Robert Glasper is an acclaimed pianist, producer, songwriter and arranger who’s crossed multiple genres, but that didn’t stop Chris Brown from seemingly taking umbrage when he discovered that Glasper had beaten him to the Best R&B Album award at last night’s Grammys.
“Y’all playing. Who da fuck is this?” enquired Brown in a now-deleted Instagram Story, before doubling down and asking “Who the fuck is Robert Glasper? I’m kicking y’all ass! Respectfully.”
To be fair, there is a bit of background to this - Glasper has been photographed wearing a t-shirt with the words “Who the fuck is Robert Glasper?” on the front, and Brown included said photo in his Instagram post.
It didn’t end there, though: “I gotta get my skills up… ima start playing the harmonica,” Brown continued, before posting a picture of him with said instrument to his lips with the caption “New Level Unlocked”.
Glasper won his award for Black Radio III, the third in his series of jazz/hip-hop/R&B crossover albums. It features guest appearances from (among others) Common, Gregory Porter, H.E.R., India.Arie, Jennifer Hudson, Killer Mike, Lalah Hathaway, Meshell Ndegeocello, Musiq Soulchild, Q-Tip, Ty Dolla $ign and Yebba.
Late last year, Glasper was unveiled as the first US endorsee of the new Rhodes MK8 electric piano.
Brown’s nomination in the Best R&B Album category was for 2022 record Breezy.
