Drake on Grammy win: ‘Hotline Bling’ is not a rap song
In this Sept. 23, 2016, file photo, Drake performs at the 2016 iHeartRadio Music Festival – Day 1 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Drake earned a record-breaking 13 American Music Awards nominations on Monday, Oct. 10, thanks to his latest album “Views,” shattering Michael Jackson’s mark of 11 nominations in a single year from 1984. (Photo by John Salangsang/Invision/AP, File)
Drake isn’t pleased with his victory at the Grammy Awards this month.
Despite being nominated eight times and taking home two awards for his viral hit “Hotline Bling,” the Canadian rapper said he didn’t regret being absent at the awards ceremony to claim his trophies for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.
According to Drake, “Hotline Bling” was not a rap jingle but a pop song. “I am referred to as a black artist. I’m a black artist…I’m apparently a rapper, even though ‘Hotline Bling’ is not a rap song,” Drake told DJ Semtex of Apple Beats 1 radio on Saturday. “The only category that they can manage to fit me in is in a rap category, maybe because I’ve rapped in the past or because I’m black. I can’t figure out why.”
READ: Drake tops Spotify’s 2016 streams with 4.7 million streams
“I won two awards but I don’t even want them because it feels weird to me,” expounded Drake, who didn’t attend the awarding night to perform in a concert in the UK.
Moreover, Drake, 30, wondered why Grammy’s turned a blind eye on his other pop song “One Dance,” which was his first No. 1 single in the American market and the first to strike a billion views on Spotify, Billboard reported.
“There are pop obligations they have, and I fluked out. I fluked out and got one of the biggest songs of the year that is a pop song and I’m proud of that. I love the rap world and I love the rap community….I write pop songs for a reason. I want to be like Michael Jackson. I want to be like artists that I looked up to,” he said. “But I never get any credit for that.” Gianna Francesca Catolico /ra
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