The upcoming 64th Annual Grammy Awards will feature several artists performing during the event, but not Kanye West, as he was removed from the show’s lineup.
West was reportedly removed from the lineup following his suspension from Instagram for 24 hours after he’d directed a racial slur towards The Daily Show host Trevor Noah, who is also hosting the Grammys.
However, West, known as Ye, is also among the nominees for this year’s Grammy Awards, mostly due to his 2021 album Donda. That has many people wondering if he’ll attend the Grammys despite his ban on performing.
Kanye West is nominated for five Grammys
Even though Kanye West is no longer a performer at the Grammys, he’s still one of the nominees at this year’s show. The 44-year-old rapper has multiple nominations for his Donda album released last year.
That includes Album of the Year, with West up against some of the biggest acts in music. Others in the category include Billie Elish, Jon Batiste, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Doja Cat, and Lil Nas X.
If Lil Nas X wins, Kanye would also become a winner in that particular category. He’s credited for appearing and working on the rapper’s nominated album, Montero.
Ye’s also a nominee for Best Rap Album, Best Melodic Rap Performance for Hurricane featuring the Weeknd and Lil Baby, and Best Rap Song for Jail featuring Jay-Z.
Kanye can still attend the Grammy Awards
The Recording Academy reportedly removed West as a Grammys performer due to “concerning online behavior.” That included his slur directed at Trevor Noah and other Instagram posts aimed at ex-wife Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend, Pete Davidson.
However, Variety indicates that sources told them West can still attend the Grammy Awards, which will take place at MGM Gardens Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Based on Variety’s report, sources say West is allowed to walk the red carpet and even receive any awards he wins.
That would include any awards given out during the live-streamed Premiere ceremony and any awards given out during the main Grammy Awards ceremony.
So far, there’s been no indication whether Kanye will or won’t attend the show, where he could potentially make more statements. Following his 24-hour Instagram suspension, West removed all posts from his page and hasn’t shared anything on the platform since.
Anti-Grammys concert suggested by record executive
There’s another possibility that Kanye West could be involved in a competing event that would run opposite the Grammy Awards at a venue in Las Vegas. Producer and record executive J Prince called for West and others to team up for an Anti-Grammys concert.
The event would protest the ceremony’s treatment of Black entertainers, particularly the hip-hop culture over the years. Prince suggested it would live stream on another network and streaming platform to show how popular the hip-hop genre is when going up against the Grammys.
“So they canceled Kanye and discriminated against Drake, The Weeknd, Nicki Minaj, and many others over the years. This will only be broken by us uniting our powers to bring about change moving forward,” Prince said in a recorded statement on his Instagram page.
“The powers that be will be mad at me about this one, but f**k em! I love the culture. The seed has been planted. Let’s water it,” he said.
As of this report, there have been no reports confirming that such an event is in the works or that any of the hip-hop stars J Prince named are interested in the idea.
The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony takes place on Sunday, April 3, at 8/7c on CBS.