Grammys 2013: Robert Glasper Experiment wins R&B; album honors
Jazz pianist Robert Glasper’s genre-blending “Black Radio” took home the prize for R&B; album at the 55th Grammy Awards on Sunday.
Crammed with cameos from Erykah Badu, Musiq Soulchild, Meshell Ndegeocello, Bilal, Lalah Hathaway, Ledisi, Yasmin Bey (a.k.a. Mos Def) and Lupe Fiasco, “Black Radio” was the sound of Glasper breaking out and reaching a broader audience by tapping into his R&B;, funk and hip-hop influences. The album debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard pop chart.
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The Houston-born pianist scored two nominations for the critically lauded disc, but surprisingly in R&B; categories.
“This is what jazz sounds like now,” Glasper told The Times’ Chris Barton early last year. “If it would’ve kept evolving and everybody was OK with it evolving, this is where it would be, I think ... a mixture of all kinds of [music], which is what it always has been.”
Glasper’s “Black Radio” was up against efforts from R&B; stalwarts R. Kelly and Anthony Hamilton, songstress Tamia and ladies man Tyrese. Last year the award went to embroiled singer Chris Brown’s lauded comeback “F.A.M.E.”
The Grammys are determined by about 13,000 voting members. The eligibility period for nominated recordings was Oct. 1, 2011 to Sept. 30, 2012. The 2013 awards are being held at the Staples Center and telecast on CBS-TV. They are broadcast live except for viewers on the West Coast.
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