Black Stars Make Their Mark With Hit Music And Hot Fashions At Grammys

Jet, March 12, 2001

Black performers' chart-topping music and the eye-opening fashions worn by them made their mark at the recent 43rd Annual Grammy Awards telecast in Los Angeles.

The music of Destiny's Child, Dr. Dre, D'Angelo and B.B. King was among the big Grammy winners during the evening. But it was also the hot fashions worn by winners and nominees alike that won raves from the worldwide viewing audience.

Destiny's Child won for Best R&B Duo or Group for Say My Name. That record was also named R&B Song of the Year. Dr. Dre won as Producer of the Year, Non-classical. He also won in the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for Forget About Dre with Eminem. He produced nine hit albums during the year.

D'Angelo won in the categories of R&B Vocal Performance Male for Untitled (How Does it Feel) and R&B Album for Voodoo. King won Best Traditional Blues Album for Riding With the King with Eric Clapton and for Pop Collaboration with Vocals for Is You Is, or Is You Ain't (My Baby) with Dr. John.

Toni Braxton won as Best R&B Female Vocalist for He Wasn't Man Enough and she was also the premier fashion showstopper of the evening.

In the weeks leading up to the telecast from the cavernous Staples Center, controversial rapper Eminem made all the headlines. But, during and after the show, it was the barely-clad Braxton who made all the news. Wearing a Richard Tyler dress that covered less than Jennifer Lopez's outfit last year, Braxton turned heads, opened eyes and made headlines. Host Jon Stewart told the audience that he'd lost his scarf, and he'd heard Toni Braxton found it.

Backstage, Braxton told reporters: "I've always gone a little risque. Before I get married and have babies, I figured I'd wear this." She said she used two-sided tape to keep everything in place. She also told reporters that she was only able to drink water all day but would chow down on chips and cookies afterwards.

Braxton and fiance Keri Lewis from Mint Condition will marry April 23. She said he wrote three of the songs on the album she's working on. Commenting on the Eminem controversy, she said, "I was rooting for him because I don't believe in censorship."

A feast for the ears and eyes, the members of Destiny's Child wowed the audience when they performed their hit single Independent Women dressed in shimmering blue hot pants and halter top ensembles.

Erykah Badu, whose trademark had been colorful headwraps, stunned her fans when she came onstage as a presenter making her latest fashion statement--a shaved head.

Macy Gray, who beat out Madonna and Christina Aguilera as Best Pop Female Vocalist for I Try, was not to be outdone when it came to new hairdos. She exchanged her Afro for flat-ironed-hair-trimmed-in-purple--and had the audience (and the Staples Center) bouncing in the seats when she performed I Try. Bono, the lead singer of the Irish rock band U2, told the sold-out crowd as he accepted for Record of the Year (Beautiful Day) that Macy Gray should have won it.

Eminem, who won three Grammys in the rap music category, thanked Dr. Dre from the stage and told him: "You got me up here." Michael Greene, head of the recording academy, introduced Dr. Dre to the audience. He received a standing ovation. Dr. Dre also won in the category of Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for Forget About Dre with Eminem.

Lil' Bow Wow said he canceled a European tour to be at the show. He opened the program with Madonna. He said she called him and asked him to open it with her. He told reporters that he turns 14 March 30 and he's "already driving cars."

Other Black Grammy winners, many who appear on these pages making fashion statements as dynamic as their music, were: Baha Men, Best Dance Recording (Who Let the Dogs Out); Lenny Kravitz, Best Male Rock Vocal Performer (Again); the Temptations, Best Traditional R&B Vocal Album (Ear-Resistible); Dianne Reeves, Best Jazz Vocal Album (In the Moment-Live in Concert); Branford Marsalis, Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group (Contemporary Jazz); Shirley Caesar, Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album (You Can Make It); Mary Mary, Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album (Thankful); the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album (Live-God Is Working); Sidney Poitier, Best Spoken Word Album (The Measure of a Man); Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band, Best Contemporary Blues Album (Shoutin' in Key) and Beenie Man, Best Reggae Album (Art and Life).