EntertainmentLate Rapper XXXTentacion Rejected for Grammys In Memoriam Segment

© Brynn Anderson/AP/REX/Shutterstock

XXXTentacion, who was shot to death in June 2018, was rejected from the Grammys’ in memoriam segment on Sunday night. According to a source, representatives for the late rapper requested repeatedly that the Recording Academy recognize the artist, whose “Sad!” was one of the most consumed songs of 2018. But because of the rapper’s history of domestic violence, the show opted not to include him alongside such acts as Avicii and Mac Miller.

After the nominations were revealed in December, Academy president Neil Portnow was asked by Rolling Stone whether the segment would include XXX. “I will tell you it’s a daunting challenge,” said Portnow. “We track those that we lose in our industry in any given year and then we have a process by which we go through it. Our on-air in memoriam — we’re lucky if we wind up [featuring] 10 to 15 percent of those we lose. Because it’s always hard choices. All of that is to say, I don’t have any answers for you now, but obviously artists who were prominent and well-known by the public are people who are recognized and we’ll just wind up having to see how it plays out.”

Ariana Grande Not Attending Grammys After Disagreements With Producers

With this development, the Grammys find themselves not only without a twice-nominated artist whom they have been using to promote the show, but also without one of the most vital artists of the moment. In the past two years Grande has experienced two major tragedies — the 2017 bombing outside her concert at the UK’s Manchester Arena in which 22 people died, and the drug-overdose death of her former boyfriend Mac Miller last September. But she has also played triumphant concerts, including the “One Love Manchester” benefit staged just two weeks after the tragedy, and released a triumphant No.

Will the Grammys Memorialize XXXTentacion ? “I don’t have an answer for you on XXX Recording Academy chairman and president Neil Portnow tells Rolling Stone that the Grammys were still discussing whether to include rapper XXXTentacion , who Along with the in memoriam segment

The late Florida rapper XXXTentacion has been ruled ineligible for the 2019 Grammy Award for Best New Artist, Complex reports and Pitchfork can confirm. As the primary artist, XXXTentacion had 24 songs released during the induction period—his album ?, his posthumous Lil Peep collaboration, and

The divisive artist first broke in 2017 after appearing on the cover of XXL Magazine’s influential “Freshman” issuealongside Kamaiyah, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, PnB Rock, MadeinTYO, Playboi Carti, Aminé, Kap G, KYLE and Ugly God. XXX won the fan vote to make the cover.

The 20-year-old Florida native has been embroiled in legal problems over his alleged beating of a girlfriend while pregnant. The controversy has resulted in numerous articles calling for the greater music industry to not “co-sign,” or endorse, his music, including one that was published by Pitchfork titled, “XXXTentacion Is Blowing Up Behind Bars. Should He Be?”

XXX was also one of the artists to spur a “hateful conduct” ban on Spotify — since revoked — which removed his music from popular playlists like Rap Caviar. Hours after his death, XXXTentacion claimed the top two spots on the playlist, with songs from “?,” along with a tag at the top that read, “Rest In Peace, XXXTENTACION.”

Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts!