Ato Essandoh Quotes

I've always said I can't tell sometimes that people even have an album out until I see them nominated for a Grammy. I think country gets dumped on across the board by the Grammys.

I have a love-hate relationship with the Grammys because I don't see the music world as a competitive sport.

I don't mind talking about the Dixie Chicks, because I feel like it's still alive and kicking.

I've said the Grammys messed up metal because it's not on TV. What I'm saying is when you're in a metal category, it's not televised, and it doesn't move the needle forward for metal artists, and I wish they had more respect for the genre.

A lot of incredible rap albums over the past couple of decades have deserved Album of the Year. 'To Pimp a Butterfly' is an extension of those albums.

Even though the popularity and the fanbase is much much greater, and more people have heard about me through things like the Grammys and the Ivors and touring and word of mouth, it doesn't reflect in the sales of the record and doesn't go into my pocket.

A Grammy is really nice, but having lots of fans is really nice, too. I think just getting a record out is a success on its own.

But MTV relishes its vestigial role as a star maker, so every year it puts all its clout into making the VMAs the biggest, splashiest, loudest show-biz extravaganza of the year, honoring all this music for existing, after a year of paying barely any attention to it.

In country music, one of the ways we may have gone wrong in the past is trying to be politically correct all the time.

At the end of the day, the Grammys are about recognizing genres that are making an impact.

One motivation for the 'Soul Train' awards was the grumbling that all of us in the industry have heard about the way black music tends to be viewed as a secondary phenomenon by the other awards shows.

There are a lot of artists that come and go very quickly, and I understand why just because someone has a No. 1 doesn't necessarily mean they should be up for best male or female categories. I understand that Aria are protecting the integrity of what Aria is, but I do think that pop music isn't recognised enough.

Radio continues to be the very best advertising music performers have. No one who ever grabbed a Grammy got there without radio.

New York gave me hell for that 'Purple Swag,' man. They didn't respect me until 'Peso.'

My first Grammy wasn't even in a jazz category, but of course I was really excited. 'Rockit' was the beginning of kind of a new era for the whole hip-hop movement.

'Yeezus,' I really love it. I think the sound of it is cool.

I'm a genuine lover of music. I've always watched the Grammys from home.

There's been a few things that have been insane with 'Rather Be', and being nominated for a Grammy is, like, the pinnacle one.

I don't have a problem being on 'MTV,' and I don't have a problem being on the radio. I actually like it. So there. And anyone that calls me a sell out is just jealous.

Nicki Minaj I think is one of the best judges I've ever worked with.

The Grammy is the highest honor in music that we can receive, outside of having fans come and watch you every night and clap.

Award shows, like the Grammys, were tough on us early in hip-hop, not even televising our categories or splitting them up on best male or female or any of that. We had to earn them.

People called rock & roll 'African music.' They called it 'voodoo music.' They said that it would drive the kids insane. They said that it was just a flash in the pan - the same thing that they always used to say about hip-hop.

I daydream about Backstreet Boys accepting a Grammy one day.

Does the Grammys intentionally use artists for their celebrity, popularity, and cultural appeal when they already know the winners and then program a show against this expectation? Meanwhile, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences hides behind the 'peer' voting system to escape culpability for not even rethinking its approach.