Jay-Z Performs ‘God Did’ With DJ Khaled at 2023 Grammy Awards

Jay-Z graced the stage at the 2023 Grammy Awards tonight to close out the ceremony’s live telecast by performing “God Did” alongside DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, John Legend and Fridayy.

On Sunday (Feb. 5), Jay-Z came through in a major way for his friend and frequent collaborator, DJ Khaled. As part of yet another over-the-top Grammy Awards performance from Khaled and his A-list cohorts, Hov ventured outside the Crypto.com Arena with the renowned producer-exec as they performed “God Did,” from Khaled’s 2022 album of the same title.

During Jay-Z‘s rare televised performance, which you can watch at the bottom of this post, the Brooklyn native flawlessly rapped his nearly four-minute-long verse featured on DJ Khaled‘s God Did title track while sitting alongside Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Fridayy, John Legend and Khaled himself at a large table reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci’s depiction of Jesus Christ’s Last Supper.

“Please, Lord, forgive me for what the stove did/Nobody touched a billi’ until Hov did/How many billionaires can come from Hov crib?/I count three, me, Ye and Rih/Bron’s a Roc boy, so four, technically,” Hov rapped.

Aside from being considered by many hip-hop fans as one of the best lyrical offerings of the past year, Jay’s personal engineer, Young Guru, pridefully offered up proof back in September that Jigga actually recorded the entire “God Did” verse in one take.

“God Did” was nominated for Grammy Awards in some of the most coveted categories when it comes to hip-hop including Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song. However, the track lost in both. Future’s “Wait For U” featuring Drake and Tems won Best Rap Performance, and Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5” won Best Rap Song. The eight-minute track was also in the running for the overall Song of the Year award.

Jay-Z having joined DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, John Legend and Fridayy on stage comes following a widely publicized rocky relationship with the Recording Academy. Dating all the way back to 1999, Jay has voiced his disapproval of the way the organization has handled certain aspects of the Grammy Awards, especially as it pertains to hip hop.

Hov first boycotted the Grammys in 1999, as a symbol of solidarity on behalf of DMX who, despite having two No. 1 albums in the year leading into that particular awards season—It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of my Blood—wasn’t nominated. Although Jay-Z completely dominated the rap game in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Roc Nation boss stayed away from the Grammy Awards for years until 2004, when he made an appearance in support of his now-wife, Beyoncé.

“I didn’t come back [to the Grammy Awards] until 2004, when a beautiful, young lady whom I love dearly had a solo album, the beautiful Miss Beyoncé,” Jay-Z said at a pre-Grammy function in 2018. “And I realized, ‘Man, art is super subjective and everyone is doing their best, and the Academy, they’re human like we are and they’re voting on things they like and it’s subjective.'”

With that, Jay-Z‘s night at the 2023 Grammy Awards served as a full-circle moment for both him and his high-profile wife, Beyoncé. In taking home this year’s award for Best Dance/Electronic Album, Queen Bey became the artist with the most Grammy Awards ever with a staggering 32 wins.

Although it’s been a minute since Jay-Z has actually performed on stage at the Grammy Awards, the iconic Brooklyn MC is no stranger to having major moments at music’s biggest awards show. Hov is currently tied with his former Watch The Throne partner in rhyme, Kanye West, as rappers with the most Grammy Awards with 24 wins each.

Watch Jay-Z Perform ‘God Did’ With DJ Khaled, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, John Legend and Fridayy at the 2023 Grammy Awards Below

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