecating stunt for a minute, but was soon followed up by a post-show Beck blast, where he said, “Beck needs to respect artistry and he should’ve given his award to Beyonce.”
Beyonce must feel conflicted here. Sure, she might think she’s being snubbed by awards shows that fail to hail her wave-making albums. But even she must find embarrassing the suggestion that Beck, a writer, musician and producer of a high and experimental order who (unlike Beyonce) wrote and composed his entire album without help, doesn’t respect artistry. Judging by the face-drop clip of her and hubby in the audience, neither of them want their loose-canon buddy Yeezy fighting their battles any more. In his effort to protect Bey, is he in fact making her look like a sore loser, emasculating Jay-Z, and throwing shade on other gifted artists?
Credits
Text Stuart Brumfitt