The 50th annual Grammy Awards is officially in the books. Boasting performances by Kanye West, his favorite guitar player John Mayer and Amy Winehouse, the show may go down as one of the biggest in Grammy history.
Winehouse, who performed live via satellite from a London recording studio, took home several awards, including Best New Artist, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year for her breakout hit, Rehab.
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama picked up a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album for The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. One of Hip Hop’s earliest acts, The Beastie Boys claimed the Best Pop Instrumental Album for The Mix Up.
Kanye West’s GOOD Music label fared well tonight, living up to their moniker of Grammy Family, picking up several awards. Despite multiple awards, West came up short in his quest for Album Of The Year, which belonged to Herbie Hancock for River: The Jonie Letters.
Here are the Hip Hop and R&B winners:
Best Rap Solo Performance: Kanye West– Stronger
Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group: Common featuring Kanye West– Southside
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: Rihanna featuring Jay-Z– Umbrella
Best Rap Song: Kanye West featuring T. Pain– Good Life
Best Rap Album: Kanye West- Graduation
Best Urban/Alternative Performance: Lupe Fiasco featuring Jill Scott– Daydreamin’
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: Alicia Keys– No One
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: Prince– Future Baby Mama
Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: Chaka Kahn featuring Mary J. Blige– Disrespectful
Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: Gerald Levert– In My Songs
Best R&B Song: Alicia Keys– No One
Best R&B Album: Chaka Kahn– Funk This
Best Contemporary R&B Album: NeYo– Because Of You
