Drake surprised many of his fans by showing up to collect his Grammy Award for best rap song on Sunday — but he had a few choice words for organizers of the glitzy event.
The hitmaker, born Aubrey Graham, held his golden trophy in one hand while he acknowledged his turbulent relationship with the Grammys.
“This is like the first time in Grammy history where I actually am who I thought I was for a second, so I like that, that’s really nice,” he said as he accepted his award for the chart-topping song “God’s Plan.”
“I definitely did not think I was winning anything.”
Drake, who walked into the event with seven nominations, second only to Kendrick Lamar, wasn’t necessarily expected to show up to collect any wins. He often shuns appearances at awards shows and boycotted last year’s Grammys by not submitting anything from his previous release, “More Life.”
He’s also chose to forgo consideration at the Juno Awards again this year with his latest album “Scorpion.” Tensions have lingered after he hosted the 2011 show but was shut out of all of his five nominations.
As he accepted his Grammy, Drake added that working in the music industry is like “playing in an opinion-based sport, not a factual based sport.”
“It’s not the NBA where at the end of the year you’re holding a trophy because you made the right decisions and won the games,” he said.
“This is a business where sometimes it’s up to a bunch of people that might not understand what a mixed race kid from Canada has to say or a fly Spanish girl from New York or anybody else.”
He added that an artist has already won if “you have people who are singing your songs word for word” and “if you’re a hero in your hometown.”