Last night, Eve received her second career Grammy at the Recording Academy Honors presented by The Black Music Collective.The recognition for the Philadelphia rapper’s verse on The Roots‘ 1999 single “You Got Me,” which won for best rap performance by a duo or group at the 2000 Grammy Awards, was 27 years overdue. The verse on the song by the not-yet-mainstream artist who dropped her debut album, Let There Be Eve…Ruff Ryders’ First Lady, in September of 1999, was uncredited; hence her exclusion from Grammy recognition when the rap group was first honored.
“When we recently learned about the story, it was really simple,” Recording Academy president Harvey Mason Jr. said during the ceremony held at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles on Thursday. “We needed to make it right, and it was a chance for us to make it right. So tonight, the Recording Academy is here to offer a much-deserved respect and recognition.”
In October 2024, The Roots’ frontman Questlove acknowledged the slight during a conversation with Eve on his podcast, Questlove Supreme, saying, “We were extremely inconsiderate and so insular and so non-communicative with each other that things like that always spilled on the sidelines. But I never wanted you to think it was a thing where I was like, ‘Let me erase her out of history.’ “Eve, in her acceptance speech, was nothing but appreciative of the recognition, no matter how late it came.
This is actually for little Eve from Philly, the little girl who loved to write rhymes and just wanted to be in the business,” she stated. “I’m truly, truly grateful to be in this room with all of you here, all of the greats, people who inspired me, my peers… I remember when y’all called me — I was a little tipsy, I had a few martinis out with a friend — and I kind of was like, ‘wow, what is yours never can miss you, even 30 years later.’ So I’m truly grateful for this.”Pharrell Williams, Kirk Franklin and Brandy were the featured honorees at this year’s Recording Academy Honors.
