Music industry hails Jay-Z before Grammys

In an interview aired Saturday on CNN for a new show of Van Jones, the community activist and former aide to president Barack Obama, Jay-Z urged African American entrepreneurship.

“Until we come to the table with our own… power base, nothing will change,” he said.

Jay-Z is nominated for Record of the Year, which recognizes the top song, for “The Story of O.J.,” which explores the persistence of racism with his own success as a backdrop.

– Tough competition –

While Jay-Z is ahead for Sunday, music industry prognosticators see fewer clear-cut favorites compared with previous years.

West Coast rapper Kendrick Lamar closely trails Jay-Z with seven nominations amid acclaim for his album “DAMN.,” a return to a classic hip-hop sound by an artist known for his experimentation.

Lamar’s previous album, “To Pimp a Butterfly,” offered an unofficial musical soundtrack for the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality — but, to the disappointment of many music industry watchers, was denied Album of the Year two years ago.

ICON!@RecordingAcad president Neil Portnow presents the President’s Merit Award to honoree JAY-Z at the @CliveDavis and @RecordingAcad #PreGrammyGala and GRAMMY Salute To Industry Icons honoring JAY-Z. pic.twitter.com/nYBookWifo

Advertisement

— JAY-Z Daily (@JAY_Z_Daily) January 28, 2018

Album of the Year contenders also include two high-selling pop albums — “24K Magic” by Bruno Mars, who has revived fun-loving retro funk, and “Melodrama” by Lorde, the 21-year-old pop prodigy from New Zealand.

A dark horse in the category is “‘Awaken, My Love!’,” the psychedelic, R&B-infused album of Childish Gambino, the rap alter ego of actor and comedian Donald Glover.

Lorde is the only woman nominated in one of the two top categories — despite the growing attention to gender discrimination in the entertainment industry following revelations of sexual misconduct by Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

In a show of support for the #MeToo movement, performers selected for the televised Grammy show include Kesha, who has taken on sexism in the industry after accusing her producer of raping her.

A group set up by female entertainment executives plans to hand out white roses as a show of solidarity with women fighting abuse.