Answer: Yes, Dr. Dre is.

Did it ever occur to this fuckwaste that Steely Dan is better music, and that Eminem is lucky he got ANY Grammys?

Friday February 23 12:21 AM ET Dr. Dre on Grammy Snub of Eminem: 'We Were Robbed'

By Sue Zeidler

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The music industry split on how controversial rapper Eminem (news - web sites) could win all the attention and yet lose the big prize at the Grammy Awards.

Could it be that the 13,000 voting members of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS) found his lyrics on women and gays misogynistic and homophobic and therefore not deserving of a coveted album of the year award?

Or could it be that they felt it was not his turn and gave him the same sort of treatment meted out to such cutting edge performers as Bob Dylan, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones when they were young.

Dr. Dre, the rap artist, mentor and music mogul who produced Eminem's hit album ``The Marshall Mathers LP,'' says that even though Eminem won three other awards, he was robbed of the big prize which instead went to music veterans Steely Dan for their album ``Two Against Nature.''

``To be perfectly honest, I think we were robbed,'' Dre told the Access Hollywood program in an interview to be aired Thursday. He speculated that the Grammy voters did not give Eminem the album of the year prize because of the controversy his nominations engendered. ``It was probably something the Grammys (news - web sites) had to do because of the backlash that they were going to get from giving him the award,'' Dre said.

Disagreement On Backlash

Michael Greene, President and Chief Executive of NARAS, said the album's lyrics had nothing to do with the vote. ``I don't think the content of Eminem's album had anything to do with it. Otherwise he wouldn't have been nominated or won the other Grammys. The voters truly don't care what the critics think or how they're perceived. They're very independent,'' Greene said.

``Eminem's nomination was a very positive opening up of the minds of the membership. Now our job is to take that open-minded condition and really continue to drive home the point that we do need to make sure we don't discriminate by trying to get too hip or too conservative,'' he added.

The nomination and scheduled performance of Eminem, 28, one of the few whites to make it big in the rap genre, had touched off a firestorm among gay, women's and religious groups in recent weeks who protested ``The Marshall Mathers LP'' because of its graphic homophobic and violent imagery.

The actual outcome of the best album contest reinforced to many Grammy critics, however, that the 13,000 voting members of the academy are still not ready to depart from their mainstream tendencies and go out on a limb with a cutting edge artist. The voting members include vocalists, producers, songwriters and other professionals with creative or technical credits on six commercially released songs.

Entertainment lawyer Jay Cooper said, ``I don't think this is as complicated or subtle as everyone is making it out to be. Nobody controls 13,000 people. They're going to vote on what they think is the best album and some people obviously didn't vote for him because they didn't like what he stands for. It's nothing more than personal taste.''

With all the hoopla over Eminem and his huge commercial success, however, many called the upset vintage Grammys. ''Grammy history is filled with stunning weird stuff like this,'' one music executive said.

Starting with the first awards show in May 1959, for instance, the Grammys missed the beat by failing to nominate a single rock 'n' roll record at the inaugural ceremony.

WHAT ARE THE BEATLES?

And the birth of rock 'n' roll, the British Invasion of the 1960s, and the punk revolution of the 1970s all appeared to sail by the Grammys, which only begrudgingly and/or belatedly gave awards to Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Dylan and the Rolling Stones. Additionally, legendary and hugely influential artists ranging from AC/DC to Neil Young have yet to win anything.

Record of the year winners during the politically turbulent 1960s included such easy-listening works as ``The Days of Wine and Roses'' by Henry Mancini, ``A Taste of Honey'' by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass.

``This is in keeping with the Grammy's place in the culture. They usually are a little retro in terms of what they honor and are rarely on the cutting edge of teenage culture,'' said Danny Goldberg, a former Warner music executive who is now chairman and chief executive of Artemis Records.

Despite the hoopla over Eminem, overall viewership of the music awards show was down from last year, though more young viewers tuned in, ratings figures showed Thursday. The three-hour live CBS telecast of the Grammys averaged nearly 26.7 million viewers, down 1.1 million from last year's show, according to Nielsen Media Research.

Among the all-important group of viewers aged 18 to 49, the demographic most coveted by advertisers, this year's Grammys posted a 12.6 rating, about equal to last year. But ratings for the still younger demographic of 18 to 34 climbed 8 percent over the year 2000.

-- (rap @ is. crap), February 23, 2001

Answers

They call that crap music? he was robbed of the big prizeAnd people wonder why those guys in central park did what they did to those women.

-- Cherri (jessam5@home.com), February 23, 2001.

"he was robbed of the big prize" Maybe he just sucks.

"And people wonder why those guys in central park did what they did to those women."

I don't like dudeman's so called music either but this IMHO is a misdirected statement and in a way takes responsibility away from the scum that acted atrosciously(sp?) in Central Park.Some of those guys were grown men and even if they weren't,they know wrong from right,and if they don't the state pen is housing they should stay a spell at.

There is no excuse for such,not even Enima.

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), February 23, 2001.

I've never heard any of his stuff, so I can't comment. I did read one "review" (really one guy's opinion; not a music critic, not a fan) of his performance of "Stan" with Elton John and frankly, I'm sorry I missed it (I don't watch "awards shows"). Apparently, there's more than meets the eye if one really listens to and understands the lyrics. Seems he's quite the storyteller.

Then again, the guy could just be a punk for all I know, and I'm not sure why he gave "two middle fingers up" to the audience when the performance was completed. THEY weren't the ones protesting him.

Hey, I'm so hopelessly out of it I didn't even know Steely Dan had a new album out. But maybe, just maybe, the 13,000 voters thought Steely Dan's music was (GASP!) better. (And it would be about time someone figured that out; talk about underrated music.)

-- (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), February 23, 2001.

He has to be about the worst "musician" I have ever heard.

-- dudesy (dudesy@37.com), February 23, 2001.

Now now. His music is harmless and no worse than what was being sung in the speakeasies of the '30s.

-- The Ghost of Mr. Decker (idiot@fool.egotist), February 23, 2001.

I know nothing of the rapper.

I've been a fan of Steely Dan since the album Aja was released in 1979 (?). Great, great music and lyrics. Their use of top-flight studio musicians once the original band broke up was sheer genius.

Hats of to Becker & Fagen.

-- Rich (howe9@shentel.net), February 23, 2001.

Is there someone more of an asshole than eminem? Yes, our very own ain't!

-- aint is a fool (byte_me@moron.com), February 23, 2001.

marilyn manson is so more glam

-- (nemesis@awol.com), February 24, 2001.