Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, John Legend & More to Join DJ Khaled for ‘God Did’ Performance at 2023 Grammys

DJ Khaled is set to appear on the 2023 Grammy Awards telecast with collaborators Fridayy, Jay-Z, John Legend, Lil Wayne and Rick Ross to perform “God Did,” which is nominated for song of the year, best rap song and best rap performance.

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DJ Khaled is also nominated for album of the year and best rap album for the album of the same name. “Beautiful,” another track from the album, is up for best melodic rap performance.

Jay’s participation in the collaboration means he is sure to be in the house for what is expected to be a big night for his wife, Beyoncé. Bey is up for nine awards, more than any other artist this year. If she wins three of them, she will tie the late classical conductor Sir Georg Solti for the most Grammys ever. If she wins four, she’ll set a new record.

Jay-Z is nominated for five awards, including double nominations for song of the year. He is nominated in that marquee category for co-writing both “God Did” and Bey’s “Break My Soul.”  If he wins even one of his five nominations, he’ll surpass Kanye West as the most-awarded rap artist in history. The two rap stars are currently tied for that distinction with 24 wins each.

This year’s Grammys will have a strong hip-hop emphasis. On Thursday (Feb. 2), the Academy announced a star-studded salute to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. LL Cool J will host the segment, which will include performances by Big Boi, Busta Rhymes with Spliff Star, De La Soul, DJ Drama, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Missy Elliott, Future, GloRilla, Grandmaster Flash, Grandmaster Mele Mel and Scorpio/Ethiopian King, Ice-T, Lil Baby, Lil Wayne, The Lox, Method Man, Nelly, Public Enemy, Queen Latifah, Rahiem, Rakim, RUN-DMC, Salt-N-Pepa and Spinderella, Scarface, Swizz Beatz and Too $hort.

Lizzo and Mary J. Blige, the longtime queen of hip-hop soul, are also set to perform on the show. In addition, Quavo will be joined by Maverick City Music for a performance of Quavo’s sentimental ballad “Without You” to honor Takeoff, who died on Nov. 1 at just 28.

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards will air live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and will be hosted for the third year in a row by Emmy-winning comedian Trevor Noah. The show will be broadcast live on Sunday, Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS, and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

The Recording Academy made its first performers announcement on Wednesday (Jan. 25), revealing a slate of Lizzo, Bad Bunny, Blige, Carlile, Luke Combs, Steve Lacy, and Sam Smith and Kim Petras. Harry Styles was announced as an addition to the lineup on Sunday (Jan. 29) during the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship game.

On Wednesday (Feb. 1), the Academy announced that the In Memoriam segment at the 2023 Grammy Awards will include breakout tributes to three diverse artists who died last fall — Loretta Lynn, Christine McVie and Takeoff.

Kacey Musgraves will perform Lynn’s 1970 classic “Coal Miner’s Daughter” in tribute to the country legend, who died on Oct. 4 at age 90; Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood and Bonnie Raitt will team to perform “Songbird” from Fleetwood Mac’s album of the year-winning Rumours to honor McVie, who died on Nov. 30 at age 79.

Earlier Friday, the Academy announced that Stevie Wonder would be performing in a spot that features his longtime Motown colleague Smokey Robinson as well as country star Chris Stapleton.

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards are produced by Fulwell 73 Productions for the Recording Academy. Kapoor serves as showrunner and executive producer, alongside Winston and Jesse Collins as executive producers. Phil Heyes joins the team for the first time as director. Eric Cook is co-executive producer with Tabitha Dumo, Tiana Gandelman, Patrick Menton and David Wild as producers.

Prior to the telecast, the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony will be broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater at 12:30 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on live.Grammy.com. Randy Rainbow, a first-time Grammy nominee this year for best comedy album for A Little Brains, A Little Talent, is co-hosting the show. His co-host has yet to be named.

Paul Grein

Billboard