Jay-Z and Beyoncé have won a combined 56 Grammys in their careers, but their relationship with the Recording Academy hasn't been without some uneasy moments.
While receiving the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award on Feb. 4 at the 2024 Grammy Awards, the rapper appeared to call out the academy for a glaring omission amid his wife's dozens of Grammy wins.
“I’m just sayin’, we want y’all to get it right,” he said. “We love y’all. ... At least get it close to right. And obviously it’s subjective — y’all don’t gotta clap at everything — obviously it’s subjective because it’s music and it’s opinion based. But some things you know.
“I don’t want to embarrass this young lady, but she has more Grammys than everyone, and never won album of the year,” he continued, presumably in reference to Beyoncé. “So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work. Think about that. The most Grammys, never won album of the year. That doesn’t work.”
“When I get nervous, I tell the truth," he added, after the crowd reacted to him saying some of the artists do not belong in the category.
That was not the first instance that the rapper expressed his irritation with the Recording Academy over his wife's Grammy achievements.
Here's what to know about the situation between the two superstars and the organizers behind the Grammys.
How many Grammys does Beyoncé have?
The music megastar has a record 32 Grammys between her solo work, her time with Destiny's Child and the album she released with Jay-Z in 2018.
In 2022, she tied Jay-Z as the most nominated artist in Grammy history with 88 nominations.
She also set the record for the most Grammy wins in history last year after she took home the best dance/electronic music album Grammy for her blockbuster album "Renaissance." She passed conductor Georg Solti, who won 31 Grammys between 1962 and 1997.
Has Beyoncé ever won album of the year?
Much to Jay-Z's chagrin, she has not. Beyoncé has been nominated four times as a solo artist for the prestigious album of the year category, but has not won it once.
She earned album of the year nominations in 2010 ("I Am...Sasha Fierce"), 2015 ("Beyoncé"), 2017 ("Lemonade") and 2023 ("Renaissance").
She lost album of the year to Taylor Swift's "Fearless" in 2010, Beck's "Morning Phase" in 2015, Adele's "25" in 2017 and Harry Styles' "Harry's House" in 2023.
The superstar has also never been nominated for artist of the year and only won song of the year once in 2010 for "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)."
What else did Jay-Z say about the Recording Academy?
Jay-Z also commented about the one hole in Beyoncé's Grammy resume before the 2023 ceremony.
He told Tidal in an interview ahead of the 2023 Grammy Awards that he felt the Recording Academy "missed the moment" in Beyonce's previous three losses in the album of the year voting.
"Not just ‘Lemonade,’ (also) when Beck won over her. I was like, ‘Oh, y’all missed it,’” he said.
He also commented on "Renaissance" before it fell short of "Harry's House" for album of the year.
“Everyone’s inspired," he said. "It has inspired the world. That has to be album of the year. It has to be.”
Their uneasy relationship with the Grammys, where Jay-Z is the most decorated rapper in history with 24 awards, wasn't always that way.
He told Tidal the couple "grew up idolizing” the awards.
"It was like one of the pillars for us. It was like, ‘We want to go Gold.’"
However, that view has changed despite their record-setting success.
"It got to the point where I was like, it’s just a marketing thing," he said. "You go, you got an album out and it could help the sales go up."